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HB268 • 2025

Education; safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities; provide

Education; safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities; provide

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Persinger, Holt
Last action
2025-04-28
Official status
House Date Signed by Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official summary confirms the creation of the Office and the amendment of terroristic threat laws, but does not provide details on funding levels or specific operational procedures beyond 'technical assistance' and a 'statewide process'.

Georgia Safe Schools and Threat Management Act

This law creates a new Office of Safe Schools to help local schools manage safety threats, sets up rules for handling dangerous behavior in schools, and updates penalties for threatening people at school.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates an Office of Safe Schools within the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency.
  • Provides technical assistance so local school systems can develop policies and procedures for their threat management teams.
  • Develops a statewide process for handling behavioral threats in schools.
  • Updates state law to define penalties for threatening death or serious injury against individuals who are at, or likely to be at, school.
  • Provides an exemption from public records inspection rules related to these safety matters.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students and staff within Georgia's elementary and secondary education systems.
  • Local school system administrators responsible for threat management teams.
  • The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, which will run the new office.
  • Individuals who make threats against people at schools.

Terms To Know

Office of Safe Schools
A new unit within a state agency created to help manage school safety and threat response.
Threat management teams
Groups within local schools that identify, assess, and respond to potential dangers or threats.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The text does not specify the exact budget amount for the new Office of Safe Schools.
  • The specific details of how public records exemptions will be applied are not fully described in this summary.
  • The law states it repeals conflicting laws but does not list which specific old laws are removed.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-28 Georgia General Assembly

    House Date Signed by Governor

Official Summary Text

Education; safety, health, and well-being of students and school communities; provide