08 HB 250/AP
House
Bill 250 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By:
Representatives Maxwell of the
17th,
Jones of the
46th,
Rogers of the
26th,
Casas of the
103rd,
Dickson of the
6th,
and others
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Part 10 of Article 17 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to professional standards, so as to revise certain
provisions relating to preliminary investigations of violations; to provide for
investigations by commission staff of a complaint by a student against an
educator alleging a sexual offense without commission notification; to provide
for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Part
10 of Article 17 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to professional standards, is amended by revising subsection
(a) of Code Section 20-2-984.3, relating to preliminary investigations of
violations, as follows:
"(a)
Upon receipt of a written request from a local board, the state board, or one or
more individual residents of this state, the commission shall be authorized to
investigate:
(1)
Alleged violations by an educator of any law of this state pertaining to
educators or the profession of education;
(2)
Alleged violations by an educator of the code of ethics of the
commission;
(3)
Alleged violations by an educator of rules, regulations, or policies of the
state board or the commission;
(4)
Complaints alleging a failure by an educator to meet or comply with standards of
performance of the commission or the state board; or
(5)
Complaints alleging that an educator has been convicted of any
felony,
or
of any crime involving moral
turpitude, of
any other criminal offense involving the manufacture, distribution, trafficking,
sale, or possession of a controlled substance or marijuana as provided for in
Chapter 13 of Title 16, or of any other sexual offense as provided for in Code
Section 16-6-1 through 16-6-17, 16-6-20, 16-6-22.2, or
16-12-100 in the courts of this state or
any other state, territory, or country or in the courts of the United States.
As used in this paragraph, the term 'convicted' shall include a finding or
verdict of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere, regardless of whether an appeal
of the conviction has been sought; a situation where first offender treatment
without adjudication of guilt pursuant to the charge was granted; and a
situation where an adjudication of guilt or sentence was otherwise withheld or
not entered on the charge or the charge was otherwise disposed of in a similar
manner in any jurisdiction."
SECTION
2.
Said
part is further amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 20-2-984.3,
relating to preliminary investigations of violations, to read as
follows:
"(d)
Notwithstanding the requirements of this Code section, the staff of the
commission shall be authorized, without notification to the commission, to
immediately open an investigation submitted to the commission by a local school
superintendent, with approval of the local board of education, of a complaint by
a student against an educator alleging a sexual offense, as provided for in Code
Sections 16-6-1 through 16-6-17, 16-6-20, 16-6-22.2, or
16-12-100."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.