The people of Georgia established within our
state Constitution that "the provision
of an adequate public education for the citizens
shall be a primary obligation of the State
of Georgia." Educating our children continues
to be Georgia’s most important undertaking.
Title 20, Education, of the Official Code
of Georgia Annotated (O.C.G.A.), outlines
the legal guidelines which govern the state
education program.
Title 20 creates the Professional
Standards Commission (PSC) and assigns it
responsibility for providing a regulatory
system for "certifying and classifying"
professional employees in public schools.
Title 20 also requires the professional employees
of all Georgia public elementary and secondary
schools to hold state certification.
Certification regulations
and procedures are established to evaluate
the credentials of prospective teachers as
well as other professional employees in the
schools, to ensure they meet specified preparation
standards and requirements. State certification
provides a standardized base-level of professional
knowledge and skills for the educators working
in public schools. Like many other states,
Georgia has adopted a combination of individualized
requirements and some commonly used standards
developed by the National Association of State
Directors of Teacher Education and Certification
(NASDTEC). The Georgia Professional Standards
Commission outlines the state certification
system in Rules
and Procedures for the Certification of Education
Personnel.
In addition to meeting
the academic and assessment requirements and
standards, Georgia professional educators
are expected to be of good moral character.
Title 20 creates a Educator Ethics section,
responsible for adopting state "standards
of performance and a code of ethics for educators."
The Educator
Ethics is also responsible for investigating
allegations of educator misconduct and providing
recommendations for disciplinary actions to
the Professional Standards Commission. Georgia,
a member of the NASDTEC National Clearinghouse,
reports state disciplinary actions imposed
against certified individuals to the national
database. While state and federal police background
checks are not part of the certification process,
fingerprinting and FBI background checks are
required for professional employment in Georgia
public schools.
For more information on
the history of certification in Georgia, click
here.
Teacher
Certification Section - Classification of
Certificates
Routes
to Certification
FOR MORE INFORMATION
ON: GEORGIA
TEACHER CERTIFICATION
