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.
Rails and video surveillance
Safety on the school's territory during school hours is ensured under the rules and conditions of safety and public order, which regulate, among other things, the equipment and administration of the video-surveillance system, the maintenance of an electronic database of violations, the use of metal detectors and mandate ethics. The "school safety liability" models of other jurisdictions do not extend to Georgian law — the frame of responsibility is written by the Georgian statute.
The steps after an incident
After an incident the first step is documentation: the protocol recording on what grounds, for what purpose, where, in what conditions and with whose attendance the intervention took place; the fact of notifying the parent and the director; and, in case of a violation of the law, the notification of the law-enforcement bodies. This trail is the basis of subsequent assessment: without it one cannot establish whether the intervention was lawful and proportionate. The parent's position at this stage is written through written questions — an oral agreement cannot be established later.
The duties of the mandate are not symbolic: the mandate (or the authorized person determined by the director) must notify both the parent and the director of a suspected disciplinary offence and of the measures taken towards the pupil, and of a suspected legal violation — the law-enforcement bodies. An act is drawn up on the inspection or separation, recording its ground, purpose, place, conditions and participants.
Frequently asked questions
Below we answer the most common questions about school safety.
Who is responsible for safety?
The school — through the duty to create the environment; operationally, the mandate officer or a person authorised by the director.
Can a bag be inspected?
Yes — contactlessly, by a person of the same sex, with a witness present, after a warning and with notification of the parent; collective inspection is inadmissible.
When may a pupil be separated?
From best interests, in a safe environment, until the parent arrives — with a record in the protocol.
How is the mandate service funded?
In public schools — from the state budget; a private school ensures it by contract.
May a collective inspection be carried out?
No — collective contactless surface inspection is inadmissible; a school employee attends the inspection, the pupil is warned beforehand and the parent is notified immediately.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The Legal.ge team assesses the legal frame of an incident — the reaction deadlines, the lawfulness of the mandate officer's actions, the correctness of the protocols — and builds a demand against the school or the agency. In a written consultation you receive an assessment for your case. Contact us through the Legal.ge website.