Outline of the state of Georgia
State
Georgia
Required

Category
School Climate Surveys

Category
School Climate Surveys

State law, regulation, or district policy requires districts to administer school climate surveys.

Georgia Parent School Climate Survey

The Georgia Parent Survey identifies issues that have a negative impact on student achievement and school climate.

Policy Type
Non-codified

Georgia School Personnel Survey

The Georgia School Personnel Survey identifies issues that have a negative impact on student achievement and school climate.

Policy Type
Non-codified

Georgia Student Health Survey (Grades 3-5)

The Georgia Student Health Survey identifies safety and health issues that have a negative impact on student achievement and school climate.

Policy Type
Non-codified

Georgia Student Health Survey (Grades 6-12)

The Georgia Student Health Survey identifies safety and health issues that have a negative impact on student achievement and school climate.

Policy Type
Non-codified

Official Code of Georgia Annotated 20-14-33. Indicators of quality of learning in individual schools and school systems; comparison to state Standard; rating schools andschool systems; providing information; uniform definition of "dropout" and "below grade level"

(a) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall adopt and annually review, and revise as necessary, indicators of the quality of learning by students, financial efficiency, and school climate for individual schools and for school systems.

(b) The performance indicators of quality of learning shall be based on data that include student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress. The performance indicators of quality of learning shall include all students regardless of ethnicity, sex, disability, language proficiency, and socioeconomic status and shall be disaggregated by all subgroups as required under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended.

(c) Performance on the indicators of quality of learning, financial efficiency, school climate, and any other indicators the office adopts shall be compared to state Standard, progress on improved student achievement, and comparable performance. The Standard for comparison shall be established by the office as provided in Code Section 20-14-31, in coordination with the Department of Education. Data and information regarding the Standard shall be included in the annual report provided for in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Code Section 20-14-27. Financial efficiency may include an analysis of how federal and state funds spent by local school systems impact student achievement and school improvement, and components used to determine financial efficiency may include actual achievement, resource efficiency, and student participation in standardized testing. School climate determinations may utilize data from student health surveys, data on environmental and behavior indicators, data on student behavioral and school-based reactions, and teacher and parent survey instruments. Financial efficiency and school climate shall have one of the following star ratings based upon the factors included in this subsection, as further defined by rules and regulations of the office:

  • (1) "5-star" schools ranked excellent according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate;
  • (2) "4-star" schools ranked above average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate;
  • (3) "3-star" schools ranked average according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate;
  • (4) "2-star" schools ranked below satisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate; or
  • (5) "1-star" schools ranked unsatisfactory according to the state determined financial efficiency or school climate index, as appropriate.

(d) The office, in coordination with the Department of Education, shall establish and annually calculate individual school and school system ratings, which shall be a numerical score on a scale of 0-100, for each public school and school system in this state based on the indicators of quality of learning adopted pursuant to this Code section for student achievement, achievement gap closure, and student progress with a majority of the score based on student achievement.

Policy Type
Statute

Official Code of Georgia Annotated 20-14-34. School and system report cards; required information; dissemination of reports

(a) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute to each school system in the State of Georgia a report card for each school in the school system and for the school system. The report cards shall include performance data on quality of learning, financial efficiency, and school climate as calculated pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33 and based on the most current data available disaggregated by student groups. This report card on schools shall be the official state education performance report and supersedes all other reports that may be issued by departments of the state government for matters of funding, awards, and interventions.

(b) The report cards shall include the following information, where applicable:

  • (1) The individual school and school system ratings in a numerical format as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33;
  • (2) A financial efficiency rating for each school and school system;
  • (3) A school climate rating for each school and school system;
  • (4) An explanation of the criteria that informs the school and school system rating; and
  • (5) An explanation of the criteria that informs the financial efficiency and school climate ratings.

(c) Each school year, the office shall prepare and distribute a state-wide report card, aggregated by school systems and disaggregated by student groups, reporting on the performance results of each school and each school system in the state and a rating for each school and each school system as provided for in subsection (d) of Code Section 20-14-33 and subsection (a) of this Code section.

(d) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules requiring dissemination of appropriate portions of school and school system report cards annually to the parent, guardian, conservator, or other person having lawful control of each student at the school. On written request, the local school system shall provide a copy of a school or school system report card to any other party. These report cards shall be posted on the Office of Student Achievement website, the Department of Education website, and the existing website of such local school system.

Policy Type
Statute

Official Code of Georgia Annotated 20-2-690.2. Establishment of student attendance and school climate committee; membership; summary of penalties for failure to comply; review and policy recommendations; reporting

(f) The committee shall review and make recommendations for policies relating to school climate for the purpose of promoting positive gains in student achievement scores, student and teacher morale, community support, and student and teacher attendance, while decreasing student suspensions, expulsions, dropouts, and other negative aspects of the total school environment. Such review may include school climate ratings established pursuant to Code Section 20-14-33 for each school in the county school system and any independent school systems, if applicable. The committee may review, if available, nonidentifying data from student health surveys, data on environmental and behavioral indicators, data on student behavioral and school-based reactions, and teacher and parent survey instruments. The committee may recommend the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports and response to intervention, trauma informed care training, and the optimization of local resources through voluntary community, student, teacher, administrator, and other school personnel participation.

Policy Type
Statute