Georgia Education Board Responsibilities: Powers, Duties, and Constraints
School boards in Georgia play a vital role in shaping the state's public education system. Governed by Georgia state law, these boards are responsible for the management and oversight of public school districts. This article examines the powers and duties granted to school boards under Georgia law, as well as the limitations placed on their authority.
Overview of School Board Authority
School board authority in Georgia is rooted in state statutes and the state constitution. This authority encompasses various aspects of district governance, including budgetary control, superintendent selection, and general administrative responsibilities. School boards also exercise varying degrees of authority over district policy, depending on the specific issue and the extent of state and local regulations. State rules, funding incentives, and guidance can further influence or mandate school board policies.
The General Assembly recognizes the critical role local boards of education play in setting policies for the operation and success of local school systems. School board members act as trustees of public funds, including local, state, and federal funds, with the primary goal of ensuring that each student receives a quality basic education. This service demands specialized skills and training in areas such as vision setting, policy making, approving multimillion-dollar budgets, financial management, and hiring qualified superintendents. The driving force behind serving on a local board of education should be a commitment to improving schools and enhancing academic achievement for all students, recognizing the significance of this citizen service.
Key Responsibilities of Georgia School Boards
Georgia public school boards are granted broad authority to administer public schools within the state. State law specifies several key duties of these boards:
- Policymaking: The fundamental role of a local board of education is to establish policy for the local school system, with a focus on student achievement. The local school superintendent is responsible for implementing the policies established by the local board.
- Oversight, not Micromanagement: While setting policy, the board's role is not to micromanage the superintendent's execution of duties. Instead, the board is responsible for holding the superintendent accountable for their performance. However, requesting and reviewing financial data and documents does not constitute micromanaging.
- Collective Action: Individual board members do not have the authority to act independently. Official action can only be taken by the board as a whole.
- Student Discipline and Behavior: Local boards of education must adopt policies designed to improve the student learning environment by improving student behavior and discipline. These policies must include age-appropriate student codes of conduct, a student support process, a progressive discipline process, and a parental involvement process. The State Board of Education establishes minimum standards for these local board policies.
- Parental Involvement: Parental involvement processes should be designed to create an expectation that parents, guardians, teachers, and school administrators will work together to improve student behavior and academic performance. They should also facilitate open communication about concerns and actions related to student behavior that detracts from the learning environment.
Constraints on School Board Authority in Georgia
While Georgia law grants significant authority to school boards, it also places constraints on that authority. These constraints address various issues, including divisive topics, book removal, and intradistrict enrollment.
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- Divisive Topics: Georgia law prohibits instruction in public schools regarding what the law calls divisive topics.
- Complaint Resolution: Each local board of education and the governing body of each charter school must adopt a complaint resolution policy to address complaints alleging violations of provisions related to divisive topics. The State Board of Education is responsible for developing a corrective action plan if violations are found to have occurred.
- Access to Records: Individuals have the right to request nonconfidential records from the local school superintendent or school principal that they reasonably believe may substantiate a complaint regarding divisive topics.
- Book Removal: Georgia school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries. However, the Supreme Court has distinguished between school library books and curricular books, with school boards having more authority to regulate curricular books. School boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly.
- Intradistrict Enrollment: Local school boards in Georgia are required to adopt policies to facilitate intradistrict enrollment. Parents of students enrolled in a public elementary or secondary school may elect to enroll their student in another public school within the same school system if that school has classroom space available after its assigned students have been enrolled.
- Student Transfers: The State Board of Education provides a procedure whereby a student may be permitted to attend and be included as an enrolled student in the public schools of a local unit of administration other than the local unit of administration wherein the student resides for the purpose of allotting state funds. A student shall be allowed to attend and be enrolled in the school in which a parent or guardian of such student is a full-time teacher, paraprofessional, or other employee, notwithstanding the fact that such school is not located in the local unit of administration in which such student resides.
- Charter Schools: Charter school petitioners must submit their applications to the local school board of the area in which the school is to be located, as well as the State Charter School Commission (SCSC) of Georgia. Local school boards must approve a petition that complies with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures in Georgia Statutes.
- Teacher Union Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs): Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time.
Charter School Petitions
The process for establishing charter schools in Georgia involves local school boards. Charter petitioners seeking to create a conversion charter school must submit a petition to the local board of the local school system in which the proposed charter school will be located. Similarly, a charter petitioner seeking to create a start-up charter school must submit a petition to the local board of the local school system in which the proposed charter school will be located. The local board must approve or deny a petition no later than 90 days after its submission unless the petitioner requests an extension. A local board must approve a petition that complies with the rules, regulations, policies, and procedures promulgated in accordance with Code Section 20-2-2063 and the provisions of this title and is in the public interest.
The State Charter School Commission (SCSC) also plays a role in the charter school petition review process. The SCSC reviews charter petitions to ensure they are consistent with state education goals. If a local school board denies an application, information on why they denied it is relayed to the SCSC to be considered during their review of the application.
The Importance of Local Boards of Education
The General Assembly recognizes the critical role local boards of education play in setting the policies that lead to the operation and success of local school systems. School board members hold special roles as trustees of public funds, including local, state, and federal funds, while they focus on the singular objective of ensuring each student in the local school system receives a quality basic education. Board duties require specialized skills and training in the performance of vision setting, policy making, approving multimillion dollar budgets, fiscal management, and hiring a qualified superintendent. The motivation to serve as a member of a local board of education should be the improvement of schools and academic achievement of all students. Service on a local board of education is important citizen service.
Given the specialized nature and unique role of membership on a local board of education, this elected office should be characterized and treated differently from other elected offices where the primary duty is independently to represent constituent views. Local board of education members should abide by a code of conduct and conflict of interest policy modeled for their unique roles and responsibilities.
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