TITLE 20 EDUCATION

Section 2. Elementary and Secondary Education, 20-2-1 through 20-2-2180.

ARTICLE 6 QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION

20-2-159.2. Coordination between high schools and postsecondary institutions to minimize the need for remedial coursework for students in postsecondary institutions.

Stronger coordination between high schools and institutions of higher education is necessary to prepare students for more challenging postsecondary endeavors and to lessen the need for academic remediation in college, thereby reducing the costs of higher education for students, families, and the state. To this end, the State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia shall:

Develop policies to ensure that students who master the content standards established pursuant to Code Section 20-2-140 will meet the requirements for purposes of admission into a postsecondary institution, such as grade point average and readiness levels in reading, writing, and mathematics, without having to take remedial coursework. Such policies shall:
1. Establish the benchmarks for college readiness and the method in which students can demonstrate readiness in reading, writing, and mathematics for postsecondary coursework upon completing the content standards; and
2. Set the conditions for ensuring college readiness;
Define college-readiness standards in reading, writing, and mathematics needed for success in advanced training, certificate programs, and programs leading to an associate's or bachelor's degree;
Identify one or more state-wide common assessments to determine postsecondary readiness in reading, writing, and mathematics and inform students of their performance on such assessments no later than the end of tenth grade;
Develop transitional courses in reading, writing, and mathematics, with common standards, syllabus, and instruction materials for eleventh and twelfth grade students who fail to meet readiness standards, which courses shall be required by the state board to be offered by all local boards of education and which all students who are identified pursuant to paragraph (3) of this subsection as failing to meet readiness standards shall be required to take;
Establish a state-wide process for determining how successful completion of transitional courses will guarantee that students will meet readiness standards; and
Ensure dual credit courses reflect postsecondary coursework.

(Code 1981, §20-2-159.2, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 635, § 5/HB 186; Ga. L. 2012, p. 689, § 4/HB 713; Ga. L. 2015, p. 1376, § 10/HB 502.)

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, substituted "master the content standards" for "complete the core curriculum" near the beginning of paragraph (1); and substituted "content standards" for "core curriculum" at the end of subparagraph (1)(A).

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2011, "State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia" was substituted for "Board of Technical and Adult Education" in the introductory paragraph.

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2011, p. 635, § 1/HB 186, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "The General Assembly finds that:

"(1) Our state's long-term prosperity depends on supporting an education system that is designed to prepare our students for a global economy;

"(2) High school students and parents must understand that they have options for career pathway programs of study that join a college-ready academic core with quality career, technical, and agricultural education studies that result in a high school diploma and preparation for success in advanced training, an associate's degree, a baccalaureate degree, and a career;

"(3) Local school systems must provide every student with choices that are academically rigorous and aligned to opportunities in high-demand, high-skill, high-wage career fields and to postsecondary career and technical pathways leading to advanced credentials or degrees;

"(4) The State Board of Education, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, and the Board of Technical and Adult Education must work together so that academic courses that are embedded within career, technical, and agricultural education courses (CTAE) are given appropriate academic credit at the high school level and recognized at the postsecondary level;

"(5) Teachers should be provided with professional development opportunities that enforce the academically rigorous standards in relevant, project based coursework;

"(6) High school students should clearly understand the options for dual high school and postsecondary credit, and the state should properly fund these options;

"(7) Every state education agency, postsecondary institution, and local school system should provide all high school students with opportunities for accelerated learning through dual credit coursework leading to at least six postsecondary credits and have as a collective goal to graduate every student with postsecondary credit;

"(8) Georgia's strategic industries must be partners in our public education system (secondary and postsecondary) so that they are assured that our high school graduates are prepared for success in the workforce;

"(9) Georgia's public education system must incorporate many different types of assessments and certificates into their programs so that a student's skill level is assessed and that it also has meaning to them for postsecondary and career success; and

"(10) Georgia's students must understand that a high school diploma and some form of postsecondary credential are key to success in the workforce and earning a family living wage."

Law reviews.

- For article on the 2011 enactment of this Code section, see 28 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 115 (2011).

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