Day 38: School Safety Bill Moves to Governor's Desk
- Josh Stephens
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
The House took the expected step of disagreeing with the Senate’s version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget. The Senate insisted on its position. The budget will now be negotiated by a conference committee consisting of Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon), Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), and Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) and Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), and Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin).
The conference committee will decide which budget items to include in the final version of the FY 2026 budget. To read more about House and Senate disagreements on the education portions of the FY 2026 budget, click here and here.
School Safety Bill Gains Final Passage
By a vote of 45-9, the Senate approved HB 268, a PAGE-supported school safety bill by Rep. Holt Persinger (R-Winder). Click here to read more about the latest version of the bill. The Senate immediately transmitted the legislation to the House, which voted 154-12 to agree with the Senate's changes. The legislation moves on to Gov. Brian Kemp for his consideration.
Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens), who presented the bill in the Senate and represents part of Barrow County, held a moment of silence for the two educators and two students killed in Barrow County last September. He applauded the work of House Education Chair Chris Erwin (R-Homer) and Rep. Persinger, who also represents the House district that includes Apalachee High School.
Sen. Elena Parent (D-Decatur) offered an amendment to provide educational materials about the safe storage of firearms to all parents and guardians of students, likely on school websites. She said the language is modeled after a Texas law passed after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde. Cowsert asked Parent to withdraw her amendment and offered to work with her on a separate bill to achieve her goal. Parent withdrew the amendment.
Sen. Kim Jackson (D-Atlanta) offered an amendment to create a “measuring test” to determine whether a student understands that they made a terroristic threat, whether caused by a disability, cognitive diminishment, or poor English language ability. Cowsert also commended the intent of her amendment but asked for no amendments to the bill to ensure its chance of passage in the House. The amendment failed 25-29.
House Moves Several Education Bills Closer to the Governor's Desk
The House approved the following education bills:
SB 1, the "Riley Gaines Act" by Sen. Greg Dolezal (R-Cumming), which incorporates parts of HB 267 by Rep. Josh Bonner (R-Fayetteville), the House version of the Act. The bill would prohibit males from competing in female-only school sports and prohibit females from competing in male-only sports, with several exceptions. An individual's sex can be observed or clinically verified at or before birth. The bill bans self-identification as a form of verifying a student’s sex. Schools can use medical records or “other standard school medical procedures” to verify or confirm a student’s sex, though the bill prohibits confirming sex through visual inspection. The bill passed 100-64 and moved to the Senate, which agreed. SB 1 now moves to Gov. Kemp's desk.
SB 82 by Sen. Clint Dixon (R-Gwinnett) seeks to promote local approval of charter schools by creating an incentive grant program overseen by the State Charter Schools Commission. School districts would receive grant funds when they approve charter schools. Conversely, if districts deny local charter petitions, they must provide the petitioner with a written explanation of denial. If districts deny multiple petitions that are subsequently approved by the state, districts would not be able to renew their strategic waivers for three years or until the State Board of Education (SBOE) determines local boards have demonstrated "commitment to increasing student performance and encouraging innovation through high-quality local charter petition authorizations.” This provision would not apply to districts with fewer than 10,000 students and would sunset for all districts on July 1, 2035. Several Democrats spoke in opposition to the bill, citing the lack of guaranteed dollars to fund the incentive for school districts to approve local charters. They also said the bill undermines local control of school boards. SB 82 was approved 107-62 and moves back to the Senate.
SB 93, by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), originally sought to prevent use of three-cueing in literacy instruction and word decoding. As these provisions are already moving forward in HB 307 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), SB 93 was revised in committee to task the Georgia Professional Standards Commission with devising criteria for educator preparation programs that are exclusively aligned with the science of reading and other evidence-based standards. The bill was approved by a vote of 168-0 and moves back to the Senate to agree or disagree with the House’s changes.
The House agreed to the Senate's version of HB 307, so it moves to Gov. Kemp for his signature or veto.
SB 212 by Sen. Shawn Still (R-Johns Creek) prohibits disclosure of public school student directory information to political entities such as candidates, campaign committees, and political action committees. The bill creates a new felony offense punishable by imprisonment of one to 10 years and/or a fine of up to $100,000. It also restricts political candidates and committees from soliciting minors to organize campaign events on school property. Several Democrats spoke in opposition to SB 212. The bill was approved 98-66 and moves to the Senate to agree or disagree with the House’s changes.
School Zone Speed Camera Bills Resurrected by Senate Rules
The Senate Rules Committee approved HB 651 by Rep. Alan Powell (R-Hartwell), which seeks to regulate use of school zone speed cameras, and HB 225 by Rep. Dale Washburn (R-Macon), which would entirely repeal laws allowing use of the cameras. The bills were moved to Rules after Senate Public Safety Chair John Albers (R-Roswell) released a memo to the media explaining why he chose not to move either bill from his committee. Albers subsequently lost his position on the prestigious Senate Rules Committee. It is not clear if either speed camera bill will ultimately pass the legislature.
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, April 1 - Committee Workday
Noon, House Education Committee, 606 CLOB
Wednesday, April 2 - Legislative Day 39
Thursday, April 3 - Committee Workday
Friday, April 4 - Legislative Day 40/Sine Die