Section 20-2-205. Georgia Master Teacher Program

   (a) The General Assembly finds that excellent public school teachers deserve recognition for the extraordinary learning opportunity they provide to Georgia students.

(b) The Professional Standards Commission is authorized and directed to establish the "Georgia Master Teacher Program" to provide recognition to certificated public school teachers who exhibit excellence in the classroom.

(c) The Professional Standards Commission shall establish criteria for a Master Teacher Certification. Such criteria shall include, at a minimum, evidence of student achievement, which must include student progress. A public school teacher with three or more years of teaching experience in Georgia may submit an application to the Professional Standards Commission for a Master Teacher Certification. The Professional Standards Commission shall review each application and determine whether a teacher meets the criteria for a Master Teacher Certification. If the Professional Standards Commission finds that a teacher's application meets the criteria, the teacher will be given a Master Teacher Certification, and that teacher will be known as and may be called a Master Teacher for a term to be determined pursuant to rules and regulations of the Professional Standards Commission, but in no event longer than seven years. The Professional Standards Commission is authorized to develop rules and regulations governing the Master Teacher Certification.

Code 1981, § 20-2-205, enacted by Ga. L. 2005, p. 717, § 1/SB 34; Ga. L. 2009, p. 4, § 1A/HB 455.