Day 36: Senate Sends Bill to Expand Student Cell Phone Ban to Governor's Desk
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The penultimate week of the legislative session got off to a busy start with the chambers taking committee and floor action on several education bills.
Senate Approves 9-12 Student Cell Phone Ban and Math Reform Bill
The Senate unanimously passed two education bills and approved a third with only two dissenting votes.
HB 1009 by Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners) banning student use of cell phones and other electronic devices from bell-to-bell in grades 9-12, beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. Students participating in dual enrollment, work-based learning, or apprenticeship programs off campus are excluded from the ban. E-readers are also removed from the list of prohibited devices. Bill supporters highlighted survey results collected by Georgia Southern University, in collaboration with PAGE, showing strong educator support for extending the existing K-8 ban to high school grades.
Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta) offered an amendment that would have given schools the option to allow students to use devices during the transitional time between classes, but it was voted down.
HB 1009 is now on Gov. Brian Kemp's desk awaiting his signature.
HB 1030 by Rep. Sandy Donatucci (R-Buford), the “Math Matters Act,” makes several significant changes to math instruction in Georgia, including requiring the adoption of new math standards, increasing required instructional time, automatically enrolling certain high-performing students in advanced math courses, and imposing new requirements for educator certification. Bill provisions would not be waivable by schools. HB 1030 also requires the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to report various data on student math assessment performance and the number of students enrolled in advanced math courses. The bill also includes language from SB 171, by Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), which would require the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop an advanced math pathway for students in grades 3 to 8, culminating in a high school math course that students could take in middle school. More information on SB 171 can be found HERE.
HB 1030 now goes back to the House to await final agreement.
The Senate also passed HB 1164 by Rep. Will Wade (R-Dawsonville) with a vote of 49-2. The bill would require the SBOE to appoint an audit committee and outline the committee's responsibilities. It revises financial audit provisions for school districts and state charter schools. The bill requires the Department of Audits and Accounts (DOAA) to create a tiered system to monitor the financial conditions of districts and state charter schools, and to institute interventions for those identified as in fiscal distress or in a critical fiscal emergency. Under HB 1164, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) has expanded authority to conduct performance audits of school districts, including districts' use of waivers.
HB 1164 now moves to the governor.
House Ed Passes Senate Legislation on Teacher Tax Credits, Absenteeism, Cursive, Financial Accountability, and More
The House Education Committee passed the following bills, all of which now move to House Rules
SB 472 by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro), would expand the authority of the SBOE and DOAA related to fiscal oversight and governance of local school districts. The bill adds additional triggers to remove local board members beyond accreditation issues, including if the state auditor deems a district high-risk or finds it has engaged in financial mismanagement or misconduct. SB 472 would establish procedures for hearings, temporary board appointments, reinstatement petitions for board members removed from their positions, and for permanent removal of board members. In addition to board governance provisions, the bill caps advance distribution of state-provided education funding at 50% of a system’s prior-year allotment, unless the state auditor determines that a larger advance is necessary. Districts would also be required to adopt and comply with state-directed financial monitoring and intervention plans assigned by the state auditor. The bill also limits the length of contracts for superintendents of districts designated as high-risk by DOAA to one year. If the superintendent's contract is currently longer than one year, it will be considered void. Any new contract for the superintendent of a high-risk district must not be the subject of a state auditor finding for financial mismanagement or misconduct, and the superintendent must not knowingly fail to comply with a corrective action plan assigned under the provisions of the bill. If the superintendent violates the stipulations, the local board is authorized to terminate the superintendent's contract.
SB 515 by Sen. Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) would continue the teacher tax credit and make several changes to the program. It will end this year without legislative reauthorization. SB 515 would extend the deadline for new tax credit applications until 2031. It would also lower the tax credit for educators not already receiving the $3,000 tax credit to $2,500. It increases the cap on the number of teachers who can participate from 1,000 to 1,200. If more than 1,200 teachers apply, those in rural schools will be prioritized. Hickman’s legislation requires participating teachers to teach in statewide high-needs areas of math, special education, or CTAE. It is also available for teachers in reading, writing, or ELA, provided that qualifying teachers hold a current GaPSC-approved dyslexia or reading endorsement. The bill states that the total amount of these tax credits provided cannot exceed $3 million for any fiscal year.
PAGE previously spoke in support of SB 515 when it moved through subcommittee.
SB 513, the Every Day Counts Act by Sen. Jason Dickerson (R-Canton), seeks to codify recommendations of the Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools. The bill requires local school systems to adopt a multi-tiered framework of attendance supports and interventions. A chronically-unexcused student would be defined as a student with five unexcused absences during the first 50 days of the school year. After the 50th school day, a chronically-unexcused student is one who misses 10% of the total number of school days. SB 513 establishes attendance review teams at the district level and, in some cases, at the school level to review cases and develop written attendance intervention plans in collaboration with chronically-unexcused students and their parents or guardians. Schools must regularly update compliance records, designate chronically unexcused students as ineligible for extracurricular and interscholastic activities until an intervention plan is in place, and report noncompliance with the plans to GaDOE. SB 513 says that a student may be prevented from obtaining a permit or driver’s license unless the student is enrolled in school or compliant with an approved attendance intervention plan.
