Section 20-2-2067. Reprisals by local boards or school system employees prohibited

   A local board of education or a school system employee who has control over personnel actions shall not take unlawful reprisal against another employee of the school system because such other employee is directly or indirectly involved with a petition to establish a charter school. A local board of education or a school system employee shall not take unlawful reprisal against an educational program of any school or school system because a petition to establish a charter school proposes the conversion of such educational program to a charter school. As used in this Code section, the term "unlawful reprisal" means an action taken by a local board of education or a school system employee as a direct result of a lawful petition to establish a charter school which action is adverse to another employee and which is not lawfully taken in response to any action or behavior of such employee or is adverse to an educational program of the school or the school system and:

   (1) With respect to such other employee, results in one or more of the following:

      (A) Disciplinary or corrective action;

      (B) Transfer or reassignment, whether temporary or permanent;

      (C) Suspension, demotion, or dismissal;

      (D) An unfavorable performance evaluation;

      (E) A reduction in pay, benefits, or awards;

      (F) Elimination of the employee's position without a reduction in force by reason of lack of moneys or work; or

      (G) Other significant changes in duties or responsibilities that are inconsistent with the employee's salary or employment classification; or

   (2) With respect to an educational program, results in one or more of the following:

      (A) Suspension or termination of the educational program;

      (B) Transfer or reassignment of the educational program to a less favorable department;

      (C) Relocation of the educational program to a less favorable site within the school or school system; or

      (D) Significant reduction or termination of funding for the educational program, unless necessitated by unfunded mandates from federal or state decisions which result in a significant reduction in funds available to the local board of education and which result in a proportionate loss of funding for all schools in the system.

Code 1981, § 20-2-2067, enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 1080, § 3; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 20; Ga. L. 2002, p. 388, § 1.