Hiring Policy
Emergency License(s) Availability: Georgia allows one-year waiver certificates to be issued at the request of an employing school system to individuals who have not satisfied all certification requirements, including content assessments. To be eligible for a waiver certificate, the applicant must have a bachelor's degree and adequate time to complete requirements within one year.
Emergency License Validity Period: Georgia's waiver certificate is valid for one year and may not be renewed.
COVID-19 State Policy: Georgia has implemented the following changes to its rules regarding Emergency and Provisional Licensure. Waiver certificate holders with certificates expiring June 30, 2020 may extend the certificate for one year with verification of support from the employing district. COVID-19 policies do not
affect the state's grade in Emergency and Provisional Licensure.
Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers: Because licensure requirements for out-of-state teachers are scored in Requirements for Out-of-State Teachers, only the state's policies regarding emergency/provisional
license(s) are considered as part of this goal.
Ensure that all teachers pass required subject-matter licensing tests before they enter the classroom.
Georgia's policy offering waiver certificates for one year minimizes the risks inherent in having teachers in classrooms who lack appropriate subject-matter knowledge; however, the state could strengthen its
policy by requiring all teachers to meet subject-matter licensure requirements
prior to entering the classroom.
Georgia did not respond to NCTQ's request to review this analysis for accuracy.
6B: Provisional and Emergency Licensure
Teachers who have not passed content licensing tests place students at risk. While states may need a regulatory basis for filling classroom positions with a few people who do not hold full teaching credentials, many of the regulations permitting this put the instructional needs of children at risk, often year after year.[1] For example, schools can make liberal use of provisional certificates or waivers provided by the state if they fill classroom positions with instructors who have completed a teacher preparation program but have not passed their state licensing tests. These allowances are permitted for up to three years in some states. The unfortunate consequence is that students' needs are neglected in an effort to extend personal consideration to adults who cannot meet minimum state standards.[2]
While some flexibility may be necessary because licensing tests are not always administered with the needed frequency, making provisional certificates and waivers available year after year could signal that the state does not put much value on its licensing standards or what they represent. States accordingly need to ensure that all persons given full charge of children's learning are required to pass the relevant licensing tests in their first year of teaching, ideally before they enter the classroom. Licensing tests are an important minimum benchmark in the profession, and states that allow teachers to postpone passing these tests are abandoning one of the basic responsibilities of licensure.