| (1) |
The Commission.
| (a) |
Membership.
| 1. |
Composition. The Commission
is composed of seventeen members as follows: four elementary school teachers,
four secondary school teachers, one elementary school principal, one secondary
school principal, two Local Superintendents, one representative of the State
Department, and four professional educators who shall represent the educational
profession at large. |
| 2. |
Qualifications. To be eligible for appointment as a member of the
Commission, a person shall be a citizen of the United States and a resident of
this State; be certified by the Professional Standards Commission for teaching
in this State; except for the representative of the State Department, be
employed in the public schools of this State at the time of appointment; and
except for the representative of the State Department, have been employed as an
educator in the public schools of this State for at least five years
immediately preceding his or her appointment. |
| 3. |
Nomination. A panel of three
nominees of each position on the Commission shall be submitted to the State
Superintendent by the recognized state-wide professional educational
organizations. From this submitted list of nominees, the State Superintendent
shall recommend the appointment of an educator for membership on the Commission
to the Georgia Board of Education, which shall appoint such nominee to the
Commission for a term of three years. A Commissioner shall be eligible for
reappointment, but no person shall serve on the Commission for more than two
full terms. |
| 4. |
Oath.
Immediately after appointment and before entering into their official duties,
each member of the Commission shall take or subscribe to the following oath:
I, ________________, a citizen of the United States and a
resident of this State, and being an employee of ______________________ and the
recipient of public funds for services as such employee, do solemnly swear or
affirm that I am not the holder of any unaccounted for public money due this
State; that I am not the holder of any office of trust under the government of
the United States except postmaster, nor any one of the states, nor of any
foreign state; that I am otherwise qualified to hold the office of member of
the Professional Practices Commission according to the Constitution and laws of
Georgia; that I will faithfully and impartially perform all the duties of
office to which I have been appointed; that I will serve to the best of my
ability the public interest in improving the teaching profession in Georgia,
ever keeping the welfare and general good of students before me. I will observe
and support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Georgia and
all laws, rules, and regulations attendant thereon; and I will, in the
performance of the office, commit myself to judge my colleagues and be judged
by them in accordance with the provisions of law, regulation, and the rules of
the Georgia Professional Practices Commission. So help me God.
|
| 5. |
Compensation. The
members of the Commission receive no compensation for their services but shall
be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses, as provided by law,
incurred in the performance of their official duties and for mileage at the
same rate as State officials and employees. A member of the Commission who is
an employee of the State Department or of a local board shall be permitted to
attend Commission meetings and perform other Commission duties without loss of
income or other benefits. A Local Board which employs a member of the
Commission and employs a person to replace such member during his or her
performance of Commission duties or incurs other additional expenses as a
result of such performance shall be reimbursed for the actual amount of
expenses so incurred. |
| 6. |
Privileged Utterances. When acting in good faith in the course of
their duties at meetings or hearings of the Commission, members shall be
privileged in their utterances. |
| 7. |
Removal and Vacancies. The Commission may remove any Commissioner
from office of neglect of duty, incompetency, or revocation or suspension of
his or her certificate issued by the Professional Standards Commission or when
such Commissioner ceases to be employed full-time as an educator in the
capacity and position from which he or she was appointed. After such removal,
or in the event of a vacancy due to death, resignation, or for any other
reason, the State Board shall appoint a successor in the same manner as the
predecessor was appointed to serve the unexpired term. |
|
| (b) |
Officers. The members of the
Commission shall elect from their number a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson
both of whom shall serve two-year terms. The Chairperson shall preside at all
meetings of the Commission and shall not vote in any matters except in the
event of a tie. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson shall
preside and function as appropriate at any necessary meetings which the
Chairperson would normally attend. The Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson shall
be members of the Executive Committee. |
| (c) |
Executive Committee. The
Executive Committee shall be composed of five members; namely, the Chairperson,
the Vice-Chairperson, and three Commissioners, all of whom shall serve two-year
Committee terms. Executive Committee members shall be elected by the members of
the Commission in the last regularly scheduled Commission meeting of each
calendar year. Staggered terms on the Executive Committee shall be provided.
The responsibilities of the Executive Committee include, but are not limited
to, making findings of probable cause in certain case investigations and making
recommendations to the Commission concerning policy, budget matters, official
opinions, agenda of meetings and giving appropriate consideration to all
matters and case work coming before the Commission. |
| (d) |
Standing Committees. For the
purposes of efficiently carrying out its duties, the Commission shall be
divided into committees as deemed necessary, and two shall be designated as
Standing Committees. The Chairperson and the membership of the committees shall
be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission. It will be the duty of the
committees to make recommendations to the Commission on matters referred to the
committees by the Chairperson of the Commission. The following committees shall
be Standing Committees:
| 1. |
Interpretation Committee. The Interpretation Committee shall be
composed of five members. |
| 2. |
Review Committee. The Review Committee shall be composed of three
members and an alternate. |
|
| (e) |
Meetings.
| 1. |
Time, Place and Date of Regular
Meetings. The Commission conducts four regular meetings each calendar
year or the second Friday of the months of March, July, October and December in
the Offices of the Professional Practices Commission, Suite 2010, Building 20,
Executive Park West, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30329. All regular meetings begin
at the hour of 10:00 a.m. and are preceded by a meeting of the Executive
Committee which meets at the same location at the hour of 8:30 a.m. |
| 2. |
Open Meetings Requirements.
The Commission shall post notice of any meeting conducted by the Commission or
its committees at its regular meeting place and will give due notice for any
changes in regular meetings except under special circumstances which call for
an emergency meeting. An agenda detailing the subjects acted upon and naming
the members present at the meetings will be provided and made available to the
public within two business days of adjournment of every meeting. Minutes will
be promptly recorded and made available to the public once approved but no
later than immediately after the next meeting. |
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