Listening Tour Frequently Asked Questions

DPI (The Department of Discipline, Prevention, and Intervention) conducts ongoing school site visits to address student behavior and implement several initiatives, such as violence prevention sessions, bullying education, circle of support, caring adults in the building, behavior support plans, etc. The District will continue implementing the district-wide PBIS initiative alongside restorative practices and continue implementing the district-wide bullying awareness education curriculum and partnering with student support services to prevent and respond to students’ needs.

Given the requirement that there be a separation of church and state, school systems cannot legally allow prayer in schools without restriction. Since all students have First Amendment rights to free speech and exercise of religion (including the right to practice based on their choice or faith, or abstain from practicing any religion at all), school-sponsored or organized prayer is prohibited by Supreme Court rulings to ensure that it does not appear that school staff is coercing or encouraging participation. However, students may voluntarily pray individually or in groups, provided it is not disruptive and does not occur during non-instructional time, such as recess or lunch.

Across Clayton County Public Schools, we are actively strengthening the effectiveness of our Department of Exceptional Students (DES) by improving communication with families, aligning IEPs more closely to classroom instruction, and ensuring services are intentional and data-driven. Our focus is on increasing access to strong core instruction—especially literacy—while providing targeted supports through more purposeful scheduling, co-teaching, and small group models. We are also enhancing evaluation and IEP processes to ensure they are timely, aligned to student needs, and implemented with fidelity. While factors like class size and funding are guided by federal, state, and local regulations, we are committed to maximizing all available resources to better support students, staff, and schools. Overall, this work is about strengthening—not reducing—services so that every student is positioned for success.

Please visit our website to identify the leadership team for each location.  All levels of our leadership team’s contact information are available.  We are committed to identifying and resolving any concerns our stakeholders may have. 

We have partnerships for yearlong and summer opportunities for our high school students. Students should work with their counselors and CTAE teachers because many of these opportunities are shared through them.

Please visit our website and input your current address to ensure the stop being utilized is the closest to your residence.  Additionally, please submit a Bus Stop Change Request form on our website and include any pertinent details regarding the safety concerns with the stop. Once submitted, our routing team will conduct a thorough review of the bus stop location to decide the feasibility of the request. 

We would need additional information to provide a definitive response. In general, students are assigned a disciplinary consequence only if they violate the CCPS Student Code of Conduct. However, broader interventions may be implemented at the classroom, grade level, or schoolwide level based on overall student behavior to help maintain a safe and orderly environment.

Clayton County Public Schools (CCPS) offers counseling services and promotes open communication with caring adults in the building. When a student dies in the community, CCPS immediately activates crisis response teams (Counselors, behavior intervention specialists, and Social Workers) to the school to provide on-site counseling and support.

Without going too far within our emergency preparedness processes, CCPS Department of Safety & Security/Emergency Preparedness conducts routine training to prepare students and staff in the event of an Active Shooter/Hostile Intruder. 

CCPS has a full-service law enforcement agency (Department of Safety & Security) which employs School Resource Officers/Police (SROs) and Campus Security Officers/Security Guards (CSOs). If a student manages to sneak a gun into a school, SROs will immediately respond to the school and take the student into custody. CCPS Safety & Security will investigate the incident to ascertain how the weapon was smuggled into the school. CCPS and Safety & Security takes a pro-active approach to prevent and/or mitigate weapons on school property. Some of those steps includes, but are not limited the following:

Physical Security Presence

CCPS Department of Safety and Security has school police (SROs), campus (CSOs) and golf-cart security to physically patrol all District properties.

Technology and Equipment

CCPS utilizes Evolv Weapons Detection devices to scan for weapons and advanced camera equipment to monitor the school environment.

School Safety Walk-Throughs

Safety on-site walk-throughs with school administrators to discuss safety issues.

Random School Safety and Security Checks

Increased Safety & Security personnel conducting random weapons checks.

The uniform dress code will remain the same for the 2026 - 2027 school year.

