Georgia § 20-2-310 - Student directory information; registering to vote and with selective service; pledge of allegiance.

§ 20-2-310. Student directory information; registering to vote and with selective service; pledge of allegiance.

Any public school at the secondary level which provides access to the campus or to student directory information to persons or groups which make students aware of occupational or educational options shall provide access to the campus and student directory information on at least the same basis to official recruiting representatives of the military forces of the state and the United States for the purpose of informing students of educational and career opportunities available in the military. Each eligible student in the public schools of this state shall be apprised of his or her right to register as an elector and to vote in elections and of any obligation to register with the Selective Service System. Each eligible student shall be given an opportunity, arranged by the school administration, to register to vote at his or her school during the month of April of each year. The State Board of Education shall promulgate rules and regulations to carry out this Code section. An excused absence of a student to register or vote, at the discretion of the local unit of administration, shall not exceed one school day. Each student in the public schools of this state shall be afforded the opportunity to recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America during each school day. It shall be the duty of each local board of education to establish a policy setting the time and manner for recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance. Such policy shall be established in writing and shall be distributed to each teacher within the school. The State School Superintendent shall prepare for the use of the public schools of this state a program of instruction, subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, in the correct use and display of the flag of the United States of America which shall include, as a minimum, specific instruction regarding respect for such flag and its display and use as provided by federal law and regulation, and under such regulations and instructions as may best meet the varied requirements of the different grades in such schools. However, such instruction shall include, as a minimum, the provisions of 36 U.S.C. Sections 170 through 177. (Code 1981, §§ 20-2-302 - 20-2-304 , as enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1657, § 1; Code 1981, § 20-2-310 , as redesignated by Ga. L. 1987, p. 1169, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 446, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 743, § 1.) Cross references. - Pledge of allegiance to state flag, § 50-3-2 . Editor's notes. - See the Editor's notes under the Article 6 heading for information as to the repeal of the former Code section. U.S. Code. - The military Selective Service Act, requiring registration and referred to in this Code section, is codified at 50 U.S.C. 451 et seq. Law reviews. - For article, "Education Law," see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (2001). For article, "Ritual, Emotion, and Political Belief: The Search for the Constitutional Limit to Patriotic Education in Public Schools," see 43 Ga. L. Rev. 447 (2009). For note on the 2001 amendment to this Code section, see 18 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 76 (2001).