TITLE 20 EDUCATION

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

ARTICLE 6 QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION

20-2-159.4. Policies and guidelines for awarding units of high school credit based on demonstrated proficiency.

The State Board of Education, in consultation with the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and the State Board of the Technical College System of Georgia, shall adopt policies and establish guidelines for awarding units of high school credit to students based on a demonstration of subject area competency, instead of or in combination with completion of courses of classroom instruction. Such policies and guidelines shall clearly delineate the manner in which students can earn credit, how mastery of standards will be assessed, how locally developed assessments will be reviewed and approved, how such credit will be recorded on high school transcripts, and when outcomes as a result of these policies and guidelines will be reviewed. The state board shall adopt such policies and establish guidelines, and such policies and guidelines shall be applicable beginning with the 2013-2014 school year.
Students may earn credits through:
1. The completion of courses; or
2. The testing out or otherwise demonstrating mastery of the course content.
The state board shall identify assessments, including various commercial assessments, for immediate use for students to demonstrate subject area competency, which may include, but not be limited to:
1. Advanced placement exams;
2. ACT course assessment;
3. Industry-specific certificates and industry credentialing, as defined in Code Section 20-2-326, for career, technical, and agricultural education courses;
4. College Level Examination Program (CLEP) exams; and
5. Nationally recognized foreign language performance assessments.
  The state board shall establish a process for reviewing and approving performance based assessments developed commercially, by the state, or by a local school system. Initially, the state board shall limit the number of credits earned though such educational options to three credits per student until the practice is proven to yield student outcomes at least equivalent to those found in standard seat-time courses. The policy shall ensure that credit for demonstrated proficiency is reported on student transcripts in the same way that seat-time credit is recorded. The state board shall review such policy after three years to determine if student outcomes from these educational options are equivalent to, if not better than, student outcomes in traditional courses.
Each local school system shall comply with the state board's plan adopted pursuant to this Code section and shall award units of high school credit in accordance with such plan. Local boards of education and charter schools shall establish implementation policies and shall be prohibited from setting policies that negate or otherwise prohibit access to such plan.

(Code 1981, §20-2-159.4, enacted by Ga. L. 2011, p. 635, § 5/HB 186; Ga. L. 2012, p. 689, § 5/HB 713; Ga. L. 2018, p. 731, § 4/SB 3.)

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, substituted "industry credentialing, as defined in Code Section 20-2-326," for "credentials" in paragraph (c)(3).

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 first sentence of subsection (a).

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."

Ga. L. 2018, p. 731, § 1/SB 3, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Creating Opportunities Needed Now to Expand Credentialed Training (CONNECT) Act.'"

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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