K-12 education content standards in Georgia

• Education policy portal
• Featured content and analysis
  • School choice in the United States
  • School choice glossary
  • Donald Trump's executive orders on education, 2025
  • State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
  • Trends in curriculum development
  • Local school board authority across the 50 states

See also: K-12 education content standards in the states

This page features the following information about who sets K-12 education content standards in Georgia public schools:

• The state entity with the authority to approve K-12 education content standards.
• Whether Georgia requires or recommends that local schools or districts follow the K-12 education content standards.
• The statutory or regulatory language in Georgia governing the development and application of K-12 education content standards.

Background

State education officials develop content standards in order to facilitate curriculum development for public schools. This section examines the role of content standards in public instruction and the different state approaches that either require or recommend their use in public schools.

What are content standards?

Content standards are educational learning and achievement goals that state education officials either require or recommend that local schools satisfy in K-12 instruction. Content standards are not curriculum but rather aim to guide the development of what state officials view as a robust K-12 curriculum.

The development of K-12 education content standards in public schools varies across the 50 states. State boards of education, state education agency leaders, and local school districts, for example, may play a role in the development and approval of content standards.

Do states recommend or require schools to follow content standards?

State statutes or regulations may require or recommend the use of K-12 education content standards in public instruction.

Some states require local schools to align curriculum with content standards by establishing content standards as a minimum course of study. Such states may also require local schools or districts to adopt content standards as part of their curriculum, or they may require students to demonstrate mastery of content standards through state assessments.

Other states recommend that local schools or districts follow state content standards.

Who sets state K-12 education content standards in Georgia?

The following section provides information about the development and application of K-12 education content standards in Georgia as of 2022.

The table below identifies the state entity tasked with setting content standards, whether the content standards are recommendations or requirements for local schools, and the governing statute(s). The text of the governing statute(s) is provided below the table.

Georgia K-12 education content standards
Entity	Recommendations or requirements?	Statute or Regulation
State Board of Education	Requirements	GA Code § 20-2-140 (2022)

GA Code § 20-2-140 (2022):

“

State Board of Education to Establish Uniformly Sequenced Content Standards; College and Career Readiness Competency Standards The State Board of Education shall establish uniformly sequenced content standards that each student is expected to master prior to completion of the student's public school education. The state board shall adopt content standards for students in kindergarten through grade 12. Each local unit of administration may expand and enrich the content standards to the extent it deems necessary and appropriate for its students and communities. Each local school system shall adopt its own curriculum which shall include appropriate instruction in the content standards.

”

See also

• K-12 education content standards in the states
• Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development
• Use of the term critical race theory (CRT)

External links

• Search Google News for this topic

Footnotes

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Jaime Healy-Plotkin • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox