Georgia CommonsHB 1231: Education; teachers shall not be required to supervise students during their duty-free lunch period or planning period except in cases of extreme emergency; provide
Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action February 10, 2026 · Introduced
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
House Bill 1231
By: Representatives Corbett of the 174th, Momtahan of the 17th, Parsons of the 44th, Greene of the 154th, and Wilkerson of the 38th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Subpart 2 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to conditions of employment, so as to provide that teachers shall not be required to supervise students during their duty-free lunch period or planning period except in cases of extreme emergency; to require that teachers who supervise students during their duty-free lunch period or planning period are compensated in cases other than an extreme emergency; to provide that requirements related to duty-free lunch periods and planning periods for teachers shall not be subject to waiver; to provide for definitions; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Subpart 2 of Part 6 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to conditions of employment, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-218, relating to duty-free lunch period and planning period required, exemption for extenuating circumstances, and funding, as follows:
"20-2-218.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Extreme emergency' means severe weather conditions, interference caused by electrical or mechanical failure at a school, a disruption caused by an armed attack or threat directed at a school, a disruption of transportation systems resulting in significant changes in the availability of teachers, or the illness or death of one or more teachers. The mere lack of an available substitute teacher shall not constitute an extreme emergency.
(2) 'Planning period' 'planning period' means a block of time when a teacher is not responsible for the direct supervision of student safety or conduct or for providing instruction to students and is responsible for participating in activities that are part of the established duties of a teacher, including, but not limited to, instructional lesson design, grading and assessment, data analysis of student achievement, and growing skills and knowledge in the profession of teaching.
(b)(1) Every teacher who is employed in grades kindergarten through five for a period of time of more than one-half of the class periods of the regular school day shall be provided a daily lunch period of not less than 30 consecutive minutes, and such employee shall not be assigned any responsibilities during such lunch period. Such lunch period shall be included in the number of hours worked, and no local board of education shall increase the number of hours to be worked by an employee as a result of such employee's being granted a lunch period under the provisions of this Code section. This duty-free lunch period shall not be calculated under any circumstances as a part of any daily planning period or other noninstructional time.
(2) Every teacher who is employed in grades kindergarten through 12 for a period of time of more than one-half of the class periods of the regular school day shall be provided a daily planning period. Such planning period shall be included in the number of hours worked, and no local board of education shall increase the number of hours to be worked by an employee as a result of such employee's being granted a planning period under the provisions of this Code section. This planning period shall not be calculated under any circumstances as a part of any daily lunch period or other noninstructional time.
(c) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prevent any teacher from exchanging that teacher's lunch period or planning period for any compensation or benefit mutually agreed upon by the employee and the local superintendent of schools or such superintendent's agent, except that a teacher and the superintendent or agent may not agree to terms which are different from those available to any other teacher granted rights under this Code section within the individual school or to terms which in any way discriminate among such teachers within the individual school.
(d) The implementation of this Code section may not result in a lengthened school day.
(e) If necessary where due to an extreme emergency economic conditions or an unforeseen and unavoidable personnel shortage, a local unit of administration may:
(1) Require a teacher otherwise entitled to a duty-free lunch period to supervise students during such lunch period but for no more than one day in any school week; and
(2) Require a teacher otherwise entitled to a planning period to supervise students during such planning period but for no more than one day in any school week except when necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff.
(f)(1) In circumstances other than an extreme emergency, a local unit of administration shall be authorized to:
(A) Request that a teacher otherwise entitled to a duty-free lunch period supervise students during such duty-free lunch period; and
(B) Request that a teacher otherwise entitled to a planning period supervise students during such planning period.
(2) In the event that a teacher supervises students after agreeing to such a request, such teacher shall be compensated at an hourly rate consistent with his or her salary. (g) During planning periods teachers are encouraged to review the school safety plan and incorporate it into lesson plans as appropriate.
(g)(h) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this Code section to the contrary, nothing in this Code section shall require the General Assembly to appropriate funds for the implementation of the planning period and duty-free lunch program; provided, however, that any such funds appropriated for this purpose shall be used by local school systems for duty-free lunch periods for classroom teachers in grades kindergarten through five and planning periods for classroom teachers in grades kindergarten through 12.
(i) This Code section shall not be subject to waiver pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 or 20-2-2065 for a charter system, Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school, Code Section 20-2-2096.3 for a completion special school, or Code Section 20-2-244."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall apply to all school years beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.