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Senate Bill 207
By: Senators Esteves of the 6th, Mallow of the 2nd, Islam of the 7th, Butler of the 55th,
Jackson of the 41st and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Subpart 2 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of
1
Georgia Annotated, relating to conditions of employment for professionals in elementary and2
secondary education, so as to revise the minimum base salary for certificated professional3
personnel with bachelor's degrees and from zero to two years of creditable service; to provide4
for periodic salary studies; to provide for exemptions; to provide for related matters; to repeal5
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7
SECTION 1.8
Subpart 2 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia9
Annotated, relating to conditions of employment for professionals in elementary and10
secondary education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-212, relating to salary11
schedules, as follows:12 23 LC 49 1230
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"20-2-212.
13
(a)(1)
The State Board of Education shall establish a schedule of minimum salaries for14
services rendered by teachers, administrators, and other certificated professional15
personnel employed by local units of administration which shall be on a ten-month basis16
and which shall be paid by local units of administration to the various classifications of17
professional personnel required to be certificated by the Professional Standards18
Commission. The minimum salary schedule shall provide a minimum salary base for19
each classification of professional personnel required to be certificated,; shall provide for20
increment increases above the minimum salary base of each classification based upon21
individual experience and length of satisfactory service,; and shall include such other22
uniformly applicable factors as the state board may find relevant to the establishment of23
such a schedule.24
(2) Effective July 1, 2023, the The minimum salary base for certificated professional25
personnel with a bachelor's degrees and no experience zero, one, or two years of26
creditable service, when annualized from a ten-month basis to a 12 month basis, shall be27
comparable to the beginning salaries of the recent graduates of the University System of28
Georgia holding bachelor's degrees and entering positions, excluding professional29
educator teaching positions, in Georgia having educational entry requirements30
comparable to the requirements for entry into Georgia public school teaching no less than31
$49,092.00.32
(3) The placement of teachers on the salary schedule of minimum salaries provided for33
in this subsection shall be based on certificate level and years of creditable experience,34
except service; provided, however, that a teacher shall not receive credit for any year of35
experience in which the teacher received an unsatisfactory or ineffective annual36
summative performance evaluation rating, or its equivalent, pursuant to Code37
Section 20-2-210 or for the second year of two consecutive years in which a teacher38
receives two consecutive annual summative received a needs development annual39 23 LC 49 1230
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summative performance rating, or its equivalent, ratings pursuant to Code40
Section 20-2-210.41
(4) Beginning in 2027, and not less than once every five years thereafter, the State Board42
of Education, through a study which shall include consultation with the Department of43
Administrative Services, the Department of Labor, the University System of Georgia, the44
Technical College System of Georgia, representatives of local units of administration,45
and such others as the State Board of Education may consult, shall determine whether to46
recommend to the General Assembly an adjustment to the minimum salaries provided for47
in this Code section. Not later than October 1 of the year in which such study is48
concluded, the State School Superintendent shall submit a report of such study to the49
House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate50
Appropriations Committee, and the Senate Education and Youth Committee.51
(b) The General Assembly shall annually appropriate funds to implement a salary schedule52
for certificated professional personnel. For each state fiscal year, the state board shall53
adopt the salary schedule for which funding has been appropriated by the General54
Assembly.55
(c)(1) A local unit of administration shall not pay to any full-time certificated56
professional employee personnel a salary less than that prescribed by the schedule of57
minimum salaries, except as required by this Code section; nor shall a local unit of58
administration pay to any part-time certificated professional employee personnel less than59
a pro rata portion of the respective salary prescribed by the schedule of minimum salaries,60
except as required by this Code section.61
(2) For purposes of this subsection, an educator's placement on the salary schedule shall62
not be based on a leadership degree, which shall mean a degree earned in conjunction63
with completion of an educator leadership preparation program approved by the64
Professional Standards Commission, unless the educator is employed in a leadership65
position as defined by the State Board of Education, but shall be placed on the salary66 23 LC 49 1230
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schedule position attributable to the educator but for the leadership degree; provided,
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however, that this shall not apply, regardless of whether or not he or she is in a leadership68
position, to:69
(1)
(A) An educator who possessed a leadership degree prior to July 1, 2010; or70
(2)(B) An educator who possessed:71
(A)(i) A master's level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2012;72
(B)(ii) An education specialist level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2013; or73
(C)(iii) A doctoral level leadership degree prior to July 1, 2014,74
so long as he or she was enrolled in such leadership preparation program on or before75
April 1, 2009.76
(b)(d) Local units of administration may supplement the salaries of personnel subject to77
the schedule of minimum salaries under subsection (a) of this Code section and, in fixing78
the amount of those supplements, may take into consideration the nature of duties to be79
performed, the responsibility of the position held, the subject matter or grades to be taught,80
and the experience and performance of the particular employee whose salary is being81
supplemented. In any fiscal year in which such personnel receive an increase under the82
minimum salary schedule, a local unit of administration shall not decrease any local salary83
supplement for such personnel below the local supplement amount received in the84
immediately preceding fiscal year by those personnel of that local unit of administration85
unless such local unit of administration has conducted at least two public hearings86
regarding such decrease, notice of which hearings, including the time, place, agenda, and87
specific subject matter of the meeting, the local unit shall cause to be published in the legal88
organ of the county which is the legal situs of such local unit one time at least seven days89
prior to the date such hearings are to be held. Written notice shall be provided to each90
employee subject to the schedule of minimum salaries under subsection (a) of this Code91
section at least seven days prior to the date of the hearings. Each such hearing shall be held92 23 LC 49 1230
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and shall commence after school hours to allow certificated and noncertificated personnel
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to attend.94
(c)
(e) A local unit of administration shall pay beginning classroom teachers the first salary95
payment for the number of days worked at the end of the first month of the school year in96
which service is rendered. The State Board of Education shall develop rules and97
procedures for implementing this subsection by July 1, 2001 2023.98
(f) The provisions of this Code section shall not apply to school principals or local school99
superintendents."100
SECTION 2.101
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.102