HB 1190: Students and Teachers SPEAK Act; enact

Currently, Georgia's State Board of Education does not include a student advisor position, and local boards of education have no statewide framework for adding student representatives. This bill, called the Students and Teachers SPEAK Act, creates a process for selecting one Georgia high school junior or senior each year to serve as a nonvoting advisor to the State Board of Education. The Governor picks the student from finalists recommended through a statewide application process involving regional education agencies and the State School Superintendent. The bill also encourages, but does not require, local boards of education to invite student advisors, letting local boards decide how many, how they are chosen, and how long they serve. Student advisors at both levels are barred from confidential information, closed sessions, and matters like discipline, personnel, or legal issues. The bill also updates language about the Georgia Teacher of the Year's advisory role to cover multiple meetings and hearings. It would take effect once signed by the Governor.

• Creates a new position for a student advisor (called a 'student member') to the State Board of Education, chosen annually by the Governor from a pool of high school juniors and seniors.
• Sets up a statewide selection process involving applications, essays, transcripts, recommendations, regional education agency (RESA) interviews, and a final Governor's choice.
• Bars student advisors from voting, accessing confidential information, or participating in discipline, personnel, or legal matters at board meetings.
• Encourages, without requiring, local boards of education to invite one or more student representatives as advisors, leaving details of number and selection to each local board.
• Gives local student representatives a limited advisory vote on issues the local board chairperson determines are germane to the student body, such as codes of conduct or school calendars.
• Updates the Georgia Teacher of the Year's advisory role so it covers multiple state board meetings and hearings rather than a single meeting or hearing.

Georgia high school juniors and seniors who might apply for the student advisor role, the Governor and State School Superintendent who run the selection process, the State Board of Education and local boards of education, regional educational service agencies (RESAs), and the Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Students would gain a formal, though nonvoting, voice in state education policy discussions for the first time, while local districts get explicit legal authority to create similar roles. Confidentiality and voting limits mean the change affects how boards include student input without altering final decision-making power.

• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1 to let the General Assembly authorize student and teacher advisors to the State Board of Education.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 20-2-1.1 defining 'student member,' setting eligibility (age 16+, grade 11 or 12), and creating the RESA-to-Superintendent-to-Governor selection pipeline, with an October 1 annual deadline.
• Section 3 bars student members from confidential information, executive sessions, and legal, discipline, or personnel matters, and provides expense reimbursement under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-21.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-54 to let local boards of education invite student representatives, with local boards setting the number, appointment method, and term length.
• Section 4 gives local student representatives a limited, non-binding advisory vote on matters the board chairperson deems germane to students, such as conduct codes or class schedules.
• Section 5 updates O.C.G.A. § 20-2-212.1 so the Georgia Teacher of the Year's advisory invitation covers multiple state board meetings and hearings.
• Section 6 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without approval.

1. 2026-02-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-05House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-04House Hopper (House)

• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)Primary sponsor
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Mike Cameron (R, HD-001)
• Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)

• student advisory roles
• State Board of Education
• local school boards
• education policy
• Georgia Teacher of the Year