HB335: HB335 Quality Basic Education Act; address mental health risks for student athletes

Georgia currently has no specific law requiring schools or athletic associations to educate student athletes and coaches about mental health risks tied to sports. HB335 would add a new section to the Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. Title 20) addressing this gap for students in grades six through 12 at public schools and participating private schools. The bill would require athletic associations, working with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, to post guidelines and materials online about student athlete mental health risks and resources. Schools would have to inform parents or guardians at least once a year, and coaches would have to review the materials annually before they are allowed to coach. The bill also limits liability for schools, athletic associations, and their staff or volunteers for decisions about removing or not removing an athlete over mental health concerns, except for healthcare providers not acting as volunteers. No effective date is specified beyond standard enactment.

• Adds a new Code section requiring athletic associations to develop and post online guidelines and materials on student athlete mental health risks and resources, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
• Requires public and participating private schools with grades six through 12 to inform each student athlete's parent or guardian at least once a year about mental health risks and resources.
• Requires every coach of an interscholastic athletic activity to review the approved mental health guidelines and materials once each school year before being eligible to coach.
• Limits liability for schools, athletic associations, and their officers, employees, and volunteers for decisions about removing or not removing a student athlete over mental health concerns, with an exception for healthcare providers not volunteering.
• Encourages, but does not require, sponsors of youth athletic activities outside school settings to adopt the same guidelines.

Public school and participating private school student athletes in grades six through 12, their parents or guardians, coaches, school personnel, athletic associations, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and sponsors of youth athletic activities.

Coaches and schools would face a new annual training and notification requirement tied to student athlete mental health, and coaches who skip the review could become ineligible to coach. Families would receive yearly information on warning signs and resources, while schools and associations gain legal protection for related removal decisions.

• Defines key terms including 'athletic association,' 'healthcare provider,' 'interscholastic athletic activity,' 'participating private school,' and 'student athlete' (subsection (a)).
• Subsection (b) requires each athletic association to post mental health guidelines and materials online, developed with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.
• Subsection (c) requires schools to notify parents or guardians at least once a year about student athlete mental health risks and resources.
• Subsection (d) requires coaches to complete an annual review of the guidelines and bars ineligible coaches from coaching until they do so.
• Subsection (e) limits liability for schools, athletic associations, and their staff or volunteers regarding decisions on removing a student athlete for mental health reasons, except for non-volunteer healthcare providers.
• Subsection (f) encourages youth athletic activity sponsors, as defined elsewhere in Code Section 20-2-324.1, to voluntarily adopt these provisions.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
2. 2025-02-28House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
3. 2025-02-11House Second Readers (House)
4. 2025-02-10House First Readers (House)
5. 2025-02-06House Hopper (House)

• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)Primary sponsor
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Dewey McClain (D, HD-109)
• Inga Willis (D, HD-055)
• Demetrius Douglas (D, HD-078)

• student athlete mental health
• school sports
• youth sports safety
• education law
• athletic associations