The Legal Basis of Distance Learning in the Public School
The compliance of educational apps at the public-school level is determined by Article 6-1 of the Law on General Education. Under this norm, distance learning means the conduct of the educational process in a distant or electronic form or through other means of communication, and is carried out in the form of synchronous or asynchronous communication — just as the concept is defined in Article 2 of the law.
The lawful footing of an educational app at school level is therefore precisely this framework: the app is an instrument for the remote conduct of the educational process, and its compliance is measured by how far it corresponds to the statutory format and requirements.
Programme Requirements
By paragraph 3 of Article 6-1, the distance learning programme is built in accordance with the requirements established by Georgian legislation for the general education programme or for the subject or subject group provided by the national curriculum.
In practice this means: the app must structure its content not in a free format but on the basis of the requirements of the general education programme and the national curriculum — according to subjects, subject groups and learning outcomes.
The subject-group requirement matters all the more where integrated subjects are taught: the app must reflect both the single subject and the group format, since the law builds the lawfulness of the distance programme on these two units.
The Decision on the Remote Regime — an Administrative Act
An important detail is who decides on moving to the remote regime: in general education institutions, the decision on permitting distance learning and on its period, as well as on the institution that must use distance learning to deliver general education, is taken by the minister by an individual administrative-legal act.
This means that distance learning is not the school's arbitrary decision — it is established by a separate administrative act, and the use of the app must likewise be planned within the framework of that act.
The Rules of Assessment in the Digital Environment
In public schools, the rules and conditions for conducting the educational process remotely and for assessing the results obtained are approved by the minister. The assessment component of the digital environment is thus defined centrally, and the app must technically secure these rules.
In a compliance assessment these two layers — the substantive (programme and curriculum) and the procedural (the minister's act and the assessment rules) — together create the boundaries within which an educational app is lawfully used.
An Honest Caveat and Practical Criteria
A separate EdTech or app-compliance statute does not exist in Georgia. The American FERPA and COPPA and the European digital education frameworks are likewise non-Georgian — they cannot be transplanted directly. The three Georgian assessment criteria are formulated as follows: the app serves the remote conduct of the educational process in accordance with the statutory definition; its content is built on the general education programme and the national curriculum; and it technically secures the assessment rules established by the minister.
When contracting, precisely these three conditions should be reflected measurably, so that the expectations of the school and the provider remain within the lawful framework.
At school level, checking an app's compliance is assembled in two layers. The first is substantive: whether the app's content is built on the requirements of the general education programme and the national curriculum, according to subjects and subject groups; this layer is evidenced by reference to the programme documentation and the framework of the curriculum. The second is procedural: whether the use of the app fits within the framework of the minister's individual administrative-legal act and the assessment rules. Together the two layers determine lawfulness: an app that is substantively correct but used outside the framework of the act is as unprotected as one admitted by the act but detached from the curriculum. The contract should mirror precisely these two layers through measurable conditions — the sources of content, the duty of updates and the technical securing of assessment. In selecting a provider, this two-layer standard also gives the school a neutral language of comparison: offers are compared against documented obligations rather than marketing promises, and the school can show, in its selection file, that the choice was made against the statutory standard and not against impressions. Finally, the two layers discipline the whole life cycle of the app: a change of curriculum or of the minister's act is a signal to re-verify compliance, because lawfulness is not a one-time stamp but a continuing correspondence between the app and the two normative layers that govern it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below we answer the questions most frequently raised about educational app compliance.
Which law regulates an app at school?
Article 6-1 of the Law on General Education and the definition in Article 2.
How should the content be structured?
In accordance with the requirements of the general education programme and the national curriculum — by subject.
Who decides on the remote regime?
The minister, by an individual administrative-legal act; it is not the school's arbitrary choice.
What about the assessment rules?
The rules and conditions of remote assessment are approved by the minister — the app must secure them technically.
Does FERPA apply in Georgia?
No — FERPA and COPPA are non-Georgian regulation; compliance is assessed under Georgian law.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team will assess the app against the requirements of Article 6-1, help formulate the substantive and technical requirements contractually and prepare compliance documentation.
Contact us on Legal.ge — a contract kept within the lawful framework protects both parties.