Georgia statutory law provides that "all elementary and secondary schools" teach a course of study in federal and state government, U.S. and Georgia history, and the "essentials of the United States and Georgia Constitutions, including the study of American institutions and ideals." [O.C.G.A. sec. 20-2-142]
This code section also mandates that the "course in the study of federal and state governments shall be supplemented in each high school by a study of the local county and municipal governments."
Finally, the code section directs that no student is eligible to receive a diploma from a high school unless such student has successfully completed the courses in history and government provided for by law.
Problems Implementing the Law
1. The above-cited provisions of O.C.G.A. sec. 20-2-142 are a codification of laws enacted by the General Assembly in the 1930s and 1940s. These laws date from an era when there were only elementary schools (grades 1-7) and secondary schools (grades 8-12). However, today, we have a three-tier school arrangement of elementary schools (preK-grade 5), middle schools (grades 6-8), and high schools (grades 9-12).
2. The law specifically requires that Georgia city and county government be taught in high school. However, as will be seen, Georgia state and local government is taught throughout the state at the 8th grade. A few high schools may have an elective civics course that might offer a chance to teach Georgia local government. But, no high school requires every student to receive instruction in city and county government as directed by O.C.G.A. 20-2-142.
3. State law specifically directs that no student shall receive a diploma from a high school unless such student has successfully completed the courses in history and government mandated by O.C.G.A. sec. 20-2-142. However, no school system in Georgia offers courses at the grade levels specified by the law. Rather, except for an introduction to Georgia in the 3rd grade, all instruction in Georgia history, government, constitution, and local government is provided at the 8th grade.
4. Compounding the problem, it is unclear how to deal with a student who moves to Georgia in the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. At this level, it is too late to take a course in Georgia history and government, as none are offered in high school. There is no provision in the law for a test in lieu of the required course, or any other way to exempt the requirement (e.g., an online course of instruction).
5, Thus, the great majority of students graduating from Georgia high schools appear to be doing so in violation of O.C.G.A. sec. 20-2-142. That is to say, they are not taking the required instruction in their elementary school, nor are they taking Georgia state and local government in high school. Until recently, no one seems to have noticed. But now the State Board of Education has become aware of the problem and is considering how to enforce the law.
How Georgia's Quality Core Curriculum Affects Implementation of the Law
Prior to the Quality Basic Education (QBE) Act of 1985, local schools systems throughout the state were free to adopt their own curriculum without any interference from the state. Thus, in one system American history might be taught at the 10th grade, while in a neighboring system it was taught in the 11th grade. Some systems might teach geography, while other systems did not. One consequence of the lack of a uniform curriculum is that if a student moved from one system to another, he or she might miss out on a needed course, or have to take a particular course twice.
QBE mandated that the State Board of Education develop a Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) that must be taught in every public school in Georgia. Several years later, a curriculum for every grade with knowledge and skills objectives was developed. The goal was not only a standard curriculum throughout the state, but textbooks and other materials developed around QCC and ultimately student testing based on QCC. Also, no matter where a student lived in Georgia, he or she would henceforth be learning the same material as any other student of the same grade level.
Before QCC, many local school systems provided for a Georgia History course in the 8th grade. QCC formalized this tradition by mandating a year-long 8th grade Georgia Studies course consisting of Georgia history, state and local government, geography, and culture. Several years ago, the QCC was revised so that more American history and government was added to the Georgia Studies course. As a result, in the last textbook adoption cycle (1998), some school systems decided to adopt an American history textbook for use by their Georgia Studies students. This decision was also prompted by the fact that national tests traditionally used in Georgia (e.g., ITBS) did not test students on Georgia history and government, but did include questions on American history and government.
However, in recent years, state officials have decided to replace
the ITBS test with a QCC curriculum-based testing instrument known
as the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). In the spring
of 2002, 8th grade students will take the CRCT for the first time
to see how well they have mastered the QCC for their grade. This
has caused a quandary for systems that adopted an American history
textbook for their Georgia Studies classes, since 8th grade students
will now be specifically tested on the Georgia Studies QCC.