GeorgiaHB 2682025-2026 Regular SessionHouseWALLET

Education; safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities; provide

Sponsored By: Jon Burns (Republican), Chuck Efstration (Republican), Chris Erwin (Republican), Houston Gaines (Republican), Gerald Greene (Republican), Holt Persinger (Republican)

Signed by Governor

EducationJudiciaryGeneral Bill

Personalized for You

How does this bill affect your finances?

Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this bill means for your household, plus every other piece of legislation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.

Free to download

Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

28 provisions identified: 15 benefits, 7 costs, 6 mixed.

Children in state custody get faster enrollment

Schools must immediately admit transferring students in juvenile justice or family services custody, even without enrollment records. Their previous school must send all records within 10 school business days. For covered children, receiving districts must request education records, special education plans, and related evaluations within five school business days after possible-enrollment notice, replacing a 10-day limit. Juvenile justice, human services, and family services agencies must provide medical and education records they hold when the responsible district requests them. If consent is needed, agencies must release unrestricted records within five school business days, identify restricted records and legal reasons in writing to the district and regional student affairs officer, seek consent, and release records immediately when consent arrives.

Families get round-the-clock anonymous school reporting

By July 1, 2026, public school governing bodies must run or contract for anonymous reporting programs. Programs must offer 24/7 support through a mobile app and multilingual crisis center, route reports to school teams, and coordinate crisis response. Schools must give students, families, and staff current information about anonymous reporting resources for school-related harmful or dangerous activity. Programs operating in substantial compliance on July 1, 2025, are exempt from the new requirement. Existing contracts that do not require substantial compliance cannot be renewed past their current expiration or termination.

Schools get panic alerts and emergency maps

Subject to state funding, Georgia public schools must have mobile panic alerts and emergency maps by July 1, 2026. Alerts must connect with local emergency dispatch, including Next Generation 911, and use the school maps. Schools with functioning, compliant alert systems need no added capabilities. Map purchases require local law enforcement agreement, and map producers must check accuracy on-site by July 1 each year. Maps must work with emergency-service systems, and responders must have access without buying software or paying viewing fees.

Schools must plan for student threats

By January 1, 2027, public school safety plans must address student behavioral health and include team-based threat assessment and management. Georgia's behavioral health department must approve the plans. Plans must also cover transportation, building entry and exit, and whether exterior and classroom doors are locked or supervised. State agencies must provide behavioral-health planning help and coordinate threat-assessment training and support for public and private schools.

Schools strengthen suicide prevention and staff training

Georgia public school boards and governing bodies must adopt student suicide prevention policies. They must consult school and community stakeholders, school mental health staff, and suicide prevention experts. Policies must cover prevention, intervention, and support after a suicide-related event. State rules must require all certified public school staff to receive annual suicide and youth violence prevention training through existing training or professional development.

Students get suicide and violence prevention training

Starting in 2026–2027, state-funded public schools serving grades 6–12 must give students yearly suicide and violence prevention training. Each subject requires at least one hour; schools may teach in person, remotely, digitally, or through health and physical education. Violence training must teach warning signs, taking threats seriously, seeking help, and reporting concerns. The state must publish approved materials by January 1, 2026, identify free programs, and review the list every 36 months. Schools that allow student clubs must designate a student-led prevention club, open to everyone, with a staff advisor and suicide, violence, and inclusion activities.

Families face stricter permanent school enrollment rules

For permanent enrollment above third grade, parents or legal custodians must disclose specified delinquency and discipline information. They must provide certified critical records from every school attended during the previous 24 months, or written confirmation of receipt. Records must be current and complete for the latest 12 months of enrollment, or all enrollment if shorter. Enrollment and record-request forms must identify the covered serious offenses, prohibited acts, disciplinary notices, and behavior correction plans.

New criminal penalties for school threats

The law creates a school terroristic-threat offense covering threats of violence, hazardous releases, or burning or damaging property. It requires the specified purpose of causing school-related terror or evacuation, or reckless disregard of that risk. The offense is generally a misdemeanor; threats suggesting death carry up to a $1,000 fine, 1–5 years in prison, or both. Threats directly causing serious physical injury carry up to a $250,000 fine, 5–40 years in prison, or both. Conviction cannot rest only on the threat recipient's uncorroborated testimony; these offense rules apply to offenses committed on or after the law's effective date.

