All the arguments, protests, resignation demands and promises are over. Clayton County schools will learn the results of an accreditation investigation on Thursday.

On Wednesday night, the 40-member national Accreditation Commission will vote on Clayton’s accreditation, SACS spokeswoman Jennifer Oliver said Monday.

SACS will announce the results at 1 p.m. Thursday at a media-only news conference. Clayton school officials will be notified shortly before the news conference, Oliver said.

The county has been in turmoil since November, when the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools launched an investigation into the school system’s accreditation — for the second time in five years. In February, SACS ordered the district to meet nine mandates by Sept. 1 or lose accreditation. The biggest fear was loss of HOPE scholarships. But the Legislature approved a bill allowing students who graduate from unaccredited schools the chance to receive HOPE until June 2010. But even with the scholarship in place, the future of every Clayton student could be affected by this week’s decision.

HOW DID CLAYTON GET HERE?

• November 2007: SACS receives complaints from several board members and launches investigation into Clayton’s accreditation.

• Dec. 6, 2007: School board hires attorney Glenn Brock to respond to SACS.

• Feb. 15: SACS recommends Clayton’s accreditation be revoked Sept. 1 unless the district meets nine mandates.

• Feb. 18-21: Georgia NAACP, Georgia Association of Realtors, Clayton Student Coalition and the county’s largest teachers’ union ask for board resignations.

• Feb. 22: Gov. Sonny Perdue appoints state board of education members James E. Bostic Jr. and William “Brad” Bryant to serve as liaisons to help Clayton.

• March 1: About 400 residents march through Rex, demanding board resignations.

• March 3: Board votes to remove Norreese Haynes after police say he doesn’t live in the county.

• March 15: The national Accreditation Commission unanimously votes to uphold SACS’ recommendation to revoke accreditation.

• March 26: Brock and the governor’s two liaisons tell all nine board members to resign.

• April 2: Board chairwoman Ericka Davis resigns.

• April 23: Board hires corrective superintendent John Thompson.

• April 24: Brock quits, citing unethical behavior by the board.

• April 28: Board chairman Eddie White resigns.

• April 30: The two governor’s liaisons quit, saying the board is dysfunctional. The governor signs a bill that allows qualified students who graduate from unaccredited districts to receive HOPE scholarships.

• May: 34 candidates qualify to run for school board.

• May 14: Board tells state attorney general it violated the open meetings law. The attorney general ordered the board to explain itself after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution filed a complaint.

• July 2: The governor asks a judge with the Office of State Administrative Hearings to review a complaint from five Clayton residents who asked Perdue to remove seven board members, alleging they violated state laws.

• July 15: Superintendent says the board has met all of SACS’ mandates. Voters elect two candidates and send 10 more to an Aug. 4 runoff election.

• July 16: Board member David Ashe resigns.

• July 19: Two new board members, Alieka Anderson and Trinia Garrett, are sworn in.

• July 31: Board delivers 2,300 pages of documents to SACS.

• Aug. 4: Voters elect Michael King to vacant District 4 board seat and choose three board members to place on November ballot.

• Aug. 12: Board member Rod Johnson resigns.

• Aug. 14 and 15: Seven SACS investigators visit district.

• Aug. 20: A state administrative judge hears from five Clayton residents who want four board members removed. The judge will decide if the members violated the law and make a recommendation to the governor, who can remove the board members.

WHAT HAPPENS IF ACCREDITATION IS REVOKED?

• Students may have a harder time getting into some colleges and universities.

• Students may have a harder time obtaining scholarships.

• Students retain their HOPE scholarship eligibility until June 30, 2010.

• District loses pre-kindergarten funding.

• Property values go down.

• Teachers could lose benefits if they transfer to other school systems.

• The state will not count Clayton County schools-sponsored professional development toward teachers’ recertification.

HOW WILL THE DECISION BE MADE?

An investigative review team, composed of seven educators, is looking for “substantive progress or completion” of the nine mandates, SACS president and chief executive officer Mark A. Elgart said.

The team is reviewing 2,300 pages of documents the school district submitted. The team also spent Aug. 14 and 15 in Clayton, interviewing board members, school officials and residents. The team will submit a report of its findings to the national Accreditation Commission, which will vote this week.

WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?

• Retain accreditation: The district has been accredited by SACS for almost 60 years.

• Lose accreditation: Clayton would become the first school system in the nation to lose accreditation in the past 40 years.

• Probation: The school system would have one year to address recommendations.