---
title: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-670. Disclosures and information required for permanent enrollment in a grade higher than third; provisional enrollment; transfer of education records.
collection: code
id: 20-2-670
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-670 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-670
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-670.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-670/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t20-ch1-2b-(v17)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=bfd7f2d1_0#page=205
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
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publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
in_force: true
current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: EDUCATION / ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION / STUDENTS / SCHOOL ATTENDANCE / Transfer Students
extraction_warnings:
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---

# O.C.G.A. § 20-2-670. Disclosures and information required for permanent enrollment in a grade higher than third; provisional enrollment; transfer of education records.

(a) As used in this Code section, the term:

(1) “Critical records” means the following education records of a student, which shall be current and complete for a period of at least the most recent 12 months of such student’s enrollment or the entirety of such student’s enrollment if less than 12 months:

(A) Academic transcript;

(B) Attendance records;

(C) Student discipline records, including, but not limited to, all records of any:

(i) Disciplinary order of short-term suspension, long-term suspension, or expulsion made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-751.2;

(ii) Notice of a report of criminal action made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-756;

(iii) Notice of chronic disciplinary problem made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-765;

(iv) Disciplinary and behavioral correction plan pursuant to Code Section 20-2-766; or

(v) Report of the commission of a prohibited act made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-1184;

(D) Records of the student having ever been adjudicated delinquent of the commission of a class A designated felony act or class B designated felony act, as defined in Code Section 15-11-2 and, if so, the date of such adjudication, the offense committed, the jurisdiction in which such adjudication was made, and the sentence imposed;

(E) An Individualized Education Program (IEP) pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or a plan under Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, if any; and

(F) Psychological evaluations, if any.

(2) “Education records” means any record that is maintained by a local education agency, a public or private elementary or secondary school, the Department of Juvenile Justice school system, or a party acting on behalf of such entity and is directly related to a student. Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, records of such student’s enrollment, attendance, class schedules, academic transcripts, grades, student discipline, student financial information, health records, special education records, and psychological evaluations. Such term shall include the student’s critical records.

(3) “Governing body” means the local board of education, governing council, governing board, Board of Juvenile Justice, or other entity by whatever name responsible for creating and implementing the budget of a local education agency or a public or private school.

(4) “Legal custodian” means an entity or individual other than a parent with legal authority to act on behalf of a student. Such term shall include the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Human Services, and the Division of Family and Children Services.

(5) “Local education agency” shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 20-2-167.1. Such term shall include the Department of Juvenile Justice school system.

(6) “Parent” means an individual other than a legal custodian who has legal authority to act on behalf of a student as a natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian.

(7) “Permanent enrollment” means enrollment of student in a school that is not provisional enrollment.

(8) “Provisional enrollment” means the conditional and nonpermanent enrollment of student in a school for a specified period of time.

(9) “Receiving school” means a local education agency or public or private school in which a transferring student, either on his or her own behalf or by and through his or her parent or legal custodian, has enrolled or seeks or intends to enroll.

(10) “Requestor” means a student, the parent or legal custodian of such student, or a receiving school or another person or entity legally authorized to receive the education records of such student.

(11) “RESA” means a regional educational service agency as provided for in Code Section 20-2-270.

(12) “RESA student affairs officer” means the RESA employee designated by the RESA executive director to receive and attempt to resolve notices of disputes brought pursuant to this Code section.

(13) “Sending school” means a local education agency or a public or private school which maintains education records of a particular student and is responsible for releasing such records to a requestor.

(14) “Student” means an individual who is enrolled in a public or private elementary or secondary school or home study program in this state, or who is subject to the compulsory attendance requirements of Code Section 20-2-690.1.

(15) “Transferring student” means a student who, either on his or her own behalf or by and through his or her parent or legal custodian, has enrolled in or is seeking or intends to enroll in a receiving school.

