The legal regime of school safety in Georgia is built around one article — the norms of the Law on General Education on the inadmissibility of violence and the protection of safety and public order — and is completed by a general duty: the school must create, during school hours, an environment safe for health, life and property. This page explains that regime: who is responsible, what powers the mandate service holds, and where the boundaries lie.
The prohibition of violence and immediate reaction
The law's norm is categorical: violence against a pupil or any other person is inadmissible at school; in case of physical or verbal insult the school must immediately react in the manner established by legislation. In a public school the mandate service is funded from the state budget, while a private school may ensure safety and order, or psychosocial services, by contract with the mandate service. This difference matters to a parent: in both formats the duty is the same; only the financing channel differs.
The mandate service and its powers
The pupil must comply with the lawful instructions of the mandate service — or, in its absence, of a person authorised by the director. The mandate service, for its part, must notify the parent and the director of a suspected disciplinary offence or violation of the law and of the measures taken; on a suspected violation of the law — also the law-enforcement bodies. The law also regulates the mandate officer: he or she must be a capable citizen with appropriate education and no conviction, while the rules of distribution and rotation among schools, ethics and the use of metal detectors are written in separate acts.
Contactless inspection and separation
The law regulates two forms of intervention in detail. A contactless surface inspection is permissible only where circumstances point to a possible breach of the internal rules or a violation of the law; it is carried out by a person of the same sex, with a school employee present, after a warning, collective inspection is categorically prohibited, and the parent is notified immediately. The separation of a pupil in an emotionally and physically safe environment is permissible only from the best interests, with an authorised person present, and until the arrival of the parent or a person designated by the parent; during this time the school, the mandate officer and, where needed, a psychologist carry out measures aimed at safety, risk reduction and behaviour management. Every action is recorded in a protocol.