O.C.G.A.
O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1001 (2019)

Limited immunity from criminal liability

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)
Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.
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(a) As used in this Code section, the term “educator” means any principal, school administrator, teacher, school counselor, paraprofessional, school bus driver, volunteer assisting teachers in the classroom, tribunal members, or certificated professional personnel. (b) An educator shall be immune from criminal liability for any act or omission concerning, relating to, or resulting from the discipline of any student or the reporting of any student for misconduct, provided that the educator acted in good faith.

History

Code 1981, § 20-2-1001, enacted by Ga. L. 1997, p. 1436, § 11; Ga. L. 2013, p. 1061, § 33/HB 283.

Annotations

Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 1997, p. 1436, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the

Act shall be known and may be cited as the “School Safety Act.” Law reviews. For article commenting on the enactment of this Code section, see 14 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 155 (1997).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Educator entitled to immunity. - When the defendant, a special education teacher, was indicted on six counts of cruelty to children and five counts of false imprisonment for actions involving five students, the defendant was entitled to

the benefits of the immunity statute because the evidence was sufficient to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s actions were undertaken to maintain discipline and restore order in the defendant’s classroom; and that the

defendant acted in good faith as the defendant told an investigator that the defendant’s actions were never malicious, that the defendant never tried to hurt any of the students, and that whatever the defendant did with the students was aimed at helping the students. State v. Pickens, 330 Ga. App. 862, 769 S.E.2d 594, 2015 Ga. App. LEXIS 78 (2015), cert. denied, No. S15C1016, 2015 Ga. LEXIS 403 (Ga. May 26, 2015). Potential immunity did not impact probable cause finding. - Court prop-

erly dismissed the paraprofessional educator’s amended civil-rights complaint because there was probable cause in the affidavit for a warrant for the educator’s arrest for committing simple battery, the educator’s potential immunity was not relevant to the probable-cause analysis, and the educator did not state a claim of supervisor liability against the principal of the school in which the arresting officer worked. Elmore v. Fulton County Sch. Dist., 605 Fed. Appx. 906, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 6001 (11th Cir. 2015).

ARTICLE 19 INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS AND CONTENT Cross references. Gifts or compensation to members, appointees, or their families prohibited, § 20-2-10. Editor’s notes. Ga. L. 2015, p. 1031, § 2-1/SB 89, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Digital Classroom Act.’” Administrative rules and regulations. Learning resources selection and rec-

ommendation meeting facilities, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Education, Grant Programs, Sec. 160-1-4-.227. Instructional materials selection and recommendation, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Education, Instructional Media/Resources, Sec. 160-4-4-.10.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 1998–2026 · leading case: The State v. Pickens, 769 S.E.2d 594 (Ga. Ct. App. 2015).
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The State v. Pickens, 769 S.E.2d 594 (Ga. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 16× “Pickens moved to dismiss the indictment based on her immunity as an educator under OCGA § 20-2-1001, and after a three-day hearing, the trial court granted her motion.”
John Elmore, Jr. v. Fulton Cnty. Sch. Dist., 605 F. App'x 906 (11th Cir. 2015). · cites it 7× “The court determined that Sauce was entitled to qualified immunity.”
Securealert, Inc. d/b/a Track Grp., Inc. v. Candace Boggs, 815 S.E.2d 156 (Ga. Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “") (emphasis added); 31-7-132 (a) ("No professional health care provider nor any individual who serves as a member or employee of a professional health care provider or review organization nor any individual who furnishes counsel or services to a professional health care…”
State v. Cohen, 711 S.E.2d 418 (Ga. Ct. App. 2011). · cites it 6× “The State appeals the dismissal of the accusation predicated on the grant of Cohen’s motion for immunity from criminal liability under OCGA § 20-2-1001. Finding no merit in the State’s contentions that the trial court erred in dismissing the accusation, and impermissibly…”
Randolph v. State, 496 S.E.2d 258 (Ga. 1998). · cites it 2× “We note that OCGA § 20-2-1001 makes it clear that an assistant principal is in such a position of supervisory and disciplinary authority in that subsection (a) of the statute includes principals and school administrators within the definition of “educator,” and subsection (b)…”
Larosa Asekere v. State (Ga. Ct. App. 2024). · cites it 24× “Asekere moved for immunity from prosecution under OCGA § 20-2-1001, and the trial court denied her motion.”
Dwight Palmer v. State (Ga. Ct. App. 2023). · cites it 2× “On March 7, 2023, the trial court denied Dwight Palmer’s motion for immunity from prosecution under OCGA § 20-2-1001 (b). The trial court certified its order for immediate review on March 14, 2023, and Palmer filed this application for interlocutory appeal on March 27, 2023.”
State v. Gina Marie Giannone (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). · cites it 2× “Gina Marie Giannone was charged by accusation with misdemeanor simple battery, but after conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court determined that she was immune from prosecution under OCGA § 20-2-1001(b). On October 10, 2025, the trial court entered a nolle prosequi…”
— 20-2-1001(a) — 1 case
John Elmore, Jr. v. Fulton Cnty. Sch. Dist., 605 F. App'x 906 (11th Cir. 2015). “The court determined that Sauce was entitled to qualified immunity.”
— 20-2-1001(b) — 2 cases
John Elmore, Jr. v. Fulton Cnty. Sch. Dist., 605 F. App'x 906 (11th Cir. 2015). “The court determined that Sauce was entitled to qualified immunity.”
State v. Gina Marie Giannone (Ga. Ct. App. 2026). “Gina Marie Giannone was charged by accusation with misdemeanor simple battery, but after conducting an evidentiary hearing, the trial court determined that she was immune from prosecution under OCGA § 20-2-1001(b). On October 10, 2025, the trial court entered a nolle prosequi…”
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