Day 39: On Penultimate Session Day, Senate Approves DEI Prohibition in Schools and Other Ed Bills; House Approves School Safety Bill
- Legislative Team
- Apr 3
- 4 min read
But for House and Senate Rules Committee meetings, action on the penultimate day of the 2025 legislative session was confined to the chamber floors. After extensive calendars and debate in both chambers, the House adjourned at 11 p.m., while the Senate stayed late debating diversity, equity, and inclusion and adjourned after midnight.
Senate Passes Resolution to Explore Strengthening the Educator Workforce and Stripped Teacher Leave Bill that Now Prohibits DEI in Schools
The Senate approved the following education-related bills:
SR 237 by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) calls upon the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC), in collaboration with several other state agencies and educator associations, such as PAGE, to provide Gov. Brian Kemp and the General Assembly a list of recommendations to strengthen the K-12 educator workforce by the end of the year. These recommendations focus on various subjects, such as exploring ways to compensate student teachers, examining teacher and leader retention strategies such as mentorship and professional development, and encouraging innovative programs to help people enter the K-12 and early education professions. The resolution was approved 53-o. It does not require Gov. Kemp's signature.
HB 37 by Rep. Rob Leverett (R-Elberton) directs local school districts to notify employees about whether Social Security taxes will be withheld from their pay. It also requires notification of employee eligibility for other pension or retirement plans. Notification must occur at least once every five years and at or near the time of employee separation from a school district. The bill was amended in committee to include a provision allowing school board members to carry spouses and family members on district-provided health and dental plans. The bill was approved 52-1 and moves back to the House to agree or disagree with Senate changes.
HB 105 by Rep. Will Wade (R-Dawsonville), one of Gov. Kemp's floor leaders in the House, increases the state financial award from $75,000 to $150,000 for educators killed in the line of service. The bill was approved 51-0 and moves to the House to agree or disagree with the Senate's changes.
HB 371 by Rep. John Corbett (R-Lake Park) stipulates that starting in 2027 the maximum amount of funds allowed to be distributed to the capital outlay program will increase from $300 million to $375 million. The bill includes language similar to that found in HB 200, requiring that elementary school playgrounds built in the future meet specific ADA requirements. The bill passed 50-4 and moves back to the House.
HB 127 by Rep. Brent Cox (R-Dawsonville) was originally PAGE-supported legislation allowing teachers to use two additional days of accumulated sick leave for personal or professional leave. The Senate Education Committee stripped the bill's original language and replaced it with SB 120 by Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone), which would prohibit public K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions from diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, trainings, recruitment, or retention activities. State or federal funding could be withheld from institutions violating the prohibition. After Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) made a motion to resolve debate, Senate Democrats attempted to stall the vote with parliamentary procedures and votes, but they all ultimately failed, and the bill passed 33 to 21. It moves to the House for consideration.
The Senate agreed to the House's version of the following bills, sending each to Gov. Kemp for his signature or veto:
SB 212 by Sen. Shawn Still (R-Norcross) 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.
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.
House Approves 'Ricky and Alyssa's Law' Requiring Panic Alert Systems in Schools
The House approved the following education bills:
SB 17 by Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), “Ricky and Alyssa’s Law,” requires school districts to implement a mobile panic alert system, such as Centegix, that connects directly with emergency services. Districts must procure detailed digital mapping of each public and private school in their district and provide the maps on paper and in digital format. The requirements of the bill do not pertain to private schools. SB 17 was amended in the House Rules Committee to allow relevant public safety agencies, school safety personnel, and school administration to provide required mapping by means of an in-person inspection at each school. The bill passed 151-0 and moves back to the Senate to agree or disagree with the House's changes.
The House Rules Committee amended SB 20 to include language from HB 56 by Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) to create a memorial fund for public school teachers and employees killed or disabled in the line of duty. The Georgia Student Finance Authority would manage this fund and provide tuition grants to the children and spouses of educators killed or disabled. SB 20 was approved by the House by a vote of 160-5 and heads back to the Senate.
House and Senate Page Program for 2026 Session
Throughout the long legislative day, House and Senate pages delivered messages to legislators. Dot Ciccarelli, daughter of PAGE Director of Legislative Services Margaret Ciccarelli, and William Cardoza, son of Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) Director of External Affairs Matt Cardoza, paged in the Senate and House, respectively. They are pictured here. Those interested in paging during the 2026 session can learn more and begin scheduling paging opportunities in early 2026 HERE and HERE.
Upcoming Schedule
Thursday, April 3 - Committee Workday
Friday, April 4 - Legislative Day 40/Sine Die