§ 20-2-211 - Annual contract; disqualifying acts; job descriptions; fingerprinting and criminal record checks
O.C.G.A. 20-2-211 (2010)
20-2-211. Annual contract; disqualifying acts; job descriptions; fingerprinting and criminal record checks
(a) All teachers, principals, other certificated professional personnel, and other personnel of a local unit of administration shall be employed and assigned by its governing board on the recommendation of its executive officer. Minimum qualifications for employment of all personnel may be prescribed by the State Board of Education unless otherwise provided by law. Employment contracts of teachers, principals, and other certificated professional personnel shall be in writing, and such contracts shall be signed in duplicate by such personnel on their own behalf and by the executive officer of the local unit of administration on behalf of its governing board.
(b) Any other provisions of this article or any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, each local governing board shall, by not later than April 15 of the current school year, tender a new contract for the ensuing school year to each teacher and other professional employee certificated by the Professional Standards Commission on the payroll of the local unit of administration at the beginning of the current school year, except those who have resigned or who have been terminated as provided in Part 7 of Article 17 of this chapter, or shall notify in writing each such teacher or other certificated professional employee of the intention of not renewing his or her contract for the ensuing school year; provided, however, that for school years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 only, each local governing board shall have until May 15 of the current school year to tender such new contracts or provide such written notice. Such contracts when tendered to each teacher or other professional employee shall be complete in all terms and conditions of the contract, including the amount of compensation to be paid to such teacher or other professional employee during the ensuing school year, and shall not contain blanks or leave any terms and conditions of the contract open. A letter of intent or similar document shall not constitute a contract and shall not be construed to require or otherwise legally bind the teacher or other professional employee to return to such school system. Upon request, a written explanation for failure to renew such contract shall be made available to such certificated personnel by the executive officer. When such notice of intended termination has not been given by April 15, or by May 15 for school years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 only, the employment of such teacher or other certificated professional employee shall be continued for the ensuing school year unless the teacher or certificated professional employee elects not to accept such employment by notifying the local governing board or executive officer in writing not later than May 1, or by June 1 for school years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 only.
(c) Any other provisions of this article or any other laws to the contrary notwithstanding, no local governing board shall employ any person as a teacher who has been discharged from the armed forces of the United States with a dishonorable discharge as a result of desertion or any person who has fled or removed himself from the United States for the purpose of avoiding or evading military service in the armed forces of the United States, excluding those who have been fully pardoned.
(d) Each local school system shall have a job description for each certificated professional personnel classification, shall have policies and procedures relative to the recruitment and selection of such personnel, and shall adhere to such recruitment and selection policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures shall assure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin. Such policies and procedures shall also include the announcement in writing of the availability of all certificated positions to the appropriate colleges and universities in the state and to the Department of Education and within the local school system. A local board of education may also announce such positions to colleges and universities in other states.
(e) (1) All personnel employed by a local unit of administration after July 1, 2000, whether or not such personnel hold certificates from the Professional Standards Commission, shall be fingerprinted and have a criminal record check made as required by this subsection. The local unit of administration shall have the authority to employ a person holding such a certificate under a provisional or temporary contract for a maximum of 200 days and to employ a person who does not hold such a certificate for a maximum of 200 days, in order to allow for the receipt of the results of the criminal record check. Teachers, principals, and other certificated personnel whose employment in a local unit of administration is renewed pursuant to this subpart after July 1, 2000, shall have a criminal record check made as required by this subsection upon any certificate renewal application to the Professional Standards Commission. The local unit of administration shall adopt policies to provide for the subsequent criminal record checks of noncertificated personnel continued in employment in the local unit of administration.
(2) Fingerprints shall be in such form and of such quality as shall be acceptable for submission to the National Crime Information Center under standards adopted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the United States Department of Justice. It shall be the duty of each law enforcement agency in this state to fingerprint those persons required to be fingerprinted by this subsection.
(3) At the discretion of local units of administration, fees required for a criminal record check by the Georgia Crime Information Center, the National Crime Information Center, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or the United States Department of Justice shall be paid by the local unit of administration or by the individual seeking employment or making application to the Professional Standards Commission.
(4) It shall be the duty of the State Board of Education to submit this subsection to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for submission to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Department of Justice for their consent to conduct criminal record checks through the National Crime Information Center as required by federal law, rules, or regulations. No criminal record checks through the National Crime Information Center shall be required by this subsection unless and until such consent is given.
(5) Information provided by the Georgia Crime Information Center or the National Crime Information Center shall be used only for the purposes allowed by Code Section 35-3-35 or by applicable federal laws, rules, or regulations.
(6) The State Board of Education is authorized to adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out the provisions of this subsection.
(7) This subsection shall be repealed on January 1, 2011.