Day 14: Expedited School Enrollment for Foster Children and Harmful Media Materials Bills Advance
- Legislative Team
- 25 minutes ago
- 2 min read
After a busy week of activity under the Gold Dome, Friday was punctuated by movement on several education-related proposals. The House passed HB 629, by Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville), which removes the requirement that schools include licensed physicians on teams that oversee automatic external defibrillators (AEDs). The bill now moves to the Senate.
The Senate passed a bill requiring expedited school enrollment of children in foster care. After lunch, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee took action on a bill regarding media materials and librarians.
Senate Approves Expedited Foster Care Student Enrollment
The Senate unanimously approved SB 431 by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta), which now moves to the House. The bill requires a receiving school to enroll foster care students who transfer to the school within two days. The legislation also prohibits assigning foster care students to remote learning due to missing records. If a school fails to comply, the principal or their designee must provide the parent or guardian with contact information for the appropriate RESA student affairs officer and the Georgia Department of Education’s (GaDOE) chief privacy officer (CPO). GaDOE could also require the school to implement a corrective action plan upon the request of the RESA student affairs officer or the CPO.
During her presentation when the bill moved through committee, bill sponsor Kirkpatrick reported the change stems from a recommendation by the Senate Study Committee on Additional Services and Resources for Transition Age Youth in Foster Care, which met last year. The final report of the study committee is available HERE.
Committee Approves Amended Harmful Media Materials Bill
On a party line vote, the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee passed SB 74 by Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), which would subject librarians to criminal prosecution for knowingly distributing materials deemed harmful to minors. The bill was amended by Rep. Soo Hong (R-Lawrenceville) so that the criminal charge is applicable only to people who knowingly fail to comply with their relevant governing authorities’ decisions pursuant to requests or complaints regarding materials harmful to minors.
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An additional amendment was offered to remove homosexuality from the definition of "sexual conduct" in regard to material that is harmful to minors. This motion failed along party lines.
The bill now moves to the House Rules Committee, which will decide when to schedule the measure for a floor vote.
Register for PAGE Day on Capitol Hill Feb. 17
Please make your plans to join us for 2026 PAGE Day on Capitol Hill, in partnership with the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) and the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE).
This free event will include breakfast, lunch, information sessions with key education-focused policymakers, advocacy opportunities under the Gold Dome, and a state school superintendent candidate forum.
Register and watch a brief informational video HERE.
Upcoming Schedule
Monday, February 9, Legislative Day 15
1 p.m. House Ed Subcommittee on Curriculum & Academic Achievement, 506 CLOB
Tuesday, February 10, Legislative Day 16
2 p.m. Senate Ed, 307 CLOB
Wednesday, February 11, Legislative Day 17
7 a.m. Senate Appropriations Higher Ed and Education Subcommittee, 307 CLOB
Thursday, February 12, Legislative Day 18
Tuesday, February 17, Legislative Day 19 - PAGE Day on Capitol Hill