(b) The parent or legal custodian of a student seeking permanent enrollment in a grade higher than the third grade in any receiving school in this state shall as a prerequisite to such permanent enrollment execute a document:

(1) Disclosing to the receiving school whether the student:

(A) Has ever been adjudicated delinquent of the commission of a class A designated felony act or class B designated felony act, as defined in Code Section 15-11-2 and, if so, the date of such adjudication, the offense committed, the jurisdiction in which such adjudication was made, and the sentence imposed;

(B) Is currently serving a short-term suspension, a long-term suspension, or an expulsion from another school, the reason for such discipline, and the term of such discipline;

(C) Is currently the subject of a notice of a disciplinary hearing pursuant to Code Section 20-2-754; or

(D) Is currently or has ever been the subject of any:

(i) Notice of a report of criminal action made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-756;

(ii) Notice of chronic disciplinary problem made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-765;

(iii) Disciplinary and behavioral correction plan pursuant to Code Section 20-2-766; or

(iv) Report of the commission of a prohibited act made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-1184; and

(2) Either:

(A) Present a certified copy of such student’s critical records from each sending school he or she attended during the previous 24 months; or

(B) Receive written confirmation from such receiving school that it has received such student’s critical records.

(c)(1) A student may be provisionally enrolled in a receiving school for not more than ten school days on a conditional basis; provided, however, that such provisional enrollment shall not commence until the next school day after such student’s parent or legal custodian executes a document:

(A) Disclosing the information required in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section; and

(B) Providing the name and address of each sending school such student attended during the previous 24 months and authorizing the immediate release of such student’s critical records to the receiving school.

(2) If the receiving school does not receive such student’s critical records from each sending school such student attended during the previous 24 months, the receiving school shall be authorized to temporarily assign such student to remote learning until such critical records are received or the case management consultation provided for in subsection (i) of this Code section is completed.

(3) If a student provisionally enrolled in a receiving school is found to be ineligible for enrollment pursuant to the provisions of Code Section 20-2-751.2, or is subsequently found to be so ineligible, he or she shall be dismissed from enrollment in such receiving school until such time as he or she becomes so eligible.

(d) Any document provided by a receiving school to a student or such student’s parent or legal custodian to request permanent enrollment or provisional enrollment in such receiving school or to authorize the release of education records to such receiving school shall include:

(1) A list of class A designated felony acts or class B designated felony acts;

(2) A list of the prohibited acts identified in Code Section 20-2-1184; and

(3) A description of each of the following:

(A) Notice of a disciplinary hearing pursuant to Code Section 20-2-754;

(B) Notice of a report of criminal action made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-756;

(C) Notice of chronic disciplinary problem made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-765;

(D) Disciplinary and behavioral correction plan pursuant to Code Section 20-2-766; and

(E) Report of the commission of a prohibited act made pursuant to Code Section 20-2-1184.

(e) Each time a transferring student’s education records, including, but not limited to critical records, are transferred to a receiving school, such student’s parent or legal custodian shall be notified in writing by the receiving school of the transfer of such records and shall, upon written request made within five school business days of the date of such notice, be entitled to receive a copy of such records from the receiving school. Within five school business days of the receipt of a copy of such records, such student’s parent or legal custodian may make a written request for and shall be entitled to a meeting with the principal of the sending school or of the receiving school or his or her designee for the purpose of correcting the content of such records as provided in Code Section 20-2-667. The parties may mutually agree for such meeting to occur at a date and time outside of such five-day period.

(f)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each sending school in this state shall immediately release a student’s complete education record to any parent, legal custodian, receiving school, or another person or entity legally authorized to receive such records upon request by such requestor and under no circumstances later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day following the date of such request.

(2) In the event that any portion of such student’s education record is not maintained in electronic format, the sending school shall transfer all of the student’s education records available in electronic format in compliance with paragraph (1) of this subsection and shall, no later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day following the date of such request, notify the requestor when copies of the remainder of such student’s education records will be ready for retrieval.

(g)(1) In the event that:

(A) A sending school contends that releasing, in whole or in part, a student’s education records as required by this Code section would be unlawful or unduly burdensome; or

(B) A requestor contends that a student’s education records, in whole or in part, have been unlawfully or unduly withheld from release by a sending school,

the requestor shall promptly provide a written notice of dispute to the RESA student affairs officer of the RESA in which the sending school is located.

