---
title: HB 1294. Education; grace period of up to 180 days for transfer students to be evaluated for and receive medical and education services based upon medical forms executed by out-of-state physicians; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1294
cite_as: HB 1294, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1294
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1294.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1294/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73171
date: 2026-02-18
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1294.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1294
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-12
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Karen Lupton
- Rick Townsend
- Marvin Lim
- David Wilkerson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1294/2025
upstream_id: 2116205
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- student health records
- school transfers
- special education
- public school policy
- student athletics
---
# HB 1294. Education; grace period of up to 180 days for transfer students to be evaluated for and receive medical and education services based upon medical forms executed by out-of-state physicians; provide
## Text
House Bill 1294
By: Representatives Lupton of the 83rd, Townsend of the 179th, Lim of the 98th, and
Wilkerson of the 38th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, so as to provide
for a grace period of up to 180 days for transfer students to be evaluated for and receive
medical and education services based upon medical forms executed by out-of-state
physicians; to provide for exceptions; to require the State Board of Education and the
Department of Public Health to adopt rules, regulations, and procedures; to provide for
definitions; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to student health in elementary and secondary education, is amended by adding a
new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-779.5.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Athletic association' means any association of schools or any other similar
organization which acts as an organizing, sanctioning, scheduling, or rule-making body
for interscholastic athletic activities or similar events in which public elementary or
secondary schools in this state participate.
(2) 'Out-of-state physician' means a physician who is not licensed in the State of Georgia,
is a physician of record for a transferring student, and is licensed as a physician in the
state in which such transferring student resided immediately prior to enrolling in a
Georgia public elementary or secondary school.
(3) 'Required medical form' means any form which is required by state law, State Board
of Education rule, or Department of Public Health rule to be executed by a licensed
physician and is to be used for determining a student's immunization history; evaluating
a student for special education or related services or hospital homebound services;
implementing a student's Individualized Education Program (IEP), Section 504 plan,
diabetes medical management plan, or seizure action plan; or administering medication
or providing school nursing services. Such term shall mean and include any medical
record executed by a transferring student's out-of-state physician which substantially
satisfies the requirements of a required medical form.
(4) 'Transferring student' means a student who resided in a state outside of Georgia
immediately prior to enrolling in an elementary or secondary public school in this state.
(b) For a period not to exceed 180 days following the date of the initial enrollment of a
transfer student in a Georgia public elementary or secondary school, any required medical
form duly executed by the transfer student's out-of-state physician shall be provisionally
accepted by such public school and shall be deemed to temporarily satisfy the requirements
for such required medical form; provided, however, that such required medical form was
executed by the transferring student's out-of-state physician 180 or fewer days prior to such
transfer student's initial enrollment in a Georgia public elementary or secondary school;
and, provided, further, that this subsection shall not apply to or be deemed to satisfy any
state law, State Board of Education rule, Department of Public Health rule, or athletic
association rule for purposes of determining a student's eligibility to participate in
interscholastic athletic activities or similar events.
(c) The State Board of Education and the Department of Public Health shall establish
rules, regulations, and procedures to implement this Code section."
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 transferring from out-of-state public schools use medical forms signed by their prior out-of-state doctor for up to 180 days while enrolling in a Georgia public school.
### Plain-language summary
Currently, Georgia public schools require certain medical forms, such as immunization records, special education evaluations, or plans for conditions like diabetes or seizures, to be signed by a physician licensed in Georgia. This creates delays for students moving from other states whose medical paperwork was completed by an out-of-state doctor.
HB1294 adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. ยง 20-2-779.5) letting Georgia public elementary and secondary schools provisionally accept required medical forms signed by a transferring student's out-of-state physician, as long as the form was signed no more than 180 days before the student enrolled. This grace period covers forms used for immunization history, special education and related services, hospital homebound services, IEPs, Section 504 plans, diabetes management plans, seizure action plans, and school nursing or medication administration. It does not apply to eligibility rules for interscholastic athletics. The State Board of Education and Department of Public Health must adopt rules to carry out the new provision.
### What it does
- Creates a new 180-day grace period during which Georgia public schools must provisionally accept required medical forms signed by a transferring student's out-of-state physician.
- Limits the grace period to forms signed no more than 180 days before the student's enrollment in a Georgia public school.
- Defines 'required medical form' broadly to include forms for immunizations, special education evaluations, IEPs, Section 504 plans, diabetes and seizure plans, and school nursing services.
- Excludes athletic eligibility rules from the grace period, meaning out-of-state medical forms cannot be used to qualify a student for interscholastic sports.
- Directs the State Board of Education and the Department of Public Health to jointly adopt rules and procedures to implement the grace period.
### Who it affects
Students transferring into Georgia public elementary and secondary schools from other states, their parents, school nurses and administrators who process medical forms, out-of-state physicians whose paperwork will now be temporarily accepted, and the State Board of Education and Department of Public Health, which must write implementing rules.
### Why it matters
Families moving to Georgia often face delays getting a Georgia-licensed doctor to resign paperwork before a child can access special education services, medication administration, or nursing care at school. This bill would let schools accept the out-of-state doctor's forms temporarily, reducing gaps in services during the transition, except for sports eligibility.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 20-2-779.5, defining 'athletic association,' 'out-of-state physician,' 'required medical form,' and 'transferring student.'
- Subsection (b) grants a grace period of up to 180 days after enrollment during which an out-of-state physician's required medical form is provisionally accepted, so long as it was signed within 180 days before enrollment.
- Subsection (b) also states the grace period does not satisfy any law or rule governing eligibility to participate in interscholastic athletics.
- Subsection (c) requires the State Board of Education and Department of Public Health to establish rules, regulations, and procedures to implement the section.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-12)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-18)
- Sponsors: Karen Lupton, Rick Townsend, Marvin Lim, David Wilkerson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73171
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1294.md?full=1