After every legislative session, Laws passed may have to be addressed by a state agency for implementation. The agency will develop Rules to implement the new laws. Once adopted, the rule must be observed as if it were law. The agency also may issue Guidance to further explain the rule. Local school boards, LBOEs, adopt Policy to further define the structure of implementation and provide Procedures for additional clarity. In short, the law is not the last word on any issue.

State agencies and local governing entities such as boards of education are required to follow the Open Meetings and Open Records laws. In short, a rule or policy is written and introduced to the appropriate board in one meeting and cannot be adopted until a second meeting at least 30 days hence after a public hearing. The introduction is referred to as ‘initiation’ or ‘first reading’. Guidance and Procedures do not have to be adopted by the governing boards.

Rules adopted and proposed by the SBOE are available on the SBOE web site, www.doe.k12.ga.us or www.gadoe.org under the SBOE button on the top bar.

This report reflects what the SBOE has looked at since the 2009 session.

Rule #          Title
160-4-9-.04   Charter Schools   Adopted June 2009
                    Adds language to define the SBOE relationship with the Charter School Commission, and any different requirements or charter school applicants than those required for an LBOE charter, Career Academy, or state chartered special school.

160-5-1-.07   Student Data Collection   Adopted August 2009
                    Requires the printing of the Georgia Testing Identifier, GTID, on student report cards beginning the 2010-11 school year. It also contains Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP, certification requirements.

160-4-2-.09   Governor’s Honors Program   Adopted August 2009
                    Amended to permit home schoolers to be considered for the program.

160-4-2-.16   Scheduling for Instruction   Initiation August 2009
                    This rule is recommended for repeal. The major points are to be added to Rules 160-5-1-.01 School Year and 160-5-1-. 02 School Day for Students. These changes were necessary to accommodate the law which allowed schools to have less than 180 days as long as the time for days reduced was added to the remainder of the days in the annual schedule.

160-5-1-.01   School Year   Initiation August 2009
                    The law now allows school districts to reduce the number of physical days in a school year to less than 180, as long  as the equivalent amount of instructional time is acquired in the remaining days. Teachers will continue to work 190 days.

160-5-1-.02   School Day for Students   Initiation August 2009
                    The law now allows school districts to reduce the number of school days for students to less than 180 as long as the equivalent amount of instructional time is acquired in the remaining days. This rule has language that allows ‘180 days or its equivalent’ in many areas.

160-5-1-.31   Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program   Initiation August 2009
                    After one year of operation using only the processes defined in the original law passed in 2008, the Department of  Education is defining them in a rule reflecting areas which need further definition.

160-5-2-.05   Experience for Salary Purposes   Initiation August 2009
                    New law provided for new math and science teachers to get additional salary. Teachers with leadership certificates will not be paid for that additional degree unless they are in positions of leadership. This rule is updated for those purposes.

160-4-2-.31   Hospital/Homebound Instruction   Initiation September 2009
                    The current version is to be repealed.

160-4-2-.31   Hospital/Homebound Services   Initiation September 2009
                    The replacement bill will greatly expand the services defined for these students who for health reasons must be  absent from school for more than 10 consecutive days.

160-5-1-.19   Competitive Interscholastic Activities in Grades 6 through 8   Initiation September 2009
                    Recommended for repeal. Requirements being added to 160-5-1-.18.

160-5-1-.18   Competitive Interscholastic Activities in Grades 6 through 12   Initiation September 2009
                    This rule will now contain the rules for eligibility in competitive interscholastic activities for both high school and middle schools.

160-5-1-.33   Investing in Education Excellence (IE2); Local Education Agency Contracts for Flexibility and Accountability                    Initiation September 2009
                    The rule will now contain more specific processes for those school districts which desire to enter into an IE2 contract with the state which relieves them of many of the laws and rules of running a school district in exchange for student achievement goals.
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Sally FitzGerald
Education Policy, GPTA
sallyfitz@bellsouth.net
everychild.onevoice
www.georgiapta.org Capitol Watch