Current through 2023-2024 Legislative Session Chapters 1-374, 376-386, 393, 394, 397, 398, 406-412, 414, 415, 421, 424, 427, 429, 430, 432-456, 460, 461, 471, 473, 475, 478, 480, 483, 484, 488, 490
Section 20-1-11 - Advocating for divisive concepts; prohibition on discrimination; practice of tolerance and mutual respect encouraged; complaint resolution policies; inspection of records; waivers prohibited(a) As used in this Code section, the term: (1) "Divisive concepts" means any of the following concepts, including views espousing such concepts: (A) One race is inherently superior to another race;(B) The United States of America is fundamentally racist;(C) An individual, by virtue of his or her race, is inherently or consciously racist or oppressive toward individuals of other races;(D) An individual should be discriminated against or receive adverse treatment solely or partly because of his or her race;(E) An individual's moral character is inherently determined by his or her race;(F) An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, bears individual responsibility for actions committed in the past by other individuals of the same race;(G) An individual, solely by virtue of his or her race, should feel anguish, guilt, or any other form of psychological distress;(H) Performance-based advancement or the recognition and appreciation of character traits such as a hard work ethic are racist or have been advocated for by individuals of a particular race to oppress individuals of another race; or(I) Any other form of race scapegoating or race stereotyping.(2) "Espousing personal political beliefs" means an individual, while performing official duties as part of his or her employment or engagement with a school or local school system, intentionally encouraging or attempting to persuade or indoctrinate a student, school community member, or other school personnel to agree with or advocate for such individual's personal beliefs concerning divisive concepts.(3) "Race scapegoating" means assigning fault or blame to a race, or to an individual of a particular race because of his or her race. Such term includes, but is not limited to, any claim that an individual of a particular race, consciously and by virtue of his or her race, is inherently racist or is inherently inclined to oppress individuals of other races.(4) "Race stereotyping" means ascribing character traits, values, moral or ethical codes, status, or beliefs to an individual because of his or her race.(b) Each local board of education, local school superintendent, and the governing body of each charter school shall prohibit employees from discriminating against students and other employees based on race.(c)(1) Each local board of education, local school superintendent, and the governing body of each charter school shall ensure that curricula and training programs encourage employees and students to practice tolerance and mutual respect and to refrain from judging others based on race.(2) Each school and local school system may provide curricula or training programs that foster learning and workplace environments where all students, employees, and school community members are respected; provided, however, that any curriculum, classroom instruction, or mandatory training program, whether delivered or facilitated by school personnel or a third party engaged by a school or local school system, shall not advocate for divisive concepts.(d) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed or applied to:(1) Inhibit or violate the rights protected by the Constitutions of Georgia and the United States of America or undermine intellectual freedom and free expression;(2) Infringe upon the intellectual vitality of students and employees of local boards of education, local school systems, or other schools;(3) Prohibit a local board of education, local school system, or other school from promoting concepts such as tolerance, mutual respect, cultural sensitivity, or cultural competency; provided, however, that such efforts do not conflict with the requirements of this Code section and other applicable laws;(4) Prohibit a school administrator, teacher, other school personnel, or an individual facilitating a training program from responding in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs to questions regarding specific divisive concepts raised by students, school community members, or participants in a training program;(5) Prohibit the discussion of divisive concepts, as part of a larger course of instruction, in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs;(6) Prohibit the full and rigorous implementation of curricula, or elements of a curriculum, that are required as part of advanced placement, international baccalaureate, or dual enrollment coursework; provided, however, that such implementation is done in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs;(7) Prohibit the use of curricula that addresses the topics of slavery, racial oppression, racial segregation, or racial discrimination, including topics relating to the enactment and enforcement of laws resulting in racial oppression, segregation, and discrimination in a professionally and academically appropriate manner and without espousing personal political beliefs;(8) Create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against a local board of education, local school system, or other school, or the departments, agencies, entities, officers, employees, agents, or any other personnel affiliated with such local board of education, local school system, or other school; or(9) Prohibit a state or federal court or agency of competent jurisdiction from ordering training or other remedial action that discusses divisive concepts due to a finding of discrimination, including discrimination based on race.(e)(1) No later than August 1, 2022, each local board of education and the governing body of each charter school shall adopt a complaint resolution policy to address complaints alleging violations of any provision of subsections (b) through (d) of this Code section. The complaint resolution policy shall provide that: (A) A school or local school system shall not be required to respond to a complaint made pursuant to this subsection unless it is made by:(i) The parent of a student enrolled at the school where the alleged violation occurred;(ii) A student who has reached the age of majority or is a lawfully emancipated minor and who is enrolled at the school where the alleged violation occurred; or(iii) An individual employed as a school administrator, teacher, or other school personnel at the school where the alleged violation occurred;(B) The complaint shall first be submitted in writing to the principal of the school where the alleged violation occurred;(C) The complaint shall provide a reasonably detailed description of the alleged violation;(D)(i) Within five school days of receiving such written complaint, the school principal or a designee of the charter school or local school system shall review the complaint and take reasonable steps to investigate the allegations in the complaint;(ii) Within ten school days of receiving the complaint, unless another schedule is mutually agreed to by the complainant and the school principal or the designee of the charter school or local school system, the school principal or such designee shall confer with the complainant and inform the complainant whether a violation occurred, in whole or in part, and, if such a violation was found to have occurred, what remedial steps have been or will be taken; provided, however, that the confidentiality of student or personnel information shall not be violated; and(iii) Following such conference, within three school days of a request by the complainant, the school principal or the