Georgia Professional Standards Commission Meeting Report - May 2025

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) met virtually May 7 and 8.

Executive Secretary Update

GaPSC Executive Secretary Jody Barrow highlighted the April 23, 2025, Teacher Pipeline Summit hosted at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. Barrow said the summit was rooted in SB 88 by Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell), which passed in the 2021 legislative session, and will closely align with SR 237 by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro), which urges the GaSPC to develop recommendations to strengthen the K-12 educator workforce and pipeline for teachers and school leaders.

The GaPSC continues to seek input from education stakeholders, including PAGE, on its Artificial Intelligence (AI) guidance regarding ethical AI use by educators, which will be in place before the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Barrow closed his report by highlighting a recent performance audit of Georgia's return-to-work program for retired educators. GaPSC, the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), and the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia (TRS) participated in the audit.

GACE Standard Setting Process - Ethics Assessment

GaPSC program director Anne Marie Fenton and representatives from Evaluation Systems, Pearson (ES), continued to educate and inform commissioners of the process for setting the passing score for new GACE assessments. The commission also approved the passing score for the Ethics Assessment portion of the redesigned GACE. The proposed passing score for the GACE Ethics for Teachers assessment will be 23 out of 30, and the passing score for the GACE Ethics for Leaders assessment will be 25 out of 30.

Rules

The commission granted final approval to several Certification Rules being updated to comply with HB 538 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), the Georgia Early Literacy Act, approved in 2023. For information on each rule change, click here (note the open comment period described in the document is now closed):

• 505-2-.04 - Induction Certificate

• 505-2-.22 - Certification by State-Approved Program

• 505-2-.26 - Certification and Licensure Assessment

• 505-2-.05 - Professional Certificate

• 505-2-.45 - Montessori Certificate

• 505-2-.46 - Military Support Certificate

• 505-2-.09 - Non-Renewable Professional Certificate

• 505-2-.21 - Certification by Interstate Reciprocity

• 505-2-.10 - Permit

• 505-2-.24 - Special Georgia Requirements

• 202-2-.34 - Add a Field

• 505-2-.36 - Renewal Requirements

• 505-2-.87 - Healthcare Science

• 505-2-.90 - Career and Technical Specializations

The commission also granted final approval to the following Educator Preparation Rules related to changes in Georgia's literacy program. For information on each of these changes, click here (note the open comment period described in the document is now closed):

• 505-3-.01 - Requirements and Standards for Approving Educator Preparation Providers and Educator Preparation Programs

• 505-3-.76 - Alternative Preparation for Educational Leadership Program

• 505-3-.77 - Educational Leadership Program

Educator Preparation & Certification

The commission took the following action on several Educator Preparation & Certification Committee recommendations:

Clayton State University

• Removed an area for improvement (AFI) for Standard 6.6, Preparation for the Teaching of Reading, Literacy, and Language

First District RESA

• Granted Continuing Approval for all standards met for First District RESA's Educator Preparation Program (EPP) and Georgia Teacher Academy for Preparation and Pedagogy (TAPP) program, with several AFIs and a progress report due Nov. 7, 2025. GaPSC staff said most of the evidence the RESA needed to show was available; however, the following AFIs are in place due to several links in the file upload that were not working:

  • Standard 3.3 - Competency at Completion

  • Standard 4.1 - Completer Effectiveness

  • Standard 4.2 - Satisfaction of Employers

  • Standard 4.3 - Satisfaction of Completers

  • Standard 5.2 - Data Quality

  • Standard 5.3 - Stakeholder Involvement

  • Standard 5.4 - Continuous Improvement

  • Standard 1.2 for the Georgia TAPP program - Instructional Practice

Georgia Southern University

• Granted Developmental Approval for the Educational Leadership Tier II and Pedagogy-only Programs

Oconee RESA

• Granted Continuing Approval with Conditions for the EPP and eight of its preparation programs, with a progress report due May 7, 2026:

  • Georgia TAPP

  • Gifted In-Field Endorsement

  • K-5 Mathematics Endorsement

  • Multi-Tiered System of Supports Endorsement

  • On Year Elementary Certification-only

  • Reading Endorsement

  • Teacher Leader Endorsement

  • Teacher Support and Coaching Endorsement

Savannah State University

• Granted Developmental Approval for the Elementary Education Program

Spelman College

• Removed the AFI for Standard 5.1, Quality Assurance System

West Georgia RESA

• Granted Continuing Approval for the EPP with the following AFIs, with a progress report due on Nov. 7, 2025:

  • 5.1 - Quality Assurance System

  • 5.4 - Continuous Improvement

• Approved the following preparation programs:

  • Computer Science Endorsement with AFIs:

    • 1.3 - Learning Environment

    • 1.4 - Professionalism and Communication

• Dyslexia Endorsement with one AFI:

  • 1.4 - Professionalism and Communication

• ESOL Endorsement with one AFI:

  • 1.4 - Professionalism and Communication

• Georgia TAPP

• Gifted In-Field Endorsement

• One-Year Elementary Certification-only

• Reading Endorsement with one AFI:

  • 1.4 - Professionalism and Communication

Ethics

The commission approved all recommendations for Ethics cases on the agenda.

Next Meeting The 2025/2026 school year schedule for GaPSC meetings has not been posted at the time of report publication. Typically, the commission does not meet in June, and meetings resume in July.