---
title: HB 1244. Education; duty-free lunch period and planning period requirements; provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1244
cite_as: HB 1244, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1244
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1244.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1244/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72974
date: 2026-03-03
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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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 203
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1244.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1244
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:
- Akbar Ali
- Bethany Ballard
- Lydia Glaize
- Gerald Greene
- Doreen Carter
- Karen Lupton
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1244/2025
upstream_id: 2111556
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- teacher planning time
- school lunch policy
- education law
- teacher working conditions
- school waivers
---
# HB 1244. Education; duty-free lunch period and planning period requirements; provisions
## Text
The House Committee on Education offers the following substitute to HB 1244:
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 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) In circumstances other than an extreme emergency, a local unit of administration shall
be authorized to:
(1) Request that a teacher otherwise entitled to a duty-free lunch period supervise
students during such duty-free lunch period; and
(2) Request that a teacher otherwise entitled to a planning period supervise students
during such planning period.
(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.
## 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 tighten when schools can require teachers to give up their duty-free lunch or planning period, limiting it to defined extreme emergencies, and would bar districts from waiving these protections.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already gives most teachers a duty-free lunch period and a daily planning period, but current law lets schools require teachers to give those up during 'extenuating circumstances,' a vague standard. This bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218 to replace that standard with a narrow definition of 'extreme emergency,' covering things like severe weather, armed threats, transportation breakdowns, or a teacher's illness or death. A simple shortage of substitute teachers would no longer count.
Outside of an actual extreme emergency, the bill says districts may only 'request,' not require, that a teacher cover lunch or planning periods. It also adds language making these lunch and planning period protections immune from waiver under several existing Georgia school flexibility laws, including strategic waivers systems, charter systems, charter schools, and completion special schools. The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
### What it does
- Replaces the current 'extenuating circumstances' standard with a specific legal definition of 'extreme emergency' before a teacher can be required to give up a duty-free lunch or planning period.
- Excludes a simple lack of an available substitute teacher from counting as an extreme emergency.
- Limits mandatory supervision duty during a true extreme emergency to no more than one day per school week, same as current law, but now under the tighter emergency definition.
- Adds a new provision letting local school districts only 'request,' not require, that teachers cover lunch or planning periods in non-emergency situations.
- Makes the duty-free lunch and planning period requirements immune from waiver under several state school flexibility programs, including strategic waivers systems, charter systems, charter schools, and completion special schools.
- Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2026, applying starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
### Who it affects
Public school teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, especially those in grades kindergarten through five who receive duty-free lunch periods, along with local school district administrators and superintendents who assign teacher duties, and schools operating under strategic waivers, charter, or completion special school flexibility agreements.
### Why it matters
Teachers would have stronger day-to-day protection against being pulled from lunch or planning time, since districts could no longer cite loose 'extenuating circumstances' or substitute shortages, only a narrowly defined emergency. Districts operating under waiver programs would lose the ability to waive these specific protections.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218(a) to add a definition of 'extreme emergency' covering severe weather, mechanical or electrical failure, armed threats, transportation disruptions, or a teacher's illness or death, and specifies that a substitute teacher shortage alone does not qualify.
- Section 1 revises subsection (e) so mandatory supervision during lunch or planning periods is allowed only 'due to an extreme emergency,' removing the prior 'unforeseen and unavoidable personnel shortage' basis, still capped at one day per school week.
- Section 1 adds new subsection (f) allowing districts to only request, not require, teacher supervision of lunch or planning periods outside of an extreme emergency.
- Section 1 adds new subsection (i) exempting this Code section from waiver under Code Sections 20-2-82, 20-2-2063.2, 20-2-2065, 20-2-2096.3, and 20-2-244, which cover strategic waivers systems, charter systems, charter schools, and completion special schools.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying to school years beginning with 2026-2027.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-06)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Akbar Ali, Bethany Ballard, Lydia Glaize, Gerald Greene, Doreen Carter, Karen Lupton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72974
> The history, votes, and amendments (203 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1244.md?full=1