(a) Effective April 15, 1996, the Office of School Readiness shall carry out all of the functions and exercise all of the powers formerly held by the Department of Education for the operation and management of the pre-kindergarten, Even Start, and child care food programs. Subject to subsection (c) of this Code section, all persons employed by and positions authorized for the Department of Education to perform these functions on April 14, 1996, shall, on April 15, 1996, be transferred to the Office of School Readiness. All office equipment, furniture, and other assets in possession of the Department of Education which are used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the Office of School Readiness on April 15, 1996.

(b) Effective April 15, 1996, the Office of School Readiness shall carry out all of the functions and exercise all of the powers formerly held by the Department of Human Resources for the operation and management of child care regulation services. Subject to subsection (c) of this Code section, all persons employed by and positions authorized for the Department of Human Resources to perform functions relating to the licensure and certification of pre-kindergarten programs on April 14, 1996, shall, on April 15, 1996, be transferred to the Office of School Readiness. All office equipment, furniture, and other assets in possession of the Department of Human Resources which are used or held exclusively or principally by personnel transferred under this subsection shall be transferred to the Office of School Readiness on April 15, 1996.

(c) All transfers of employees and assets provided for in subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall be subject to the approval of the director, and such personnel or assets shall not be transferred if the director determines that a specific employee or asset should remain with the transferring agency.

(d) Employees of the office shall serve in the unclassified service of the state merit system as defined by Code Section 45-20-6. Persons who have transferred to the office pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section who are in the classified service of the state merit system at the time of the transfer may elect to remain in such classified service and be governed by the provisions thereof; provided, however, that if any such person accepts a promotion or transfers to another position, that person shall become an employee in the unclassified service.

(e) All employees of the Office of School Readiness who are employed after April 15, 1996, shall become members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia consistent with the provisions of Code Section 47-2-70.1.

(f) Persons who are transferred to the Office of School Readiness pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of this Code section who are members of the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia created in Chapter 2 of Title 47 or the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia created in Chapter 3 of Title 47 can elect to continue membership in the same retirement system in which such person already is a member in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. All rights, credits, and funds in any such retirement system which are possessed by state personnel transferred by provisions of this chapter to the Office of School Readiness, or otherwise held by persons at the time of employment with the Office of School Readiness, are continued and preserved, it being the intention of the General Assembly that such persons shall not lose any rights, credits, or funds to which they may be entitled prior to becoming employees of the Office of School Readiness, unless such persons fail to elect to continue membership in the same retirement system in which such persons already are members. Once such election is made by such personnel, the election is irrevocable during the tenure of employment with the Office of School Readiness. Except as provided in this subsection, no employment benefit of any employee transferring to the Office of School Readiness shall be impaired.

(g) Funding for functions and positions transferred to the Office of School Readiness under this chapter shall be transferred as provided in Code Section 45-12-90.