SB54: SB54 State Board of Education; establishment of a program and state-wide database relating to threats to safety made on or impacting school campuses; require

This bill adds a new section to Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-20.1) directing the State Board of Education to create two new tools for public elementary and secondary schools. First, by July 1, 2026, the board must set up an emergency alert response system letting school staff notify law enforcement and local first responders of threats, and letting nearby school systems communicate with each other about active threats. Second, by July 1, 2027, the board must build a secure statewide database where schools report and monitor safety threats. Anyone who threatens a school's safety can be listed, but a student cannot be added until local police verify the threat and a school social worker evaluates the student. The board must set standards for listing and removing people, and schools must offer counseling and mental health resources to any listed student. The board may consult with state emergency and law enforcement agencies and local school boards.

• Requires the State Board of Education to create an emergency alert system by July 1, 2026, connecting schools to police, first responders, and neighboring districts during safety threats.
• Requires the board to build a secure statewide database by July 1, 2027, for schools to report and track safety threats made against or affecting campuses.
• Requires that a student cannot be entered into the database until local law enforcement verifies the threat and a certified school social worker evaluates the student.
• Requires the board to create standards for removing a person from the database, including a required student evaluation by a school social worker.
• Requires local school systems to give parents counseling recommendations and provide mental health services to any student added to the database.
• Allows the board to consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and local school boards when carrying out these duties.

Public elementary and secondary schools and their administrators, local school systems and school boards, students and parents (especially students flagged for threats), school social workers, local law enforcement and emergency responders, and the State Board of Education, which must build and run both systems.

Schools would gain a direct, standardized way to alert police and neighboring districts during active threats, and a shared statewide record for tracking people who threaten campuses. Students would face specific safeguards, including law enforcement verification and a social worker evaluation, before being listed or removed.

• New Code section 20-2-20.1(a) requires an emergency alert response system by July 1, 2026, covering notification of law enforcement, first responders, and neighboring school systems.
• Subsection (b) requires a secure statewide threat database by July 1, 2027, accessible only to designated school personnel.
• Subsection (b) bars adding a student to the database until local law enforcement verifies the threat and a certified school social worker evaluates the student.
• Subsection (b) requires the board to set standards for inclusion and a petition process for removal, including a required student evaluation.
• Subsection (b) requires local school systems to give parents counseling recommendations and provide mental health services to listed students.
• Subsection (c) authorizes the board to consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and local school governing bodies.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-29Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-01-28Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Emanuel Jones (D, SD-010)Primary sponsor
• Harold Jones (D, SD-022)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• David Lucas (D, SD-026)
• Nan Orrock (D, SD-036)
• Gail Davenport (D, SD-017)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Michael Rhett (D, SD-033)
• Sheikh Rahman (D, SD-005)
• Donzella James (D, SD-028)
• Nikki Merritt (D, SD-009)
• RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-038)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)

• school safety
• school threats database
• emergency alert systems
• student mental health services
• education policy