Please note that due to the volume of activity under the Gold Dome yesterday, the Day 18 report was in two parts. Today’s Day 19 report also contains the remainder of Day 18 action.
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Day 19: House Ed Subcommittee Approves 'Riley Gaines Act'
This afternoon, the House Education Policy Subcommittee heard from several trans rights advocates who urged them not to approve HB 267, the Riley Gaines Act, before amending and passing the measure.
The amendment clarified that the legislation should not be construed to mandate a visual inspection of children’s genitalia, though medical records could be used in determining a student’s sex.
HB 267 mandates that schools provide separate restrooms and changing areas for males and females and stipulates that sleeping arrangements on school trips be made according to sex, with exceptions for immediate family members. The Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) is tasked with creating rules to enforce these provisions, and school personnel may face fines for noncompliance. HB 267 requires that athletic activities be designated for males, females, or co-educational, and prohibits males from participating in female-designated sports. Sex is defined as an individual's biological sex, observable or clinically verified at or before birth, and replaces the term "gender" with "sex" throughout the Code.
The committee engaged in discussion about the role of the GaPSC pertaining to the bill’s educator enforcement mechanism and ultimately decided to check with the agency before taking further action on that provision.
The bill passed and will now be considered by the full House Education committee.
Day 18: Senate Ed & Youth Approves Completion Schools Bill and Preemptive Preparation for USED Elimination
The Senate Education and Youth Committee approved the following bills:
SB 126 by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett) lowers the age at which students are eligible to enroll in completion schools. Several years ago, the legislature renamed the schools and restricted some aspects of their operation. Dixon explained that the current restriction requiring that students reach the age of 18 before enrolling lead to a sharp drop in completion school enrollment. Students, teachers, and parents who attended or work in the completion schools spoke in support of SB 126, which passed and moves to Senate Rules.
SB 154 by Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-Cornelia) was characterized as a "proactive cleanup bill" in preparation for the Trump Administration's plans to eliminate the U.S. Dept. of Education (USED). The bill strikes references to USED from Georgia code. Hatchett said his intention is to prepare Georgia if the department is shuttered, as USED is responsible for licensure approvals for several professions, including social workers, professional counselors, and others. The bill passed along party lines and moves to Senate Rules.
Day 18: House Education Committee Considers Changes to School Safety Bill
A substitute version of HB 268, the House school safety bill carried by Rep. Holt Persinger (R-Winder), was presented to the House Education Committee with several changes requested by PAGE and other education organizations, including the following:
Instead of denying enrollment to students about whom a school does not receive critical records, students can be temporarily assigned to remote learning.
Students found to have made credible threats will be assigned to remote learning, rather than immediately suspended. This change was made in response to due process concerns.
Receiving schools must notify parents or guardians that children’s records have been sent from their previous schools. Parents must receive these records within five days, although both parties may mutually agree to extend this deadline.
GEMA, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHDD), will now be responsible for recommending the student screening assessment available for use by schools.
Law enforcement officers must only report official encounters with students that are “directly related to credible reports or other information that such school age youth has threatened the death of, or serious injury to, one or more individuals who are or will likely be at or within a school.”
DBHDD will review the behavioral threat assessment portion of school safety plans and coordinate with GEMA to create the statewide behavioral threat management operational process. GEMA must also coordinate with DBHDD to develop training for the new process. Law enforcement agencies and associations will also be allowed to provide input.
School safety plans will now be required to address how exterior building doors and classroom doors will be secured.
GEMA now has until July 1, 2026, to create rules on behavioral threat assessment management plans. Schools have until Jan. 1, 2027, to implement threat assessments into their plans.
GEMA must obtain approval from DBHDD on any student health components included in the S3 Database.
If a behavioral threat management team is examining students who have an IEP or a Section 504 plan, an individual familiar with the student’s plan requirements must be a member of the team.
The substitute clarifies what happens when a student transfers to another school in the same district.
More changes to HB 268 are expected before the bill's next hearing Thursday, Feb. 20.
