O.C.G.A. § 20-2-182 (2019)
Program weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits; maximum class size; reporting requirements; application to specific school years
(a) The program weights, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay at least the beginning salaries of all teachers needed to provide essential classroom instruction in order to ensure a Quality Basic Education Program for all enrolled students, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.
(b) The program weights for the primary, primary grades early intervention, upper elementary, upper elementary grades early intervention, and middle school programs, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay at least the beginning salaries of specialists qualified to teach art, music, foreign language, and physical education, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.
ELEMENTARY & SECONDARY EDUC.
(c) The program weights for the kindergarten, kindergarten early intervention, primary, primary grades early intervention, upper elementary, upper elementary grades early intervention, middle school, and alternative education programs and the program weights for the high school programs authorized pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-151, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay the beginning salaries for at least one school counselor for every 450 full-time equivalent students. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015 and thereafter, the program weights for the English for speakers of other languages program and the programs for persons with disabilities shall also earn school counselor funding. Further, beginning in Fiscal Year 2016 and thereafter, the program weights for the program for intellectually gifted students and the remedial education program shall also earn school counselor funding. The duties and responsibilities for such school counselors shall be established by the state board to require a minimum of five of the six full-time equivalent program count segments of the counselor’s time to be spent counseling or advising students or parents. (c.1) The program weights for the kindergarten and the kindergarten early intervention programs, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay the salaries for instructional aides.
(d) All program weights, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay the beginning salaries for technology specialists needed to provide essential technology services.
(e) The program weights for the high school programs authorized pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-151, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to provide teachers with a preparation period free of assigned students.
(f) Reserved.
(g) All program weights, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds to pay the cost of sick and personal leave for teachers, the employer’s portion of costs for membership in the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia and health insurance programs authorized by law, the cost of essential instructional materials, which shall include, but not be limited to, textbooks and technology, and equipment needed to operate effectively such instructional programs, and the cost of travel required of personnel in order to deliver educational services to enrolled students, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly.
(h) All program weights, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect, whenever they are revised pursuant to subsection (f) of Code Section 20-2-161, an amount of funds for the purpose of providing staff and professional development to certificated and classified personnel and local school board members which shall be at least equivalent to 1.0 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel used in the development of each respective program weight, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2014, such amount shall include funding for school level administrators in the same manner as for other certificated professional personnel. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015, such amount shall be at least equivalent to 0.9 percent of salaries of all certificated professional personnel, including school level administrators, used in the development of each respective program weight, subject to appropriation by the General Assembly. Funds used for professional or staff development purposes may be used throughout the fiscal year, including days when students are not present at school, to meet professional or staff development needs in the order of priority determined by the local board of education within the comprehensive professional and staff development program plan approved by the State Board of Education. Such professional and staff development program plan shall address deficiencies of certificated personnel as identified by evaluations required under Code Section
Annotations
The 2015 amendments. The first 2015 amendment, effective March 13, 2015, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, deleted "pursuant to Code Section 20-2-232" following "Board of Education" at the end of the fourth sentence in subsection (h). The second 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, deleted "middle grades," following "early intervention" in the middle of subsection (b) and in the middle of the first sentence of subsection (c); and substituted the present provisions of subparagraph (i)(1)(E) for the former provisions, which read: "Middle grades program (6-8) and middle school program (6-8) as defined in Code Section 20-2-290......28".
Code Commission notes. - Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2000, a comma was deleted following "alternative education" in the first sentence of subsection (c) and an extra comma was deleted following "teachers," near the middle of subsection (g).
Editor's notes. - Ga. L. 2000, p. 618, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'A Plus Education Reform Act of 2000.'"
Ga. L. 2006, p. 66, § 1/HB 1358, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Truth in Class Size Act'."
Code Section 20-2-232, referred to in subsection (h) of this Code section, was repealed by Ga. L. 2012, p. 358, § 14/HB 706, effective July 1, 2012.
Former subsection (k) was repealed on its own terms effective July 1, 2007.
Law reviews. - For survey article on education law for the period from June 1, 2002 through May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 237 (2003).
For note on the 2003 amendment to this Code section, see 20 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 147 (2003).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Charter school's action against school district not barred by immunity. - By its terms, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2062(1) incorporated the provisions of the Charter Schools Act, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2060 et seq., into a charter agreement between a charter school and the county school district; because Ga. Const. 1983, Art. I, Sec. II, Para. IX(c) waived sovereign immunity for contract actions, the charter school's breach of contract action arising out of alleged funding deficiencies was not subject to dismissal. Cobb County Sch. Dist. v. Learning Ctr. Found. of Central Cobb, 348 Ga. App. 66, 821 S.E.2d 127 (2018).
OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
Sick leave. - State law entitlement to payments for unused sick leave is limited to teachers and does not include administrative and other personnel in view of the reference in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-850(c) to subsection (f) (now subsection (g)) of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-182, which applies only to "teachers." 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 89-21.
Neither the State Board of Education nor the local boards of education are obligated to make payments to teachers for unused sick leave if the General Assembly fails to appropriate adequate funds to make such payments. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 89-21.
Local boards of education are not prohibited from adopting policies providing for payments for unused sick leave so long as the cost of implementing and maintaining such policies is paid entirely from local, as opposed to state, funds. 1989 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 89-21.