The committee amended the bill with language regarding students enrolled in Completion Special Schools.
The bill was passed after a brief delay and some confusion about which version of the bill would be considered. The newest version available on the official state website is likely to be updated within a day of publication of the PAGE Day 36 Capitol Report.
SB 589 by Sen. Matt Brass (R-Newnan) requires schools to allow children who reach age 4 or 5 by Sept. 1 to enroll in a voluntary Pre-K program at the request of the child’s parent or guardian.
SB 425 by Sen. Marty Harbin (R-Tyrone) requires all schools serving students in grades three, four, or five that receive state funding provide instruction in cursive handwriting to all students no later than third grade. The bill also adds language from HB 629, by Rep. Lee Hawkins (R-Gainesville) regarding training and utilization of bleeding control kits in schools and language from SB 557 by Sen. Chuck Payne (R-Dalton) which mandates districts adopt policies allowing a public school employee who is the victim of an act of physical violence committed by a student or a student’s parent or guardian to transfer to a similar position within the same school system, if one is available. GaDOE reports that Georgia's K-12 English Language Arts (ELA) standards already require cursive handwriting instruction in grades 3-5, beginning in third grade.
SB 431 by Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta) requires enrollment of foster care students who transfer to the school within three 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 GaDOE's 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. SB 431 incorporates some recommendations of 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.
SB 475 by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), which requires local boards of education to treat local charter schools no less favorably than other local schools for purposes of special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) proceeds. The bill also lowers the percentage of eligible voters needed to trigger a local referendum on dissolving a city school district into a county district. The current threshold to do so is 25%, and SB 475 would lower that percentage to 10% of eligible registered voters.
Bill Requiring Weapons Detection Systems Approved by Senate Committee
The Senate Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee unanimously approved HB 1023 by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), which would require at least one weapon detection system at the main entry points of school buildings. The requirement does not apply to entry points that are locked, alarmed, and not intended for student use. Districts could use current school safety funding or any other funding sources to purchase the equipment. The version passed by the committee allows solutions such as visual inspection, weapon-detecting dogs, and other measures beyond metal detectors or artificial intelligence-powered weapons-detection systems.
When asked about funding concerns expressed by some school districts, Efstration responded that he believes that considering the school safety grants included in the state budget, HB 1023 will not be an unfunded mandate for schools. The annual grants are approximately $50,000 per year per school. He also said the House’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget includes additional funds to help schools implement the weapons detection measures required by the bill and suggested school systems with reserve funds should use those funds to comply with the measures. Several members of the committee commented on local school system reserves, asserting that many districts have enough money on hand to fund the systems. Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) expressed concern that several bills moving through the General Assembly would limit the local funding school systems can raise.
Students who attended Apalachee High School in Barrow County during the school shooting on Sept. 4, 2024, spoke in support of the legislation, as did parents of students at the school.
The bill was amended to require school districts to have the systems in place by Jan. 1, 2028.
HB 1023 now awaits consideration by the Senate Rules Committee.
House Judiciary Again Passes Student Political Activity Bill
The House Judiciary Committee approved SB 552 by Sen. Ben Watson (R-Savannah), the True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act. The bill had previously been recommitted to the committee.
SB 552 states that students are to be allowed to engage in political activities and expression as well as form partisan or nonpartisan groups or activities before, during, and after the school day. SB 552 also prohibits public schools with a limited open forum from denying access or discriminating against student groups based on the content of their speech, including political, philosophical, or ideological viewpoints. The legislation also indicates that students are allowed to wear clothing and accessories that display political messages or symbols to the same extent as other messages permitted under a school's dress code. The bill explicitly states that it does not limit the authority of a public school, its employees, or its agents to maintain order and discipline on school premises, to protect the well-being of students and staff, and to assure that attendance of students at meetings is voluntary.
A committee substitute to the bill clarifies that it does not mandate schools establish a limited open forum.
The bill now awaits consideration by the House Rules Committee.
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, March 24 - Legislative Committee Workday
Senate Appropriations HB 1193 Subcommittee, 1 p.m., Mezz 1
Senate Retirement, 1 p.m., 310 CLOB
House Retirement, 2 p.m., 406 CLOB
Senate Ed, 2 p.m., 307 CLOB
Wednesday, March 25 - Legislative Day 37
Senate Appropriations, 7:30 a.m., 341 CAP
Senate Retirement, 1 p.m., 310 CLOB
Senate Health & Human Services, 4 p.m. 450 CAP
Thursday, March 26 - Legislative Committee Workday
Senate Ed, 1 p.m., 307 CLOB
Friday, March 27 - Legislative Day 38
Tuesday, March 31 - Legislative Day 39
Thursday, April 2 - Legislative Day 40/Sine Die