---
title: HB 1232. Education; certain students be excused from school for participating in certain officially sanctioned visits to the state capitol; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1232
cite_as: HB 1232, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1232
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1232.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1232/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72953
date: 2026-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 319
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1232.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1232
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-06
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute
sponsors:
- Mike Cheokas
- Chris Erwin
- Matt Dubnik
- Bethany Ballard
- Scott Hilton
- Carmen Rice
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1232/2025
upstream_id: 2111498
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school attendance
- Girl Scouts
- state capitol visits
- education law
---
# HB 1232. Education; certain students be excused from school for participating in certain officially sanctioned visits to the state capitol; provide
## Text
The House Committee on Education offers the following substitute to HB 1232:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Subpart 2 of Part 1 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of
Georgia Annotated, relating to compulsory attendance, so as to provide that certain students
be excused from school for participating in certain officially sanctioned visits to the state
capitol; to provide for a short title; 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 1 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to compulsory attendance, is amended by adding a new Code section to
read as follows:
"20-2-692.5.
(a) This Code section shall be known and may be cited as the 'Teagan Church Act.'
(b) A student who serves as a member of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America,
as defined in Title 36 of the United States Code, and participates in an official Girl Scout
sanctioned visit to the Georgia State Capitol shall be credited as present by the school in
which such student is enrolled in the same manner as an educational field trip, and such
participation in such sanctioned visit shall not be counted as an absence, either excused or
unexcused."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
A Georgia House bill would let students who are Girl Scouts count an official Girl Scout visit to the state capitol as present, not as an absence.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, students who miss school for various activities are tracked through the state's compulsory attendance rules, and absences, even for approved trips, can sometimes count against a student's attendance record. This bill adds a new section to Georgia's compulsory attendance law (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 2) called the 'Teagan Church Act.'
It says that a student who is a member of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America and takes part in an officially sanctioned Girl Scout visit to the Georgia State Capitol must be marked present by their school, treated the same as if they were on an educational field trip. The bill specifies that this participation cannot be counted as either an excused or unexcused absence. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Creates a new Code section (20-2-692.5) requiring schools to mark Girl Scout students present when they attend an official Girl Scout visit to the Georgia State Capitol.
- Names the new law the 'Teagan Church Act.'
- Prohibits schools from counting the sanctioned capitol visit as either an excused or unexcused absence.
- Treats the capitol visit the same way schools already treat educational field trips for attendance purposes.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new rule.
### Who it affects
Students enrolled in Georgia public schools who are members of the Girl Scouts of the United States of America, along with the schools and school administrators responsible for tracking student attendance records.
### Why it matters
Attendance records can affect things like academic standing and truancy tracking. This bill means Girl Scouts who go on an official trip to the state capitol will not see that day counted against their attendance, similar to how a school field trip is treated.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 20-2-692.5 to Georgia's compulsory attendance law (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 16, Subpart 2).
- The new section names itself the 'Teagan Church Act' in subsection (a).
- Subsection (b) defines the covered student as a Girl Scouts of the United States of America member, referencing the federal charter definition in Title 36 of the United States Code.
- Subsection (b) requires schools to credit the student as present, the same as an educational field trip, for an official Girl Scout sanctioned visit to the Georgia State Capitol.
- Subsection (b) specifies the visit cannot be recorded as either an excused or unexcused absence.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-06)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-03-06)
- Sponsors: Mike Cheokas, Chris Erwin, Matt Dubnik, Bethany Ballard, Scott Hilton, Carmen Rice
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72953
> The history, votes, and amendments (319 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1232.md?full=1