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For a number of years the PSC had "licensed" paraprofessionals
and aides by establishing broad guidelines that were implemented through
local control. Requirements included 50 clock hours of job-related training
and 20 clock hours for renewal, but there was no mention of hiring eligibility
criteria. Based on those guidelines, local school systems developed their
own specific training curriculum, maintained all records and issued a
PSC-produced license form.
With the implementation of new Federal ESEA
guidelines, Georgia's old paraprofessional licensing system was replaced with a new certification
system. It is important to understand that while the Federal ESEA hiring
criteria apply only to designated paraprofessional positions, ALL Georgia
paraprofessionals must hold a valid state certificate issued by the
PSC. As stated in ESEA, it is a local school responsibility to ensure that those paraprofessionals required
to meet federal guidelines are in compliance. Although specific training hours are
no longer mandated for certification, the administration of locally
developed training programs is strongly encouraged. Local systems will
apply electronically for certificates using the online
paraprofessional certificate request system, available on www.gapsc.org
.
To ensure that the new certification process is completed in a timely
manner, each school system must electronically apply for certificates
for all paraprofessionals employed in their system, regardless of the
initial hiring dates.
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Online Paraprofessional Certification Request System |
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A. |
To support the electronic
issuance of Paraprofessional certificates and establish a state
database of those individuals, PSC has implemented an online
certificate request system as part of www.gapsc.org
, our secure transaction portal.
Basic characteristics of the parapro certificate request system include:
1.) Modeled after the ACRES renewal system;
2.) Web-based database information displayed on PSC certification
channel;
3.) An authorized operator at each school system to enter electronic
data;
4.) Certificate printed at PSC, mailed to employing school system;
5.) Database includes: Name; address; social security number; employing
system; beginning/ending validity; educational level; verification
of renewal requirements and that documentation is maintained at local
level;
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B. |
More than 140 school system representatives attended the drive-through training
session in Macon on August 29 2002. Discussions focused
on the Georgia Paraprofessional initiative, an update on changes to
the testing procedure and current status, as well as user training on
the online system. |
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