Safeguarding international schools in Georgia: country guide

Georgian education law sets the legal rules for schools. The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth runs the system under the Law of Georgia on General Education. A school gains the status of a general education institution through authorisation (Article 32).

Foreign programmes add a further step. The National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement can sign an agreement with a foreign body that recognises a programme. Under Article 34¹, only a programme with such an agreement may run in Georgia as a programme recognised abroad.

The school must also hold authorisation for the level it teaches, and the authorisation rules may set different conditions for it. Article 34¹ carves out parts of the Law for these entities and says Articles 9 and 21 still apply. Ask counsel which rules bind your school.

Accreditation is a voluntary layer on top. QSI International School of Tbilisi says on its accreditation page that the Middle States Association (MSA) has accredited it since 1999. This guide did not check CIS, COBIS or IB lists for Georgia, so confirm which bodies your school answers to.

The main law is the Code on the Rights of the Child (Law of Georgia No 5004, 20 September 2019). Article 53 gives every child the right to protection from physical and psychological violence and bullying, at school and online.

Article 38 sets the school duties. Schools must run programmes to prevent and answer violence, including bullying. They must also operate a hotline for reporting violence and name a coordinator for child violence matters.

Article 39 gives children an independent complaints route at school. Article 73 asks professionals who work with children to take training on child rights. The Law on General Education adds that a school must respond at once to physical or verbal abuse (Article 20).

Neither law names a designated safeguarding lead (DSL). The coordinator in Article 38 is the closest role, but the Code says only that this person is responsible for child violence matters. The Code text read for this guide runs to the amendment of 26 June 2025, and later changes may exist.

The reporting duty in the referral procedures sits with institutions. Government Order No 437 of 12 September 2016 approved them, as the Public Defender's 2017 report records. That report found school staff poorly aware of them.

UNICEF Georgia says institutions that deal with children must report suspected violence to the Social Service Agency and write internal instructions. It says the mechanism covers public and private educational institutions.

UNICEF also says the mechanism holds all professionals who work with children responsible for spotting violence and responding. It described the mechanism in 2017, so ask counsel whether a later version applies.

The school law sets one explicit reporting duty for teachers. Under Article 20¹, a teacher must pass information about alleged domestic violence or violence against women to a person the principal names, if there is a danger of repeated violence. That person then tells the police or other authorised bodies (Article 43).

The two laws reviewed for this guide do not name each teacher as a personal reporter of all abuse. This guide did not review criminal law, so ask counsel whether a wider duty applies to your staff. For other countries, read how mandatory reporting laws differ.

If a child is in immediate danger, call 112 first. Then follow your school's child protection procedure and tell your DSL the same day. Keep these numbers where staff and students can read them.

• 112: the emergency number, with call-takers on duty 24/7 for police, fire and rescue, and medical help.
• 111: a child hotline that UNICEF Georgia reported launching on 27 April 2020. Confirm it is current.
• Social Service Agency: the body that receives reports under the referral procedures. Save your local office details.
• Your school hotline: Article 38 asks schools to run one, so post its number too.
• Your DSL: tell them the same day, every time.

Accreditors such as CIS check your policy and practice against international standards. The International Task Force on Child Protection (ITFCP) is a volunteer coalition that publishes child protection resources for international schools. Georgian law adds its own routes and bodies.

The first gap is the threshold. Article 20¹ applies when there is a danger of repeated violence. UNICEF reported in 2017 that 46 per cent of school professionals surveyed thought violence had to be severe and repeated before they reported it.

Ask staff to report the first concern they notice. The DSL then decides, with counsel, which Georgian route fits. The second gap is the role name, so ask counsel whether your DSL can also hold the Article 38 coordinator title.

Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) is English statutory guidance, so it is not Georgian law. Some schools still model their policy on it, which is a fair choice if the policy says so. See which parts of KCSIE travel abroad.

One page can serve both rulebooks:

• Every adult tells the DSL the same day, in a language they understand.
• The DSL and the Head decide on any outside referral and write down why.
• Referrals go to the Social Service Agency, and in an emergency staff call 112 first.
• The page names the Article 38 coordinator and the school hotline.
• The page says which parts of your policy come from KCSIE and which from Georgian law.

The Law of Georgia on Personal Data Protection (No 3144, 14 June 2023) replaced the 2011 law. Its main parts took effect on 1 March 2024. The consolidated text names the State Audit Office as the supervisor in the articles cited here, though some provisions still mention the Personal Data Protection Service.

Safeguarding files often hold special category data. The law lists health, sexual life, victim status in criminal proceedings and criminal record among them (Article 3). You need a legal ground for each use and must be able to justify it (Article 6).

For a child under 16, consent comes from a parent or legal representative (Article 7). The same article makes written parental consent the default for a child's special category data, unless the law says otherwise. A parent's consent may not suit a case where the concern involves the family, so ask counsel which ground fits your records.

Transfer abroad is allowed if the law's requirements and appropriate safeguards are in place (Article 37). Other grounds include an agreement with safeguards, which needs a permit, and informed written consent. This law has no article that requires records to stay in Georgia, but other laws may.

A data incident must reach the supervisor within 72 hours, unless significant harm is unlikely (Article 29). Ask every supplier where records sit and how they would warn you.

Georgian is the official language under Article 2 of the Constitution, so the agencies you refer to will most likely work in Georgian. Your DSL needs a Georgian speaker or an interpreter ready. Put the reporting route in Georgian and English, and ask support staff which other languages they need.

Corporal punishment is unlawful in every setting in Georgia, including schools and the home. The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children reports this in its country report, updated in July 2024. Brief staff from countries where it is still lawful at induction.

UNICEF reported in 2017 that 60 per cent of child protection professionals surveyed thought a family's internal affairs are its own business. The figure is old. Still, expect some staff and parents to hesitate before involving outside agencies.

The Law on General Education bars a person with an unexpunged conviction for a premeditated crime from teaching (Article 21). It also bars a person convicted of a sexual crime from working at a general education institution, even after expungement (Article 33¹). The Ministry's Education Management Information System keeps a register of people barred from pedagogical work (Article 28³).

Ask counsel how to get a Georgian criminal-record certificate, as this guide could not verify the issuing office. For staff from abroad, ask for police certificates from each country where they lived, as in safer recruitment for international schools.

Start with these checks in your first month:

• Ask counsel whether your school runs a programme recognised abroad under Article 34¹, and which rules that brings.
• Name your Article 38 coordinator and hotline, and post both numbers in Georgian and English.
• Write the one-page reporting route and check that three staff can describe it.
• Save the local Social Service Agency office details next to 112 and 111.
• Map where safeguarding records are stored and who can open them.
• Check hiring files for criminal-record certificates, including from other countries.
• Brief all staff on the corporal punishment ban at induction.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the current law with local counsel and the relevant Georgian authority before you rely on it. If a child is in immediate danger, call 112.

Georgian law changes often, and several laws cited here were amended in 2025 and 2026. A wider plan for a new DSL is in the first 90 days as a DSL.