At this time, there are no plans to open an additional Early Learning Center in Clayton County Public Schools. The district remains committed to supporting early childhood education and will continue to evaluate the needs of our students, families, and community to inform any future decisions.

The uniform dress code and clear backpack mandate will continue for the 2026 - 2027 school year. Enforcement will rely on the collaborative effort of all stakeholders. There are already support initiatives and progressive discipline practices in place for enforcement. Your school’s principal and staff can provide you with the details.

CCPS currently implements a structured MTSS support model rather than assigning a dedicated MTSS expert to each school. Each school has designated staff supporting Tier 1, Tier 2, and Section 504, with stipends provided for these leadership roles. These staff members work in close partnership with the District MTSS team, which provides ongoing guidance, resources, and oversight. This model ensures that schools are supported in delivering effective Tier 1 and Tier 2 interventions while maintaining consistency, scalability, and alignment across the district.

CTAE programs are not mandated courses in the same way as core academic subjects because they are designed to provide students with choice and flexibility based on their interests, career goals, and postsecondary plans. While we strive to offer a wide range of pathways,including Engineering, at multiple high schools, not every program is available at every school or offered every semester. Program availability is based on several factors such as student interest and enrollment, staffing, facility capacity, and alignment to workforce demand.

We encourage all parents to connect with your child’s middle school counselor and review high school program offerings as you prepare for 9th grade registration.

Middle school counselors engage students in career exploration through classroom core curriculum lessons and the Naviance Platform. Naviance is our College, Career, and Life Readiness Platform. All middle school students have access to Naviance and have been assigned tasks to complete by the month.  On the platform, students can explore careers of interest at will because of unlimited access. 

Active student engagement in the Naviance Platform to explore careers is monitored to ensure that it is being utilized. Your student's middle school counselor can work with your student on the careers that are of interest.

CCPS Leadership bases all weather-related school closures and delays on an Inclement Weather Protocol that calls for an extensive review of National Weather Service data by a cross-functional team that always takes into account the safety of our students and staff.  We monitor conditions and inform our community in advance of impact to prepare for certain weather conditions.  CCPS also collaborates with other districts in the metro region to ascertain best options for our school system.

• ICE agents must have a judicial warrant or order signed by a judge (not an administrative warrant) to enter the school premises.
• Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Schools cannot release student records or personally identifiable information without parental consent or a judicial order
• Staff do not disclose immigration status or other private information without authorization.
• Schools ensure student safety by keeping the learning environment as calm as possible and by providing a safe space for students.
• Schools use support staff, counselors, and social workers to notify parents and guardians through established communications and protocols.

Summer is used for deep cleaning of schools including stripping and waxing floors. Facilities work with the district to support summer programs.  The district provides academic summer learning opportunities for 13-16-year-olds through our Summer Learning Academy Program, which will be held at Jonesboro Middle School. Middle School students, as well as English Language Learners in their first year in the United States, may attend.  The district offers virtual programs for high school students.

We also encourage families to seek on their own local summer opportunities that may not be shared with the district.

A study on storage devices determined that the District cannot financially sustain the use of pouches. Instead, middle schools will use student lockers, and elementary schools will secure devices in the classrooms until dismissal.

As one tool to ensure consistent instructional practices across the district, lesson plans are provided for K-5 core content areas and all tested subject courses for secondary schools. Central office curriculum coordinators manage the writing and revision processes of these lesson plans. The lesson plan writing teams include a combination of classroom teachers, instructional coaches, and district lead teachers. Consequently, lesson plans are rigorous, include the use of district-adopted resources, and are aligned with the standards. This is beneficial to teachers in those areas, who no longer have to write lesson plans, but are expected to thoroughly review and prepare for their implementation. The lesson plan is a framework that should be followed, but teachers are encouraged to use their unique personalities to formatively assess, scaffold, and differentiate to meet the needs of their diverse learners. This includes some opportunities for innovation within the general structure of the lesson plans and overall curriculum. Teachers are provided opportunities to give feedback through teacher advisory sessions, surveys, and by directly contacting the applicable coordinator. In addition, highly effective teachers who are interested in participating on curriculum writing teams should contact the coordinator for their content area. 

