Section 20-2-1160. Local boards to be tribunals to determine school law controversies; appeals; special provisions for disabled children

   (a) Every county, city, or other independent board of education shall constitute a tribunal for hearing and determining any matter of local controversy in reference to the construction or administration of the school law, with power to summon witnesses and take testimony if necessary. When such local board has made a decision, it shall be binding on the parties; provided, however, that the board shall notify the parties in writing of the decision and of their right to appeal the decision to the State Board of Education and shall clearly describe the procedure and requirements for such an appeal which are provided in subsection (b) of this Code section.

(b) Any party aggrieved by a decision of the local board rendered on a contested issue after a hearing shall have the right to appeal therefrom to the State Board of Education. The appeal shall be in writing and shall distinctly set forth the question in dispute, the decision of the local board, and a concise statement of the reasons why the decision is complained of; and the party taking the appeal shall also file with the appeal a transcript of testimony certified as true and correct by the local school superintendent. The appeal shall be filed with the superintendent within 30 days of the decision of the local board, and within ten days thereafter it shall be the duty of the superintendent to transmit a copy of the appeal together with the transcript of evidence and proceedings, the decision of the local board, and other matters in the file relating to the appeal to the state board. The state board shall adopt regulations governing the procedure for hearings before the local board and proceedings before it.

(c) Where an appeal is taken to the state board, the state board shall notify the parties in writing of its decision within 25 days after hearing thereon and of their right to appeal the decision to the superior court of the county wherein the local board of education is located and shall clearly describe the procedure and requirements for such an appeal which are provided in this subsection and in subsection (d) of this Code section. Any party aggrieved thereby may appeal to the superior court of the county wherein the local board of education is situated. Such appeal shall be filed in writing within 30 days after the decision of the state board. Within ten days after filing of such appeal, it shall be the duty of the State School Superintendent to transmit to the superior court a copy of the record and transcript sent up from the local board as well as the decision and any order of the state board, certified as true and correct.

(d) The following form shall be sufficient for an appeal:
 
   "In re          
 
                                                                                        
 
                       
 
 
 

                       hereby appeals to the           from the decision of 
                       rendered in the above-stated matter on                  .
 
   This      day of           ,    ."

(e) Neither the state board nor the superior court shall consider any question in matters before the local board nor consider the matter de novo, and the review by the state board or the superior court shall be confined to the record. In the superior court, the appeal shall be determined by the judge sitting without a jury.

(f) The procedures provided in subsections (a) through (e) of this Code section shall not be applicable to disabled children when a hearing is necessary to decide a complaint made under the federal Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. The state board shall promulgate by rules and regulations an impartial due process procedure for hearing and determining any matter of local controversy in reference to the construction or administration of the school law with respect to disabled children as such term is defined by the state board. Any tribunal which the state board shall empower to hear such cases shall have the power to summon witnesses and take testimony as such tribunal deems it necessary. In promulgating such rules and regulations, the state board shall consult with local boards of education and other local school officials in order to establish procedures required by this subsection which will coordinate, to the extent practicable, with the administrative practices of such local boards.

Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 85; Code 1933, § 32-910; Ga. L. 1947, p. 1189, §§ 1, 3a; Ga. L. 1961, p. 39, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 708, § 1; Ga. L. 1977, p. 875, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 1508, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 216, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 6, § 20; Ga. L. 1993, p. 1279, § 13.1; Ga. L. 1995, p. 1302, § 14; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 20.