SB248: SB248 Georgia Council on Library Materials Standards; establish and provide

This bill (the 'Clean Libraries Act' and related provisions) creates the Georgia Council on Library Materials Standards, a ten member panel appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, House Speaker, and legislative minority leaders. The council, working with the Department of Education, would set standards for designating 'restricted materials' in school libraries and instructional materials, focused on content that is 'harmful to minors' or 'sexually explicit.' Local school boards would have to adopt matching policies by December 1, 2025, keep restricted material away from students in grade six and below, and require parental written consent for students in grade seven and up. The bill also repeals and rewrites Georgia's sex education law, barring sex education before sixth grade, requiring parental opt-in consent, and setting public review periods for curricula. It creates the 'Parents and Children Protection Act of 2025,' which limits classroom or informal discussion of gender identity topics for younger students and requires parental notice for many discussions. It adds parental notification and consent rules for school health screenings and complaint procedures with State Board of Education appeals. The law would take effect immediately if signed by the Governor.

• Creates the Georgia Council on Library Materials Standards, a 10 member panel that sets and annually updates standards for restricting school library and instructional materials.
• Requires local school boards to adopt policies by December 1, 2025 restricting materials that are 'harmful to minors' or 'sexually explicit,' keeping such material from students in grade six and below and requiring parental consent for grade seven and up.
• Repeals and replaces Georgia's sex education law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-143) to ban sex education before sixth grade and require revocable written parental consent before any student receives sex education.
• Creates a new law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-143.1) barring school staff from initiating classroom instruction or informal discussion emphasizing gender identity or related topics with students in kindergarten through third grade, with limited exceptions for grades four through 12.
• Requires public schools to notify parents annually of available health services and get parental consent before giving well-being questionnaires to students in kindergarten through third grade.
• Sets up a complaint process, with appeals to the State Board of Education, for alleged violations of the parental notification and instruction rules, including possible suspension of school waivers.

Public school students and their parents or guardians, local school boards and school district staff, school librarians, textbook and curriculum vendors, the Department of Education, and the State Board of Education, all of whom would face new duties, restrictions, or reporting requirements under the bill.

The bill would change what books and classroom materials Georgia public school students can access without parental permission, restrict when and how sex education and gender identity topics can be discussed in schools, and create new paperwork, review deadlines, and complaint procedures for school districts to follow starting in 2025.

• Section 1-1 establishes the Georgia Council on Library Materials Standards under a new O.C.G.A. Article 5 of Title 20, describing its ten members, meeting requirements, and administrative attachment to the Department of Education.
• Section 1-2 revises the definition of 'harmful to minors' in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-324.6 used for the existing complaint resolution policy on library and instructional materials.
• Section 1-3 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-2-324.8, requiring local boards to adopt restricted-material policies by December 1, 2025 and to publish annual lists of restricted or sexually explicit materials, with vendor rating requirements.
• Section 2-1 repeals and rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-143 as the 'No Indoctrinating Children in Elementary (NICE) Act,' banning sex education before sixth grade and requiring 45 day public review periods for sex education curricula.
• Section 3-1 creates O.C.G.A. § 20-2-143.1, the 'Parents and Children Protection Act of 2025,' restricting school staff instruction or informal communication on gender identity topics with students, with exceptions for grades four through 12 tied to required curricula.
• Section 3-2 adds subsections to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-773 requiring annual parental notice of school health services and consent before giving well-being questionnaires to students in kindergarten through third grade.
• Section 3-3 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-2-787, requiring school policies on parental notification of changes to student support or monitoring and setting a complaint and appeal process through the State Board of Education.
• Section 4-1 states the law takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2025-02-26Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2025-02-24Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)Primary sponsor
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)

• school library books
• sex education policy
• parental rights in schools
• gender identity in schools
• public school curriculum