designee of the charter school or local school system shall provide to the complainant a written summary of the findings of the investigation and a statement of remedial measures, if any; provided, however, that such written response shall not disclose any confidential student or personnel information;(E) The determinations provided for in subparagraph (D) of this paragraph shall be reviewed by the governing body of a state charter school or the local school superintendent or his or her designee, as applicable, within ten school days of receiving a written request for such review by the complainant addressed to the governing body of a state charter school or the local school superintendent, as applicable; provided, however, that confidential student or personnel matters shall not be subject to review pursuant to this subparagraph; and(F)(i) The local school superintendent's decision following the review provided for in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph shall be subject to review by the local board of education as provided in Code Section 20-2-1160; provided, however, that confidential student or personnel matters shall not be subject to review pursuant to this division; and(ii) The decision of the governing body of a state charter school following the review provided for in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph shall be subject to review by the State Charter Schools Commission, whereupon the State Charter Schools Commission shall take appropriate remedial measures, including, but not limited to, revocation of a state charter school's charter; provided, however, that confidential student or personnel matters shall not be subject to review pursuant to this division.(2) Following a decision by a local board of education regarding a complaint made pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, any party aggrieved by the decision of the local board of education shall have the right to appeal such decision to the State Board of Education for a hearing as provided in Code Section 20-2-1160.(3) The State Board of Education shall, after hearing an appeal brought pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, make written findings regarding whether any violations of any provision of subsections (b) through (d) of this Code section occurred at a school in such school system. If the State Board of Education finds that one or more such violations occurred, it shall direct the Department of Education to develop a corrective action plan to be provided to the local school system within ten days of such finding, and the local school system shall have 30 days to implement the corrective action plan. If the State Board of Education finds that such local school system has not implemented the corrective action plan: (A)(i) In cases where the local school system at issue has been granted one or more waivers as provided in Article 4 of Chapter 2 of this title, Code Section 20-2-244, or Code Section 20-2-2065, the State Board of Education shall order the immediate suspension of one or more waivers included in the local school system's contract with the State Board of Education providing for such waivers;(ii) The State Board of Education shall exercise discretion in determining which waivers shall be subject to such order of suspension and shall, as may be reasonable and practicable, narrowly tailor such order to address specific violations of provisions of subsections (b) through (d) of this Code section; and(iii) An order suspending a local school system's waivers pursuant to division (i) of this subparagraph shall be in effect for no less than 12 months from the date of such order and, if the remainder of the current term of such local school system's contract with the State Board of Education providing for waivers is greater than 12 months, then no longer than such remainder; and(B) In cases where the local school system at issue has not been granted a waiver as provided in Article 4 of Chapter 2 of this title, Code Section 20-2-244, or Code Section 20-2-2065, the State Board of Education shall refer the matter to the State School Superintendent to determine whether to exercise his or her suspension authority as provided in Code Section 20-2-34.(4) No later than July 1, 2022, the State Board of Education shall promulgate a model policy to assist schools and local school systems with establishing a complaint resolution process that meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection. The Department of Education shall develop guidance for schools and local school systems for use when determining whether violations of subsections (b) through (d) of this Code section have occurred. The Department of Education shall be authorized to revise such guidance from time to time.(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any cause of action available at law or in equity to a complainant who is aggrieved by a decision of a local board of education, the governing body of a charter school, or the State Charter Schools Commission made pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1) of this subsection.(f)(1) Any individual described in divisions (e)(1)(A)(i) through (iii) of this Code section shall have the right at any time, including prior to filing a complaint as provided in subsection (e) of this Code section, to request, in writing, from the local school superintendent or school principal nonconfidential records which he or she reasonably believes may substantiate a complaint under this Code section. The local school superintendent or school principal shall produce such records for inspection within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three business days of receipt of a request. In those instances where some, but not all, of the records requested are available for inspection within three business days, the local school superintendent or school principal shall make available within that period such records that are available for inspection. In any instance where some or all of such records are unavailable within three business days of receipt of the request, and such information exists, the local school superintendent or school principal shall, within such time period, provide the requester with a description of such records and a timeline for when the records will be available for inspection and shall provide the records or access thereto as soon as practicable but in no case later than 30 days after receipt of the request.(2) If the local school superintendent or school principal denies a parent's request for records or does not provide existing responsive records within 30 days, the parent may appeal such denial or failure to respond to the local board of education or charter school governing board. The local board of education or charter school governing board must place such appeal on the agenda for its next public meeting. If it is too late for such appeal to appear on the next meeting's agenda, the appeal must be included on the agenda for the subsequent meeting.(3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any cause of action available at law or in equity to a parent who is aggrieved by a decision of a local board of education or the governing body of a charter school made pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection.(g) This Code section shall not be subject to waivers pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for a strategic waivers school system; Code Section 20-2-244 for a local board of education; Code Section 20-2-2063.2 for a charter system; or Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school established pursuant to Article 31 or Article 31A of this chapter, a charter system, or schools within a charter system.Added by 2022 Ga. Laws 719,§ 1-2, eff. 7/1/2022.