§ 20-2-319.1 - Georgia Virtual School
O.C.G.A. 20-2-319.1 (2010)
20-2-319.1. Georgia Virtual School
(a) The State Board of Education is authorized to establish the Georgia Virtual School whereby students may enroll in state funded courses via the Internet or in any other manner not involving on-site interaction with a teacher. Any Georgia student who is age 21 or younger shall be eligible to enroll in the Georgia Virtual School, at no cost to the student, provided that public school students shall be given priority. The State Board of Education is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations pertaining to the Georgia Virtual School. Such rules and regulations, if established, shall include, at a minimum, a process for students to enroll in Georgia Virtual School courses, including provisions allowing for students to participate in such courses in excess of any maximum number of courses allowed per year at a tuition rate to be established by the State Board of Education, and a process whereby a student's grade in the course is reported on the student's transcript. All teachers who provide instruction through the Georgia Virtual School shall be certified by the Professional Standards Commission.
(b) The department is authorized to establish a Georgia Virtual School grant account with funds appropriated by the General Assembly. The amount of funds requested by the state board for this account shall be the amount that the participating students would have earned under this article if those students had been in equivalent general education programs in a local school system for that portion of the instructional day in which the students were actually enrolled in a Georgia Virtual School course. The department shall use funds from this grant account to pay for costs associated with the Georgia Virtual School incurred by the department, including, but not limited to, actual costs of tuition, materials, and fees directly related to the approved courses taken by the students through the Georgia Virtual School.
(c) The Georgia Virtual School shall not be considered a school for purposes of Article 2 of Chapter 14 of this title.