(1) PURPOSE. The purpose of this rule is to define the term school and special
entity for reporting purposes and assigning facility code numbers.
(2) DEFINITIONS.
(a) School – a building or group of buildings that has
1. A full-time principal,
2. A media center or access to a media center on a contiguous site;
3. Housing for students who are reported for the purpose of earning FTE-based
QBE or state education funds;
4. A facility code issued by the Department;
5. An adequate yearly progress (AYP) determination or is participating in data
collection for a future AYP determination in compliance with the federal Elementary
and Secondary Education Act as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
of 2001;
6. A school council pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-86; and
7. A school report card or is participating in data collection for the development
of a future report card pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 20-14-34;
(b) Special entity – an educational facility other than a school that houses
students for all or part of the instructional day and does not report students for the
purpose of earning FTE-based QBE funds. For the purposes of this rule the following
shall be considered as special entities:
1. Adult Education Programs that are designed to provide educational and
dropout prevention services to students who have dropped out of school or are on the
verge of dropping out of school;
2. Alternative Education Programs that do not meet the definition of school
pursuant to State Board of Education Rule 160-5-1-.03 Identification and Reporting
of Schools;
3. Evening Education Programs that provide educational services to students for
part of the instructional day;
4. Head Start;
5. Pre-kindergarten;
6. Psychoeducational Satellite;
7. Psychoeducational Center
8. Special Education Center;
9. Special Entity Charter School.
(3) REQUIREMENTS.
(a) By August 15 of each year, school systems shall verify to the department all
schools and special entities that they will operate that year.
(b) Each school system, school and special entity shall be identified by a code
assigned by the department that shall not be changed without the approval of the state
school superintendent or designee.
(c) All school/special entity-based data reported to the department shall be by the
assigned codes.
(d) FTE for special entities shall be reported at the student’s home school or the
school where the student would be assigned if the student being served is a nonresident
student of the school system where the special entity is located. AYP
determinations for students served by special entities shall be included in the home
school’s or home school system’s AYP determinations as set forth in the State of
Georgia Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook.
(e) A local school system shall request a change in school/special entity codes under
the following conditions.
1. A new building is constructed either on a new site or replacing a school on an
existing site.
2. A change in grade organization takes place in a school such that the primary
mission of the school has changed; for example, grade levels change from 9-12 to
6-8.
(f) A local school system shall request that school/special entity code numbers be
retired when
1. The school/special entity no longer houses students for public education
purposes,
2. The school/special entity ceases to operate,
3. The school/special entity is consolidated or merged with another
school/special entity, or
4. The school/special entity is destroyed.