HB629: HB629 Education; remove requirement of having a licensed physician in automated external defibrillator programs

Georgia law already requires public K-12 schools to keep a working automated external defibrillator (AED) on site and to run an emergency response program around it. This bill rewrites that law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-775) to remove the current requirement that a licensed physician or someone authorized by the Georgia Composite Medical Board be involved in overseeing each school's AED program. In its place, the bill adds detailed new requirements for bleeding control kits: schools must obtain training approved by the American College of Surgeons, notify local EMS of each kit's location, keep kits maintained and restocked, and fold bleeding emergencies into the same internal response teams, emergency action plans, and twice-yearly practice drills already required for cardiac emergencies. The bill also adds a separate provision to Georgia's duty-free lunch and planning period law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218) saying that law can no longer be waived by charter systems, charter schools, strategic waiver systems, or completion special schools. The lunch period change applies starting with the 2026-2027 school year. The AED and bleeding kit changes only take effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for them; otherwise that part of the law does not change.

• Removes the current requirement that a licensed physician or a person authorized by the Georgia Composite Medical Board be involved in overseeing a school's automated external defibrillator (AED) program.
• Adds a legal definition of 'bleeding control kit' and requires schools to obtain American College of Surgeons approved training in stopping severe bleeding.
• Requires schools to notify local emergency medical services of the location of each bleeding control kit and to keep kits maintained and restocked after use.
• Expands existing internal response teams, written emergency action plans, and required twice-yearly drills so they cover severe bleeding emergencies, not just cardiac arrest.
• Adds a rule to Georgia's duty-free lunch and planning period law barring charter systems, charter schools, strategic waiver systems, and completion special schools from waiving it.
• Makes the AED and bleeding control kit changes take effect only if the General Assembly appropriates specific funding for them.

Public K-12 schools and school staff who serve on internal emergency response teams, students and others on school grounds during emergencies, local emergency medical services agencies notified about AED and bleeding kit locations, the Georgia Composite Medical Board, the Georgia Trauma Commission, and charter systems, charter schools, strategic waiver systems, and completion special schools affected by the lunch period change.

Schools would no longer need a licensed physician tied to their defibrillator program, but they would take on new bleeding control training, notification, and drill duties similar to existing AED rules. Whether these changes actually happen depends on the state specifically funding them, and the lunch period rule change would limit certain schools' scheduling flexibility starting in 2026-2027.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-775 to remove the licensed physician/medical board oversight requirement for AED programs.
• Section 1 defines 'bleeding control kit' as a kit approved by the American College of Surgeons, obtainable through the Georgia Trauma Commission Bleeding Control Kit Program.
• Section 1 requires schools to train internal response team members and other expected users in bleeding control kit use and to notify local EMS of each kit's location before use.
• Section 1 extends existing emergency action plan and internal response team requirements, including two practice drills per school year, to cover severe bleeding emergencies.
• Section 2 adds a new subsection (h) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218 stating the duty-free lunch and planning period law is not subject to waiver by certain school systems and school types.
• Section 3 makes the Act effective July 1, 2026, except Section 1, which only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funds for it.
• Section 3 applies the lunch period waiver ban starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

1. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
2. 2026-03-27Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2026-03-27Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-02-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2026-02-06House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
6. 2026-02-06House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-02-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
8. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)

• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)Primary sponsor
• Sharon Cooper (R, HD-045)
• Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
• Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 6, 2026

   166 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #483

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 31, 2026

   39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #912

• school safety
• defibrillators
• bleeding control kits
• school lunch periods
• K-12 education