Title 20 — Education

(a) The executive director and his deputy director, division directors, and other employees shall be considered state employees in the unclassified service of the merit system for the purposes of benefits administered by the merit system and for retirement purposes. (b) Upon the …

The commission shall have the power: (1) To have a seal and alter it at pleasure; (2) Subject to the approval of the State Properties Commission, to acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real property of every kind and character for its corpo…

20-13-1. Establishment of Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission. (a) There is created a body corporate and politic to be known as the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission which shall be deemed to be an instrumentality of the State of Georgia and a public corporatio…

The members of the commission shall receive for each day of service expended as a member of the commission the per diem and expense allowances authorized for members of other state boards and commissions, as provided by Code Section 45-7-21. (Code 1981, § 20-13-3, enacted by Ga. …

The commission shall hold regular meetings bimonthly or as necessary as determined by the chairperson. Additional meetings may be called by the chairperson or at the request of three or more of the members. (Code 1981, § 20-13-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 594, § 1.) 20-13-5. Fun…

(a) The Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission is declared to be a public charitable organization created, designed, and intended for the purpose of providing educational, instructional, and public broadcasting services to the citizens of the State of Georgia and making ava…

The Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission shall appoint an executive director of the commission and shall fix his compensation, duties, and responsibilities consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The executive director of the commission shall exercise the overall …

The executive director shall be responsible for implementing the policies of the commission and for the day-to-day operations of the commission. The executive director shall develop job descriptions for the necessary administrative, production, liaison, and clerical personnel and…

(a)(1) The commission is authorized and empowered to hold licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission or other appropriate governmental agencies necessary for the operation of public telecommunications facilities and to operate such facilities in the State of Georgia…

It is the intent of this chapter that the content of instructional television is clearly and unequivocally the responsibility of the Board of Education, the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia, and the board of regents for programs and courses within their resp…

The General Assembly finds in regard to the creation of an Education Coordinating Council that said council should: (1) Provide a forum for interagency communication regarding educational policy and programs; (2) Provide for the effective and efficient coordination and seamlessne…

Creation of council. Membership; officers; meetings. Quorum; committees. Annual reports. Selection of personnel to support council. Powers of council. General powers and duties. Access to records or data. Decisions or actions by council directing action by department, board, or o…

There is created an education council to be known as the ‘‘Education Coordinating Council’’ or ‘‘council’’ and as used in this chapter, the term ‘‘council’’ shall mean the Education Coordinating Council. (Code 1981, § 20-14-2, enacted by Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 93.) 20-14-3. Membe…

As used in this article, the term: (1) ‘‘Board of regents’’ means the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. (2) ‘‘Council’’ means the Education Coordinating Council created in Article 1 of this chapter. (3) ‘‘Director’’ means the director of the Office of Student …

(a) There is created the Office of Student Achievement. (b) The chief administrative and executive officer of the office shall be the director, who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Subject to the general policy established by the Educa…

(a) The office shall have the following duties: (1) To create a single state-wide accountability system, establish indicators of performance, rate schools and school systems, develop annual report cards for elementary, middle, and secondary schools, and formulate a system of scho…

(a) The office shall submit the following reports to the council: (1) An annual report regarding pre-kindergarten education shall be submitted no later than December 1 of each year, commencing 471 20-14-27 December 1, 2002. The pre-kindergarten report shall be an evaluation of th…

20-14-29. Limitation on liability of private postsecondary institu- 20-14-39. 20-14-40. 20-14-41. Creation of performance based accountability assessment program. Establishing standard for satisfactory performance. Obtaining nationally comparative results and benchmarks. Indicato…

(a) The council shall consist of the Governor, the State School Superintendent, the chairperson of the State Board of Education, the chancellor of the University System of Georgia, the chairperson of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, the commissioner of th…

The office shall create and implement a state-wide kindergarten through grade 12 accountability assessment program that is performance based to ensure school accountability for the goals of improved student achievement and improved school completion. (Code 1981, § 20-14-30, enact…

Except as otherwise provided in this article, the office shall establish the levels of performance on each assessment instrument administered under Code Section 20-2-281 by establishing the standard that should be achieved by students in each subject area at each grade level. Dat…

The office’s state education accountability analysis and reporting program shall obtain nationally comparative results and benchmarks for the subject areas and grade levels for which criterion-referenced and nationally normed reference assessment instruments are adopted, compare …

The office shall recommend, and the State Board of Education shall adopt, written procedures for conducting on-site audits under this part. The office shall make the procedures available to the schools, school councils, local boards of education, and the public. Office staff shal…

PART 2 20-14-38. OFFICE OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT 20-14-25. Creation; director; authority; seal; administrative assignment. 20-14-26. Duties.

