|
A safe learning environment for all students is a top priority for everyone in Georgia. A critical factor in establishing and maintaining that safe environment is appropriate and professional educator conduct.
Through the operations of the Ethics Division, GaPSC safeguards that environment by setting, communicating and enforcing clear standards for how educators are expected to conduct themselves with students, with one another, and within the broader community. The guidelines are set forth in the educator Code of Ethics and are communicated throughout school systems and to the Georgia public.
The Ethics Division has a highly qualified team of investigators, many with law enforcement experience, as well as legal and support staff. The division has the authority to enforce the guidelines by fully investigating valid complaints of improper conduct, including inappropriate relationships; mishandling public funds; violating state and federal laws and rules, and other actions endangering or harming students. In addition, the Ethics Division investigates all applicants for certification that have a criminal history to ensure that the applicant presents no threat to Georgia’s children. When appropriate, the GaPSC may impose disciplinary sanctions ranging from warnings to certificate suspensions or revocations.
In the last five years, the Ethics Division has investigated 7,132 cases and formally sanctioned 2,552 educators. Of those cases, the investigations revealed that 613 of the educators placed students at serious risk. As a result, those individuals were removed from the classroom and the profession through the denial or revocation of their professional educator certificates. While even a single case of educator misconduct is always unacceptable, it is important to keep in mind that the number of educators putting students in harms way is a tiny percentage of the more than 135,000 professional educators employed in Georgia public schools.
|