New felony penalties for school attacks

The law creates a school terroristic-act felony covering specified weapon or flaming-symbol use, hazardous or simulated hazardous releases, and unlawful shooting at occupied or operating vehicles. The act must aim to terrorize someone in a covered school setting or cause evacuation of school property or school transportation. Penalties are up to a $5,000 fine, 1–10 years in prison, or both. Acts directly causing serious physical injury carry up to a $250,000 fine, 5–40 years in prison, or both. These offense rules apply to offenses committed on or after the law's effective date.

Placement education eligibility expands and narrows

Free local education eligibility expressly includes specified human services and family services placements, including individualized treatment or service plans. The law removes the listed behavioral health department-operated or funded placements from these eligibility categories. Children must be physically present in the district and meet age rules; the separate juvenile justice education exception remains. Facilities educating children who cannot leave must have district agreements covering education-record disclosure responsibilities, reviewed and renewed at least every two years. Agreements existing on July 1, 2025, without those terms must be updated by October 1, 2025.

Schools assess threats and allow remote learning

By January 1, 2027, public school safety plans must include behavioral threat assessment plans approved by the state behavioral health department. School discipline systems must authorize temporary remote learning, require counseling, and start an investigation after a credible accusation of a qualifying threat. The accusation must involve a current or former student threatening death or serious injury to a group likely at that school. After substantive findings, the school may reinstate the person or impose discipline.

Temporary school enrollment comes with new conditions

Schools may provisionally enroll transferring students for up to 10 school days, starting the school day after required parent steps. Parents must provide disclosures, identify schools attended over the prior 24 months, and authorize immediate release of critical records. Missing records can lead to temporary remote learning until records arrive or a case-management consultation is completed. Schools may require that consultation for continued provisional enrollment to discuss needed services and continuity of prior services. Students found ineligible under the school enrollment law must be dismissed until eligible.

School alerts expand with student safeguards

Subject to funding, Georgia's emergency management agency must create public-school systems for emergency alerts and secure threat tracking. Emergency alerts share campus threats and response steps with local school systems; only designated school staff can access threat tracking. A student's name can enter tracking only after police investigate and verify the threat. A certified school social worker must also evaluate the student when the school system employs one. The agency must set listing standards and a process to request removal. Schools must notify parents when a student is added and provide counseling or other service recommendations.

Families get faster access to school records

Schools must provide requested complete electronic student records by 5:00 p.m. on the third business day. Authorized requesters include parents, legal custodians, receiving schools, and others legally entitled to the records. If some records are not electronic, schools must send available electronic records and state when remaining copies will be ready. Schools must also prepare complete records for immediate authorized release after sufficient withdrawal or transfer notice, including home study. This preparation rule also applies when a student meets the 30-day absence referral requirements.

Parents can review and challenge transferred records

Schools cannot block parents or legal custodians from reviewing their own child's records; other students' information must stay private. Both parents generally have access unless a court removes a noncustodial parent's right or parental rights have ended. Receiving schools must give written notice when transferred records arrive. Parents or custodians have five school business days after notice to request a copy. After receiving it, they have five school business days to request a correction meeting; the parties may agree on another meeting time.

Parents get updated school involvement policies

Public school governing bodies must update parental involvement policies by June 1 each year and post them online. Parents must also be able to review a copy on-site upon request. Policies must explain how parents can review their minor child's records and request transfers to schools or authorized recipients. They must include record-transfer procedures when students enroll, plan to enroll, or consider enrolling elsewhere.

Regional officers help resolve school record disputes

Each regional education agency must name a student affairs officer, and regional agencies may provide record-sharing dispute services. School requesters must promptly give written notice when sending schools claim release is unlawful or unduly burdensome, or records are wrongly withheld. Agencies or districts must also promptly notify officers of disputes over required agency records. Officers may review disputed records, coordinate solutions, and issue noncompliance notices with recommended fixes. Regional directors may seek resolution and report noncompliance to the Attorney General and state education privacy officer, who must provide technical guidance.

