HB542: HB542 Protecting All Learners Act; enact

Georgia's Promise Scholarship program lets eligible students use state funds to attend participating private schools. Currently the law creating that program does not spell out whether those private schools must follow federal special education protections. This bill, titled the Protecting All Learners Act, adds a new Code section requiring every participating private school to fully implement a student's most recent Individualized Education Program (a legally required plan for students with disabilities) or Section 504 plan (a plan ensuring access for students with disabilities under federal civil rights law). Participating schools would also have to comply as fully as possible with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and adopt rules requiring parents to hand over a complete copy of their child's plan within ten days of enrollment. The law would take effect July 1, 2025, and repeals any conflicting Georgia laws.

• Requires private schools accepting Promise Scholarship funds to fully implement each enrolled student's existing IEP or Section 504 plan.
• Requires those schools to comply as fully as possible with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
• Directs participating schools to adopt rules and policies to carry out these new requirements.
• Requires parents of participating students to give the school a complete copy of their child's IEP or Section 504 plan within ten days of enrollment.
• Sets an effective date of July 1, 2025, and repeals conflicting state laws.

Private schools that participate in Georgia's Promise Scholarship voucher program, students with disabilities and their parents who use those scholarships, and state education officials who oversee the program are all directly affected by this bill's new requirements.

Families using Promise Scholarship funds to send a child with a disability to a private school would gain a legal requirement that the school actually follow the child's IEP or Section 504 plan, addressing concerns that private schools receiving public voucher money were not bound by the same special education rules as public schools.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Protecting All Learners Act.'
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 20-2B-23.1, requiring participating schools to fully implement a student's most recent IEP or Section 504 plan.
• Section 2 also requires participating schools to comply to the fullest extent possible with the federal IDEA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
• Section 2 requires participating schools to adopt rules and policies, including requiring parents to submit a complete copy of the relevant plan within ten days of enrollment.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.
• Section 4 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-02-24House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-21House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-20House Hopper (House)

• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)Primary sponsor
• Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)
• Doreen Carter (D, HD-093)
• Ruwa Romman (D, HD-097)
• Jasmine Clark (D, HD-108)

• special education
• school vouchers
• Promise Scholarship
• IEP and 504 plans
• private schools