Section 20-2-984. Professional Standards Commission -- Authority to create and implement standards and procedures for certifying educational personnel; recommending standards and procedures for certification; continuation of teaching certificates; restrictions

   (a) The commission shall create and implement standards and procedures for certifying educational personnel as qualified for a certificate to practice in the public schools of Georgia, including the following:

   (1) Procedures for limiting the number and types of certificates to the fewest possible consistent with providing qualified teachers for Georgia's schools;

   (2) In-service training and related requirements needed to renew or maintain certification;

   (3) Multiple or alternative routes to professional teacher certification; and

   (4) Requirements, including appropriate examinations and assessments, for acquiring and maintaining certification pursuant to Code Section 20-2-200.

(b) The commission shall recommend to the board of regents and private colleges and universities standards and procedures for preparing educational personnel to qualify for initial and renewable certification to practice in the public schools of Georgia, including the following:

   (1) Pre-service preparation;

   (2) Approval of teacher education programs, both graduate and undergraduate;

   (3) Approval of programs of alternative certification; and

   (4) The creation of innovative programs designed to increase the number of minority teachers entering the profession.

(c) All certificates in force in this state which were issued by the state board prior to July 1, 1991, shall continue in full force and effect, subject to all the terms and conditions under which they were issued, until they expire by virtue of their own limitations or until their terms or conditions are modified by action of the commission. All such certificates issued by the state board prior to July 1, 1991, shall be deemed to have been issued by the commission for purposes of any law or regulation relating to such certificates.

(d) The commission shall not have authority over the compensation, benefits, or working conditions of educational personnel in the public schools of Georgia; provided, however, that the commission shall have the authority to make recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding compensation as it relates to certification.

(e) Reserved.

(f) The commission shall have the authority to deny, revoke, or suspend certification or renewal of a school system educator as provided for in Code Section 20-2-984.5.

(g) The commission shall have the authority to issue formal warnings, reprimands, monitoring, or any combination thereof to educators as provided for in Code Section 20-2-984.5.

(h) The commission may provide consultative services pertaining to the teaching profession to anyone who has a vested interest in education and make recommendations to the state board or to local boards which will promote an improvement in the teaching profession. The commission shall be authorized to hold meetings for the purposes of determining recommendations pursuant to this subsection; and, at such meetings, the commission may receive testimony from educators or other persons interested in the improvement of the teaching profession; but the investigative powers of the commission may not be exercised pursuant to the authority of this subsection.

Ga. L. 1976, p. 966, § 5; Code 1981, § 20-2-984, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 836, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1546, § 1; Ga. L. 1992, p. 1332, § 2; Ga. L. 1992, p. 2365, § 5; Ga. L. 1998, p. 750, § 6; Ga. L. 2012, p. 358, § 37/HB 706.