(a) Financial awards may be provided to the schools that the director determines have demonstrated the greatest improvement in achievement gap closure, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly and any limitation set by the director on the total amount that may be awarded …

The financial award system may be funded by donations, grants, or appropriation by the General Assembly or as otherwise provided. The State Board of Education may solicit and receive grants and donations for the purpose of making awards under this part. Award funds may be used by…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this part, a majority of the members of the council then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. No vacancy on the council shall impair the right of the quorum to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the co…

All identifiable individual student performance data and information and reports received by the office, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education under this part from schools or school systems shall be deemed confidential and may not be disclosed. (Code 1981,…

The council shall issue an annual report. Copies shall be distributed to each member of the General Assembly not later than the first Monday in December of every year, commencing December 2001. The report shall include: 464 20-14-7 (1) A summary of the council’s activities, findi…

All departments, boards, and offices represented on the council, the Office of Planning and Budget, and the Office of Student Achievement shall select and appoint such personnel as each such department, board, or office shall determine to be necessary to support the council in th…

The council shall have the following powers: (1) To have a seal and alter the same at its pleasure; (2) To adopt bylaws for its internal government and procedures; (3) To make and execute contracts, lease agreements, and all other instruments necessary or convenient to exercise t…

The council shall have the following general powers and duties, in addition to any and all other powers enumerated in this article, any or all of which may be exercised by the council directly or by the Office of Student Achievement under the direction and supervision of the coun…

(a) There shall be an Education Information Steering Committee as provided in Code Section 20-2-320. (b) The office shall provide a member to the Education Information Steering Committee to assure that all necessary data, information, and specifications are included in the develo…

All state departments, agencies, boards, bureaus, commissions, and authorities are authorized and required to make available to the council access to records or data which are available in electronic format or, if electronic format is unavailable, in whatever format is available.…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority Act.’’ (Code 1981, § 20-16-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 783, § 1/SB 562.) 20-16-2. Definitions; ‘‘self-liquidating’’ projects.

The creation of the authority and the carrying out of its corporate purpose is in all respects for the benefit of the people of this state and is a public purpose, and the authority will be performing an essential governmental function in the exercise of the power conferred upon …

Any action to protect or enforce any rights under this chapter shall be brought in the Superior Court of Fulton County; and any action pertaining to validation of any bonds issued under this chapter shall likewise be brought in such court, which shall have exclusive, original 514…

This chapter shall be deemed to provide an additional and alternative method for the doing of the things authorized by this chapter, shall be regarded as supplemental and additional to powers conferred by other laws, and shall not be regarded as in derogation of any powers now ex…

This chapter, being for the welfare of the state and its inhabitants, shall be liberally construed to effect its purposes. (Code 1981, § 20-16-17, enacted by Ga. L. 2006, p. 783, § 1/SB 562.) 20-16-18. Creation of Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority Committee.

(a) There is created as a joint committee of the General Assembly the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority Committee to be composed of five members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House, two of whom shall be members of the minority party, …

(a) As used in this chapter, the term: (1) ‘‘Authority’’ means the Georgia Higher Education Facilities Authority. (2) ‘‘Board of regents’’ means the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. (3) Reserved. (4) ‘‘Bonds’’ or ‘‘revenue bonds’’ means any bonds issued by th…

The authority shall have power: (1) To have a seal and alter it at pleasure; (2) To acquire by purchase, lease, or otherwise and to hold, lease, and dispose of real and personal property of every kind and character for its corporate purposes; (3) To acquire in its own name by pur…

(a) Revenue bonds issued by the authority shall be paid solely from the property (including, but not limited to, real property, fixtures, personal property, revenues, or other funds) pledged, mortgaged, conveyed, assigned, hypothecated, or otherwise encumbered to secure or to pay…

The authority may sell its bonds in such manner and for such price as it may determine to be for the best interests of the authority. Whenever the authority shall determine to issue its bonds, it shall request the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission to approve the b…

Revenue bonds may be issued without any other proceedings or the happening of any other conditions or things than those proceedings, conditions, and things which are specified or required by this chapter. In the discretion of the authority, revenue bonds of a single issue may be …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the ‘‘Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children.’’ (Code 1981, § 20-17-1, enacted by Ga. L. 2012, p. 377, § 1/SB 227.) 20-17-2. Provisions of Compact.

‘‘The Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children’’ is enacted into law and entered into by the State of Georgia with any and all states legally joining therein in the form substantially as follows: ‘‘Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Milit…