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Senate Bill 249
By: Senators Dixon of the 45th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Burns of the 23rd, Harbin of the 16th,
Hickman of the 4th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
1
Annotated, relating to competencies and core curriculum under the "Quality Basic Education2
Act," so as to provide that, beginning in the 2031-2032 school year, a computer science3
course shall be a high school graduation requirement; to provide for certain computer science4
courses to be substituted for units of credit graduation requirements in certain other subject5
areas; to provide for such exception; to revise legislative findings; to provide for related6
matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.7
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:8
SECTION 1.9
Part 2 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,10
relating to competencies and core curriculum under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is11
amended by revising Code Section 20-2-149.3, relating to requirements for computer science12
education, as follows:13
"20-2-149.3.14
(a) The General Assembly finds that:15
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(1) Education in computer science is a critical need for the students of Georgia for the16
twenty-first century; and17
(2) Less than 0.5 percent of high school graduates have taken a computer science course;18
(3) There are thousands of unfulfilled computer science jobs in the state; and19
(4) The logical critical thinking skills taught by computer science are now very valuable20
in many noncomputer science jobs, as technology has become embedded in most21
professions.22
(b) As used in this Code section, the term:23
(1) 'Computer science' means the study of computers, algorithmic processes, coding,24
artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and logical critical thinking, including25
computer principles, their hardware and software designs, their implementation, and their26
impact on society.27
(2) 'Computer science courses and content' means high school courses that teach28
computer science as stand-alone implementations and middle school courses that provide29
instruction in computer science in stand-alone implementations or by being embedded30
in other subjects and focus on how to create and understand technology, rather than by31
simply using technology.32
(3) 'High-quality professional learning' means professional development activities that:33
(A) Clarify the conceptual foundations of computer science;34
(B) Teach research based practices, including hands-on and inquiry based learning; and35
(C) Are intended for teachers with or without prior exposure to computer science.36
(4) 'High-quality professional learning providers' means institutions of higher education37
in this state, local school systems, nonprofit organizations, or private entities that have38
successfully designed, implemented, and scaled high-quality professional learning for39
teachers and are approved or recommended by the State Board of Education in40
coordination with the Department of Education.41
(5) 'Offer' means providing a course taught by a computer science teacher:42
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(A) Who is onsite at the physical location of the school; or
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(B) Who is not onsite at the physical location of the school but conducts the course44
through virtual means with a proctor onsite at the physical location of the school.45
(c)(1) Beginning in the 2022-2023 school year:46
(A) Each local school system shall provide that at least one high school in its school47
system offer a course in computer science;48
(B) Each local school system shall provide that all middle schools in its school system49
offer instruction in exploratory computer science;50
(C) Each state charter school that serves high school students shall offer a course in51
computer science;52
(D) Each state charter school that serves middle school students shall offer instruction53
in exploratory computer science;54
(E) Each local school system may provide that all elementary schools in its school55
system offer instruction in exploratory computer science; and56
(F) Each state charter school that serves elementary school students may offer57
instruction in exploratory computer science.58
(2) Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, each local school system shall provide that59
at least 50 percent of the high schools in its school system offer a course in computer60
science.61
(3) Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, each local school system shall provide that62
all high schools in its school system offer a course in computer science.63
(4)(A) Beginning in the 2031-2032 school year, each local board of education shall
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require all students, as a condition of graduation from high school, to complete a course65
in computer science or a career, technical, and agricultural education (CTAE) course66
embedded with computer science which meets the requirements provided in67
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.68
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(B) The course required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph may be earned by69
students in any of grades eight through 12 and shall:70
(i) Meet or exceed the content standards and any other requirements prescribed by71
the State Board of Education for such courses;72
(ii) Be made available in a traditional classroom setting, a blended learning73
environment, or an online or other technology based format that is tailored to meet the74
needs of each participating student; and75
(iii) Not increase the number of credits required for graduation.76
(C)(i) Except as provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph, a full-credit computer77
science course that meets the requirements provided in subparagraph (B) of this78
paragraph shall be eligible to satisfy the course required in subparagraph (A) of this79
paragraph and one unit of credit graduation requirement for one of the following:80
(I) One unit of math credit; provided, however, that such unit of credit shall not be81
a substitute for Algebra: Concepts and Connections or its equivalent, Geometry:82
Concepts and Connections or its equivalent, or Advanced Algebra: Concepts and83
Connections or its equivalent;84
(II) One unit of science credit; provided, however, that such unit of credit shall not85
be a substitute for any biology or physical science requirements;86
(III) One unit of CTAE credit;87
(IV) One unit of Modern Language or Latin credit;88
(V) One unit of Fine Arts credit; or89
(VI) One unit of elective credit.90
(ii) A student may be permitted to earn more than one unit of credit graduation91
requirement by completing more than one computer science course that implements92
a minimum course of instruction based on content standards prescribed by the State93
Board of Education and which is separate and distinct from such other computer94
science course completed by such student, and such student may be permitted to use95
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multiple units of credit to offset other graduation requirements as provided in this96
subparagraph; provided, however, that a student shall not be permitted to offset more97
than one unit of math credit and one unit of science credit; and, provided further, that98
there shall be no limit to the number of offsets permitted for units of CTAE or elective99
credits.100
(D)(i) Except as provided in division (ii) of this subparagraph, a full-credit CTAE101
course embedded with computer science that meets the requirements provided in102
subparagraph (B) of this paragraph shall be eligible to satisfy the full-credit course103
required in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and one unit of credit graduation104
requirement for one of the following:105
(I) One unit of CTAE credit; or106
(II) One unit of elective credit.107
(ii) A student may be permitted to earn more than one unit of credit graduation108
requirement by completing more than one CTAE course embedded with computer109
science that implements a minimum course of instruction based on content standards110
prescribed by the State Board of Education and which is separate and distinct from111
such other computer science course completed by such student, and such student may112
be permitted to use multiple units of credit to offset other graduation requirements as113
provided in this subparagraph.114
(E) The Department of Education shall establish, and the State Board of Education115
shall approve, the minimum criteria by with a CTAE course embedded with computer116
science may be approved.117
(d) The Department of Education shall ensure that the Georgia Virtual School operated118
pursuant to Code Section 20-2-319.1 has sufficient capacity to enable schools to utilize119
computer science courses to meet the needs of such schools as a result of this Code section.120
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(e)(1) Subject to appropriations, grants shall be provided to eligible entities to deliver
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professional development programs for teachers providing instruction in computer122
science courses and content.123
(2) Eligible entities shall include local school systems, consortia of local school systems,124
local charter schools, state charter schools, and high-quality professional learning125
providers working in partnership with local school systems.126
(3) Criteria for grant awards to eligible entities pursuant to this subsection shall include:127
(A) The number of teachers in a local school system that require training and the128
number of teachers in a local school system that have already received training; and129
(B) The willingness of local school systems to make available their teachers who have130
received training in computer science courses and content to provide computer science131
instruction in another local school system or systems.132
(4) The Department of Education shall submit a report on December 1 of each year to133
the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the134
chairperson of the Senate Education and Youth Committee, and the chairperson of the135
House Committee on Education. Such report shall include the number of teachers136
trained, the number of schools offering training, the number of students served and the137
demographics of such students, and a list of the eligible entities that provided the138
training."139
SECTION 2.140
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.141
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