Police must report threats to families

An officer's employer must send a written report within five days of a qualifying official encounter with a school-age youth. The encounter must involve credible information that the youth threatened death or serious injury to someone at or likely at school. Reports go to the parent or guardian and the youth's public or private school, or the school serving their primary residence. Exceptions cover specified non-incidental interactions and youth present only as witnesses or potential witnesses. The rule excludes youth in juvenile justice custody in a secure facility.

More behavior support in high-needs schools

Elementary and middle schools with one-star or two-star climate ratings must provide positive behavior supports and early intervention programs. Basic supports must reach 100% of students and staff, with added supports for at-risk students. At least 95% of staff must receive two hours of approved student behavioral health training each school year.

School notices expand with privacy protections

After specified findings about serious offenses or discipline problems, administrators must tell assigned teachers they may review related confidential student information. Covered findings include chronic discipline notices, current behavior correction plans, and prohibited-act reports. The State Board must prepare public summaries of covered disciplinary proceedings describing incidents and outcomes without naming parties. Confidentiality does not block required education-record disclosures to receiving schools. Anyone taking action concerning a child under the covered school law must report it to the parent or guardian and the child's enrolled or residence-based school.

Schools get grants for student advocacy staff

Subject to state appropriations, grants reimburse beginning salaries and benefits for qualified student advocacy specialists. Systems with fewer than 18,000 full-time-equivalent students qualify for one specialist; those with 18,000–36,000 qualify for two. Systems above 36,000 qualify for three, and recipients must comply with school safety-plan requirements. The state behavioral health department, consulting the education department, must set duties and minimum qualifications by December 31, 2025. The juvenile justice school system is excluded.

Schools must clarify police record sharing

By October 1, 2025, school boards with officers in schools must add student-record rules to written agreements with law enforcement. Agreements must cover handling student records, data, and identifying information, including when sharing is allowed. They must state whether officers count as school officials or a law-enforcement unit under federal student privacy law. Georgia's education department must publish model terms by August 1, 2025, and update them as needed to match privacy guidance.

Parents face fines for defying record orders

A court may order a parent or guardian to authorize a required student-record release after finding willful and unreasonable refusal. Willfully disobeying that order can bring a fine of up to $500. The fine requires notice and an opportunity for a hearing.

School group threats carry criminal penalties

Knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly threatening death or serious injury to a group counts as disrupting or interfering with school operations. The group must be at, or likely to be at, a public school, school bus, or bus stop. Verbal, written, and other threats are covered and carry the criminal penalty for school disruption.

School maps face disclosure and lawsuit limits

School mapping information sent to the state agency is exempt from public release within Georgia's public-records exemption. Covered school boards, school systems, public schools, local governments, and agencies are immune from damage claims involving map creation or use. Their employees have the same protection unless they acted with gross negligence or bad faith.

School prevention training limits damage claims

People cannot bring damage claims for acts or failures tied to implementing the school prevention-training section. The bar also covers losses caused by required training or lack of training. These training requirements do not create a specific legal duty of care.

Schools investigate unexplained student absences and withdrawals

Schools may contact parents, conduct home wellness visits, or make appropriate police referrals after withdrawals or stopped attendance without required paperwork. This includes missing transfer or home-study notice and, for students 16 or older, a missing required conference. After 30 consecutive days without attendance plus a listed notice, withdrawal, or conference problem, schools must refer cases to family services and regional student affairs officers. Family services checks whether withdrawal avoids education; regional officers check new enrollment and, when applicable, receipt of records. Completing the required conference or presenting the filed declaration satisfies the specified family services assessment requirement.

Serious youth offenses face court changes

Superior courts have exclusive initial jurisdiction over children ages 13–17 accused of attempted murder or a terroristic act upon a school. After indictment, the court can transfer these cases to juvenile court after reviewing required criteria. The law also expands a juvenile assault provision involving deadly weapons or other specified objects that cause serious bodily injury. That change excludes injuries to public safety officers and acts covered by Georgia Code Section 16-5-21(c).

Sponsors & Cosponsors

Cosponsors

Bill Cowsert
Republican • Senate

Roll Call Votes

All Roll Calls

Yes: 383 • No: 63

House vote • 3/31/2025

Agree to Senate Substitute

Yes: 154 • No: 12 • Other: 3

Senate vote • 3/31/2025

ADOPTION OF AMENDMENT #2 BY THE SENATOR FROM THE 41ST

Yes: 25 • No: 29