The legal basis of an international school in Georgia is defined by Article 34-1 of the Law on General Education: the implementation of a foreign-recognized general educational programme is admissible only where the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement has concluded an agreement with the authorized institution of the foreign country for the recognition of that programme. A separate "international school status" does not exist in the law — the page is written on exactly this construction.
The precondition of the agreement — the channel of recognition
Under paragraph 1 of Article 34-1, only the implementation of a foreign-recognized programme for whose recognition the Center has concluded an agreement with the foreign authorized institution is admissible in Georgia. The manner and conditions of concluding the agreement are determined by the Center's rules approved by government decree. This means that the legitimacy of an "international" programme is tested not by its name but through this channel of recognition.
The practical consequence is twofold. For the parent: the word "international" in a school's name carries no legal meaning — what matters is whether the implemented programme is recognized through this channel. For the founder: it is necessary to establish whether the Center has an agreement with the specific foreign programme, since without it the implementation is inadmissible from the outset and any authorization becomes groundless.
Who implements the programme and how
The right of implementation belongs to a legal person created in the manner established by legislation, upon whom the requirements for a school do not extend — save for the exception norms the law itself names; certain norms — including those on the right to general education — extend according to their content. Such a legal person acquires authorization only at the level at which it implements the foreign-recognized programme, and the authorization statute may even define different conditions for it.
Equivalence of the document and mobility
A document issued upon completing a foreign-recognized programme of the respective level is equated with the document confirming basic or complete general education and gives the right to continue at the next level; it needs neither apostille nor legalization. A pupil studying in such a programme also has the right of mobility, and the education received in the process of mobility is recognized in the manner established by legislation.
The legal nature of the document is also settled in the same paragraph: equivalence is a statutory consequence, not a fresh decision on recognition — the pupil acquires the right to continue from the document itself, and no institution may unilaterally reassess that right. For school planners the structure helps too: authorization by level means an international programme can be added to a school gradually — first the basic, then the secondary level.