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The following topics were discussed during the Georgia Professional Standards Commission's ("GaPSC") monthly meeting on November 13, 2014:
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Certification and Educator Prep. Divisions
An article regarding tiered certification and GACE should be published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution soon.
The Commission established passing scores for the Georgia Educator Ethics Assessment - Program Exit, beginning with the January 1, 2015, launch of that test. For anyone seeking an Induction certificate as of January 1, 2015, the passing scores on the Ethics Assessment will be:
- Modules 3, 4, 5 and 7 - 9 out of 12 (75%)
- Module 6 - 6 out of 12 (50%)
- End of course summative score - 23 out of 32 (~72%)
More information about the Induction Certificate and tiered certification may be found here.
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Ethics Division
"Monitoring" and "Warning" are officially listed in the Code of Ethics for Educators as disciplinary sanctions the GaPSC may impose. While they're still listed, the GaPSC doesn't monitor any more and rarely issues warnings.
The GaPSC noted that it has a relatively high number of cases involving paraprofessionals.
Social media continues to be an emerging area of concern. The Commission recommended a 60 days suspension for a teacher who allegedly posted inappropriate, non-sexual comments on Twitter. Some of his students followed his Twitter account.
The GaPSC follows a progressive discipline policy for certificate-holders who've been investigated repeatedly. The Commission recommended a 90 days suspension for an educator accused of using physical force against a student. The same educator previously received a reprimand from the GaPSC for a similar allegation in the past.
If one pled under the Georgia First Offender Act and successfully completed his probation sentence, the case will, for all intents and purposes, be discharged. However, for certification purposes, he should disclose that plea. In other words, an educator should disclose a plea under the Georgia First Offender Act to the GaPSC, especially when applying for initial certification or renewal.
The GaPSC recognizes that educators make many ethical decisions every day, many of which are in gray areas.
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