Day 18: FY 2026 Education Budgets Reviewed
State education agency leaders presented their Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget proposals to the House Education Appropriations Subcommittee. Rusk Roam, chief financial officer at the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), highlighted some of the proposed changes for K-12 funding in the upcoming school year, including:
$3 million increase to sustain 400mbps of state-funded bandwidth for all systems through PeachNet
$399,799 to cover supplements for school literacy leads at elementary schools
$5.9 million increase for sparsity grants for small rural schools
-$113 million formula reduction in equalization grants
$306 million for enrollment growth and teacher training and experience
$100 million to cover an increase in the employer contribution to the Teacher Retirement System
$173 million to cover an increase in the per member per month cost of the State Health Benefit Plan for certified staff
$34 million increase for the State Commission Charter School supplement
-$3 million reduction in formula earnings for school nutrition due to a decrease in the number of meals served
$872,333 to fund school psychologist ratio at 1:2,420
$383,444 for two full-time and two part-time positions and operating costs to sustain Great Promise Partnership, a work-based learning program for at-risk students
$1.2 million to establish an equipment grant program for new and expanding career and technical education labs that support instruction for high-demand careers
Lawmakers requested additional information on the proposed increase to sustain 400mbps bandwidth for school districts, supplements for school literacy leads, and the new equipment grant program.
Amy Jacobs, commissioner of the Department of Early Care and Learning, noted proposed increases for the Pre-K program, including:
$5.3 million for training & experience for teachers
$1.2 million to cover an increase in the per member per month cost of the State Health Benefit Plan for certified staff
$1.1 million for an increase in the employer contribution to the Teacher Retirement System
$14 million for year two of a four-year plan to lower Pre-Kindergarten class size from 22 to 20
The subcommittee will continue to consider proposed education items during the appropriations process.
Day 19: Bill to Regulate School Speed Zone Cameras Held for Second Time
The Senate Public Safety Committee held a second hearing on SB 75 by Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), which restricts the use of automatic speed cameras in school zones to weekdays when instruction is taking place, 90 minutes before the start of the school day, and 30 minutes after school starts. Afternoon camera operation could only occur 30 minutes before school dismissal and 90 minutes following dismissal. SB 75 requires signs notifying motorists of school speed zones to be placed one-half mile from the start of schools’ reduced speed limit zones. The sign must be placed at the city or county limits in certain areas where the half-mile limit falls outside city or county limits. Signs warning of upcoming speed cameras must be placed one-quarter mile from the camera. Speed cameras will be allowed to issue citations to drivers traveling 11 miles over the speed limit. Burns said the bill does not limit a police officer's ability to write a citation for traveling at a slower speed over the limit. Jurisdictions found to be out of compliance could have state funds withheld. The bill also sets a $50 flat fee for citations issued by speed zone cameras for each offense. Any remittance of fines collected net of expenses will be added to the Peace Officer's Annuity and Benefit Fund.
Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell) asked Burns to work on the bill in a newly created subcommittee. No vote was taken, and the substitute version of the bill presented in committee was not available at the time of this report's publication.
Day 18: Committee Considers Requiring Additional Information on Property Tax Bills
The Ad Valorem subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee heard HB 370, sponsored by Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens). The bill would require property tax bills for any school district opting out of the statewide base year homestead exemption outlined in HB 581 (2024 session) to include the amount of the school district’s reserve funds. It would also require the property tax bill to identify the local governing authority (e.g., school district, municipality, and county) that opted out of HB 581, the date and vote that determined the opt-out, and the phone number of the governing authority if the authority does not provide a comparable homestead exemption.
Committee members did not vote on the bill as it was the first hearing of HB 370.
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, Feb. 20 – Legislative Day 20
Senate Ed & Youth Committee, 1 p.m., 450 CAP
House Ed Committee, 1 p.m., 506 CLOB
Friday, Feb. 21 – Legislative Day 21
House Motor Vehicles Committee, 8 a.m., 606 CLOB