HB 1050: Law enforcement officers and agencies; protection of student data from immigration officials under certain circumstances; provide

Georgia law already directs state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. This bill amends that law (O.C.G.A. § 35-1-17) to add specific protections for students in public schools. It says school employees can only share a student's immigration status information with immigration or public safety officials when that information is proven necessary for public safety. The bill requires every public school to name an administrator responsible for handling any interactions with immigration enforcement officers, and bars those officers from school grounds without a valid judicial warrant or order. It also blocks immigration agencies from accessing school databases or student records without a warrant, subpoena, or parental consent, except in medical emergencies. Officers who show up on or within 300 feet of a school lose the legal immunity they would otherwise have under this law. Schools cannot punish staff for following these rules. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Requires public school employees to share a student's immigration status with immigration or public safety officials only when proven necessary for public safety.
• Bars immigration enforcement officers from entering public school premises without a valid judicial warrant or order.
• Requires each public school to designate an administrator responsible for verifying and handling any immigration officer who appears at the school.
• Blocks immigration agencies from accessing school database systems or student records without a judicial order, subpoena, or parental consent, except in medical emergencies.
• Removes legal immunity for law enforcement or immigration officers acting on or within 300 feet of a public school site.
• Prohibits schools from disciplining or firing staff for following these new student-protection procedures.

Public school employees, administrators, and officials in Georgia's county and independent school systems; students and their families; local law enforcement agencies and officers; and federal, state, or local immigration enforcement personnel who interact with schools.

Families with students in Georgia public schools would gain new limits on when immigration officers can access school grounds or student records. School staff would get clearer rules and job protection for following them, while immigration and law enforcement officers would lose their usual legal immunity if they act near a school campus.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 35-1-17 to add legislative intent language protecting students from undue immigration enforcement encroachment, alongside the existing cooperation mandate.
• New subsection (b)(1) language limits public school employees to sharing student immigration status only when proven necessary for public safety.
• New subsection (b)(4) bars immigration agencies from accessing school databases or student records without a judicial order, subpoena, or parental consent, except for medical emergencies defined under O.C.G.A. § 31-11-81.
• New subsection (e) strips legal immunity from officers acting on or within 300 feet of a public school site.
• New subsection (f) requires each school to designate an administrator to handle immigration officer interactions, bars officers from school premises without a valid judicial warrant, restricts disclosure of student records under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-662, and bars punishing staff who follow these rules.
• Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without signature.
• The existing penalty provision withholding state or federal funding from noncompliant local governing bodies is retained as subsection (g).

1. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• Spencer Frye (D, HD-122)Primary sponsor
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Shea Roberts (D, HD-052)
• Eric Gisler (D, HD-121)
• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)

• immigration enforcement
• public schools
• student privacy
• school administration
• law enforcement policy