(2)(A) Upon receipt of a notice as provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, the RESA student affairs officer shall be authorized to work in coordination with any sending school, any receiving school, any other requestor, and the parent or legal custodian of the student whose education records are the subject of such notice to resolve any dispute by providing technical assistance and guidance as to the respective rights and responsibilities of each of the parties to the dispute.

(B) To the extent that such efforts to resolve the dispute are not successful, the RESA student affairs officer shall provide a written notice of noncompliance to any party to such dispute which the RESA student affairs officer reasonably contends is noncompliant with the requirements of this Code section report. Such written notice of noncompliance shall include a recommended corrective action to resolve noncompliance. The RESA student affairs officer shall report such noncompliance to the director of the RESA.

(C) Upon being notified of a noncompliance as provided for in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the RESA director shall be authorized to attempt to resolve the dispute and to report noncompliance to the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Education’s chief privacy officer.

(3) For the limited purposes provided for in this subsection, RESA student affairs officers and RESA executive directors shall be authorized to review the education records that are the subject of a notice of dispute provided for in this subsection.

(4) In the event that it becomes evident to a RESA student affairs officer or a RESA director that neither a sending school nor a receiving school involved in a dispute is a local education agency or a public elementary or secondary school, the RESA student affairs officer and the RESA director shall take no further action regarding the dispute other than to notify the parties to the dispute that the regional educational service agency is not authorized to take further action on the matter and to refer the parties to the Department of Education’s chief privacy officer.

(h) Whenever a receiving school does not timely receive complete information relative to a transferring student from a sending school as required in subsection (f) of this Code section, such receiving school shall be authorized to condition such transferring student’s continued provisional enrollment upon completion of the case management consultation provided for in subsection (i) of this Code section.

(i) Each case management consultation shall be conducted by a school social worker, school counselor, or a designated school administrator of the receiving school and shall involve the transferring student and such student’s parent or legal custodian. The purposes of the case management consultation shall include, but shall not be limited to:

(1) Determining whether any services are necessary for such student, including, but not limited to, referrals for special education or behavioral health services; and

(2) Facilitating the continuation of services such student was receiving at his or her previous school or schools, if any.

(j) The State Board of Education shall adopt policies and procedures for implementing the provisions of this Code section.

(k) The Department of Education shall collaborate with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities and provide technical assistance to schools and local school systems to support implementation of the provisions of this Code section.

(l) In lieu of his or her parent, a transferring student who is not in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Division of Family and Children Services of the Department of Human Services and who is 18 years of age or older or who has been emancipated by operation of law or by court order pursuant to Code Section 15-11-727 or as otherwise provided by law shall be authorized to comply on his or her own behalf with the requirements of this Code section otherwise applicable to such student’s parent or legal custodian.

(m) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Code section, any transferring student in the custody of the Department of Juvenile Justice or the Department of Human Services, through its Division of Family and Children Services, shall be immediately admitted to a receiving school, even if records required for enrollment cannot be produced, in order to ensure educational stability and continuity. All records shall be transferred to the receiving school administrator within ten school business days by the local school superintendent or his or her designee, as applicable, of the school such transferring student last attended.

## History

Code 1981, § 20-2-670, enacted by Ga. L. 2025, p. 99, § 2-8/HB 268, effective April 28, 2025.

## Code Commission Notes

Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2025, “has received” was substituted for “as received” in subparagraph (b)(2)(B).

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2025, p. 99, § 4-1/HB 268, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that this Code section shall be applicable to any offenses committed on or after April 28, 2025.

Former Code Section 20-2-670, relating to requirements for transferring students beyond sixth grade; conditional admission and compliance, was based on Ga. L. 1997, p. 1061, § 1; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 20; Ga. L. 2000, p. 20, § 15; Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 4-33/HB 242 and was repealed by Ga. L. 2025, p. 99, § 2-8/HB 268, effective April 28, 2025.

## Effective Date

This Code section became effective April 28, 2025. See Editor’s notes for applicability.