Syfert Injury Law Firm

Your Trusted Partner in Personal Injury & Workers' Compensation

Call Now: 904-383-7448

2018 Georgia Code 20-2-59 | Car Wreck Lawyer

TITLE 20 EDUCATION

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

ARTICLE 3 LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION

20-2-59. Rules.

The county school superintendent and county board of education shall make rules to govern the county schools of their county.

(Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 88; Code 1933, § 32-912; Ga. L. 1956, p. 747, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1104, § 2.)

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Local school boards may constitutionally employ different methods to control educational quality.

- Since the Georgia Constitution and Code provide local school boards with sweeping authority in the governing of local school systems, the fact that other school boards may choose to employ other methods to control the quality of education in their systems does not evince a denial of equal protection. Wells v. Banks, 153 Ga. App. 581, 266 S.E.2d 270 (1980).

Local school boards must be restricted to powers expressly granted or necessarily implied by statute, since their composition and function are extensively regulated by the state. Davis v. Griffin-Spalding County Bd. of Educ., 445 F. Supp. 1048 (N.D. Ga. 1975).

If state board acts lawfully, effect on private schools not considered.

- So long as the State Board of Education is acting within the board's lawful rights, the effect of public schools on private schools cannot be considered. Worth v. Board of Pub. Educ., 177 Ga. 166, 170 S.E. 77 (1933).

If election of teacher revoked before contract executed, notice and hearing not required.

- If a petition shows only an election of a teacher by a local board of education for an additional 12-month period, which was revoked by the board before a contract was executed although the teacher alleges the teacher notified the board of the teacher's acceptance, there was never any contract by and between the parties which would require the board to give the teacher notice and a hearing under this section since the teacher was no longer a teacher upon the termination of the present contract. Kelley v. Spence, 223 Ga. 506, 156 S.E.2d 351 (1967) (decided under Ga. L. 1956, p. 747 prior to revision by Ga. L. 1974, p. 1104, deleting procedures for suspension of teachers).

Mandamus of teacher seeking only reinstatement, and not hearing, alleges no cause of action.

- When the plaintiff filed a petition for mandamus against the county school board and school superintendent to compel reinstatement in position as a teacher, although plaintiff demanded a hearing under the terms of this section and had not been given a hearing, plaintiff's writ of mandamus did not seek such a hearing, but only reinstatement; consequently, the petition alleges no cause of action. Westberry v. Taylor, 215 Ga. 464, 111 S.E.2d 77 (1959) (decided under Ga. L. 1956, p. 747 prior to revision by Ga. L. 1974, p. 1104, deleting procedures for suspension of teachers).

Official immunity.

- In a wrongful death action by parents of a student who was murdered after leaving school early, the county superintendent and members of the board of education were entitled to official immunity based on their discretionary adoption of rules governing policies and procedures applicable to schools within the district, even though the rules did not address early dismissal of students. Perkins v. Morgan County Sch. Dist., 222 Ga. App. 831, 476 S.E.2d 592 (1996).

Preparation of school safety plan is discretionary, not ministerial, duty.

- Mandated action set forth in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1185 with regard to every public school preparing a school safety plan is a discretionary duty rather than a ministerial duty; by so deciding, the Supreme Court of Georgia determined that the holding in Leake v. Murphy, 274 Ga. App. 219 (2005) was incorrect and overruled that holding. Murphy v. Bajjani, 282 Ga. 197, 647 S.E.2d 54 (2007).

Cited in Guy v. Nelson, 202 Ga. 728, 44 S.E.2d 775 (1947); Mayor of Union Point v. Jones, 88 Ga. App. 848, 78 S.E.2d 348 (1953); Lilly v. Crisp County Sch. Sys., 117 Ga. App. 868, 162 S.E.2d 456 (1968); Grimes v. Clark, 226 Ga. 195, 173 S.E.2d 686 (1970); Callaway v. Kirkland, 320 F. Supp. 1135 (N.D. Ga. 1970); Gold v. DeKalb County Sch. Dist., 346 Ga. App. 108, 815 S.E.2d 259 (2018).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Power to manage and control county school systems in Georgia rests in the county board of education; the county school superintendent is obliged to comply with and carry out all rules, regulations, and instructions of the county board of education. 1974 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U74-65.

State board cannot stop student from passing should county board feel child reading sufficiently.

- Inasmuch as this section has been judicially endorsed numerous times, and in consideration of the fact that the State Board of Education has no express authority to preempt local boards in decisions concerning promotion of individual students, it would appear that the state board cannot directly stop an individual student from passing to the next grade level should the county board feel the child is reading sufficiently. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-63.

State board may, as condition of fiscal assistance, require implementation of state reading requirements.

- Although the State Board of Education does not have explicit authority to directly preclude a student in a local school district from progressing from one grade level to another if the child is not capable of reading in the higher grade level, the board may, as a condition of continued state fiscal assistance, require local boards of education to implement state board established reading requirements. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-63.

Rules and regulations adopted by school boards must be reasonable; otherwise the rules and regulations cannot be enforced. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 136.

County board may provide that no county bus shall transport students to unassigned areas.

- Under the general regulatory powers granted county boards of education, a county board, when the board deems it to be in the best interest and for the most efficient operation of the schools of the county, may, by regulations duly adopted, provide that no school bus under the jurisdiction of the board shall transport pupils to any attendance area other than areas to which the school bus has been assigned by the board. 1950-51 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 272.

Minimum age necessary for student to enroll in public schools of Georgia is administrative question to be decided by each county or city board of education. 1954-56 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 274.

Minimum and maximum ages of children who may be taught in the public schools is a matter which addresses itself to the local boards of education. 1965-66 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 65-10.

County board may suspend children for conducting themselves in a manner calculated to produce disorder or for committing immoral acts. 1958-59 Op. Att'y Gen. p. 136.

Use or possession of tobacco products.

- Local school board may promulgate a policy which prohibits the use of tobacco products by the board's employees while on school property, but may not impose a policy which prohibits the possession of tobacco products by the board's employees while on school property. 1988 Op. Att'y Gen. No. U88-9.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 68 Am. Jur. 2d, Schools, § 78 et seq.

C.J.S.

- 78 C.J.S., Schools and School Districts, § 196 et seq.

ALR.

- Power of school authorities to employ physicians, nurses, oculists, and dentists, 12 A.L.R. 922.

Power of school authorities to transfer teacher from one school or district to another, 103 A.L.R. 1382.

Validity, construction, and application of statutes or regulations concerning recreational or social activities of pupils of public schools, 134 A.L.R. 1274.

Power of school district or school board to employ counsel, 75 A.L.R.2d 1339.

Regulations as to fraternities and similar associations connected with educational institution, 10 A.L.R.3d 389.

Validity, construction, and effect of municipal residency requirements for teachers, principals, and other school employees, 75 A.L.R.4th 272.

Cases Citing Georgia Code 20-2-59 From Courtlistener.com

Total Results: 1

Murphy v. Bajjani

Court: Supreme Court of Georgia | Date Filed: 2007-06-25

Citation: 647 S.E.2d 54, 282 Ga. 197, 2007 Fulton County D. Rep. 1962, 2007 Ga. LEXIS 470

Snippet: county school superintendent by enacting OCGA § 20-2-59,[3] and the absence of the plan from the appellate