The following topics were discussed during the Georgia Professional Standards Commission’s (GaPSC) monthly meetings on Sept. 8-9, 2021:
Ethics Division
The GaPSC rejected a negotiated consent order to reprimand an educator accused of forging their co-workers’ signatures on at least one IEP. The commission felt that a harsher sanction was warranted due to the educator’s alleged intentional misconduct. The assistant attorney general stated that an honest mistake is not sufficient to show a violation of Standard 9: Professional Conduct.
Educator Preparation Division
The following Educator Preparation rules were adopted by the commission at the meeting:
505-3-.06 PEDAGOGY-ONLY PROGRAM – Rule 505-3-.06 will be amended to exclude from the list of eligible fields the new field of Reading Education (T) and to clarify the types of prior coursework eligible for evidence of content expertise at program admission.
505-3-.27 MATHEMATICS EDUCATION PROGRAM – Rule 505-3-.27 will be repealed and a new rule with the same number and the same title adopted in its place. The new rule reflects current content standards adapted from the standards published in 2020 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM).
505-3-.92 K–5 MATHEMATICS ENDORSEMENT PROGRAM – Rule 505-3-.92 will be repealed and a new rule with the same number and title adopted in its place. The new rule incorporates the new K-5 Mathematics standards published in 2020 by the NCTM and sunsets the portfolio review process for converting the former Early Childhood (ECE) Mathematics Endorsement to the K-5 Mathematics Endorsement used to qualify educators for the K-5 endorsement salary stipend.
These rules become effective Oct. 15, 2021
October GaPSC Meeting The next meetings will be on Oct. 13-14, 2021.