Supporting and retaining our teachers, both seasoned and new, is a top priority for our school system, and we recognize that the demands of the profession have increased in recent years.

To address teacher retention and morale, we are actively working to:

Strengthen school leadership support to ensure teachers feel heard, valued, and supported daily

Provide ongoing professional learning, coaching, and mentorship for new teachers

Create opportunities for teacher voice in decision-making

Recognize and celebrate the work of our educators in meaningful ways

Equally important is ensuring that our teachers feel safe. We have a zero-tolerance approach to physical and verbal assaults and are committed to protecting both staff and students. 

Our actions include:

Clearly defined behavior expectations and consistent enforcement of the student code of conduct

Immediate administrative response to incidents involving aggression or threats

Implementation of restorative practices alongside appropriate consequences

Ongoing training for staff on de-escalation and classroom management strategies

We know that feeling safe and supported is essential for teachers to be successful and to remain in the profession. While there is more work to do, please know that we are committed to creating an environment where educators can thrive and focus on what matters most—teaching and supporting students.

We appreciate your advocacy and your support of our teachers.Retaining effective teachers requires a strong commitment to cultivating safe and orderly learning environments, supporting continuous professional growth, and recognizing both individual and collective accomplishments. By providing meaningful professional learning opportunities that allow teachers to refine their craft, celebrating successes tied to student achievement and career milestones, and ensuring teacher voices are actively included in school planning and decision-making, we foster a culture of respect, collaboration, and long-term commitment to excellence in our schools.
 

As part of the budget development process, the district is evaluating compensation holistically, including salary, benefits, and potential incentives. We remain committed to supporting our teachers and will share updates as decisions are finalized.

We provide wrap-around support for students through a comprehensive, school-based system designed to address increasing mental and behavioral needs. Our approach includes a referral-based model where students are identified and connected to appropriate supports through school teams. We operate five school-based health centers that offer both mental health services and comprehensive care, ensuring students can access support directly on campus. In addition, our four Community Schools support hubs connect students and families to a broader network of resources, including counseling, social services, and family support. All of these efforts are aligned within our MTSS framework, allowing us to coordinate services, monitor student progress, and provide targeted, responsive support to meet the needs of the whole child. Supporting students holistically also include our families and students. We encourage strongly that you help us promote available school and community-based resources to ensure every student has an advocate and supporter.
 

In 2021, Georgia updated its high school economics course to significantly expand the amount of personal finance instruction every Georgia student receives.

During the revised course, which is required for all Georgia high school students, students learn about managing and balancing budgets; understanding and building credit; protecting against identity theft and consumer protections; and understanding tax forms, student loan applications, and pay stubs. Students also receive a foundation in the fundamentals of economic decision-making, microeconomics, macroeconomics, and international economics, with a specific focus on how they can apply that knowledge to their own personal finances.

This spring, all graduating seniors statewide – more than 124,000 students – will receive a copy of The Talk (About Money): A Young Adult’s Guide to the One Decision That Changes Everything by Dale Alexander, a Georgia native and Certified Financial Planner. Books will be distributed to high schools across the state for students in the class of 2026.

Additionally, Clayton County Public Schools is engaged in a district-wide effort to expand Advanced Placement coursework for the 2026–2027 school year. This expansion is intended to increase student access to college-level learning experiences, extend the range of advanced academic options available across the district, and strengthen the degree to which student transcripts reflect sustained participation in rigorous coursework.

This work is being supported through a parallel investment in instructional capacity. The district is sending a cohort of more than 50 teachers to Advanced Placement Summer Institute training this summer in preparation for the 2026–2027 school year. That training is designed to prepare teachers in course-specific content, curricular sequencing, assessment expectations, and the instructional requirements associated with successful AP implementation.

Through the expansion of course availability and the preparation of additional teachers, the district is taking deliberate steps to increase student access to advanced academic study and to strengthen readiness for the level of performance expected in postsecondary settings.