HB 1363: Education; authorize public schools and postsecondary educational institutions to consider antisemitism in the same manner as discrimination based on religion

In plain language

What the bill does

Who it affects

Why it matters

Key provisions

From the bill

Discussed in meetings (7)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

1. House Higher Education Committee, February 23, 2026

   From 1:07:30 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented HB 1363 as a way to give people with school discrimination complaints a clear place to seek help. A Georgia Solidarity Network witness supported assigning an existing employee statewide responsibility for coordinating Title VI complaints in public schools, rather than creating a new job. The witness said schools often lack consistent procedures for understanding, investigating, and reporting discrimination. The witness described an antisemitic threat against a Cobb County sixth grader and said a federal civil rights investigation followed. Citing reports, the witness said 35% of Jewish college students experienced antisemitism, campus incidents increased 27%, and only 12% of surveyed students thought institutions properly addressed reports. A member asked why the proposal appeared to cover disability, religion, and marital status beyond federal Title VI categories, and whether that would increase workload. The witness said those categories reflected existing protections and that the coordinator would handle complaints under other applicable laws too. The chair discovered participants had different drafts and requested matching language before further consideration. No vote was taken. Remaining public testimony was postponed until Wednesday.

2. House Higher Education Committee, February 25, 2026

   From 0:26:26 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute that explicitly listed race, ethnicity, national origin and religion as protected categories and incorporated University System of Georgia language. The sponsor said it would establish a statewide coordinator for K-12 discrimination complaints, using existing staff without new funding. A Georgia Solidarity Network witness said state oversight would address schools’ failures to respond to serious harassment. Members questioned training, costs and appeals. The sponsor welcomed adding references to other faiths, but no amendment was adopted. Muslim witnesses, including a Georgia State University student and representatives of Georgia Muslim Voter Project and CAIR Georgia, asked for equal recognition of all faiths and described discrimination. The CAIR witness reported a 520% increase in incoming Georgia complaints from 2020 to 2025. An IDRA witness supported state oversight but urged dedicated trained staff, immediate support, retaliation protections, local complaint stages and deadlines. An ACLU of Georgia witness opposed references to the state’s antisemitism definition over free-speech concerns, but said removing those references would allow support. The sponsor denied free-speech concerns. An Asian American Advocacy Fund witness urged uniform evidence standards, notice, response and appeal rights, and adequate staffing. Asked about prevention, that witness described federal training informed by complaint data. The chair held the bill for further work without a vote.

3. House Higher Education Committee, March 2, 2026

   From 0:37:35 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the substitute removed all references to antisemitism and added K-12 discrimination-complaint procedures modeled on university-system language. The sponsor supported creating a K-12 Title VI coordinator to protect students against discrimination. One member questioned why local school systems could challenge threatened funding losses in superior court while colleges lacked an equally clear appeal provision. The sponsor and chair described colleges' internal management structures as the distinction, and the sponsor said both levels had appeal avenues. Another member asked about duplication and administrative burdens. The sponsor said the higher-education section used existing university-system language; the chair supported placing those policies in law. Asked whether K-12 complaints would go directly to the state education department, the sponsor said implementation details would require rules. Members questioned excluding private schools, particularly those receiving public support. The sponsor cited legislative oversight of public schools. After the chair suggested federal protections already applied to private schools, a staff attorney cautioned that some federal laws depend on federal funding and would need checking. The committee later approved the substitute by voice vote and sent it to Rules. No numerical tally was stated.

4. House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026

   From 0:45:05 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1363 would create a position in K-12 schools to address discrimination claims under federal civil rights law, including claims involving religion, ethnicity, national origin and race. No questions or decision followed.

• Read aloud: House floor session, February 19, 2026 (legislative day 21), 0:26:51
• Read aloud: House floor session, February 20, 2026 (legislative day 22), 0:40:04
• Read aloud: House floor session, March 3, 2026 (legislative day 26, AM), 0:49:58

Status timeline

Sponsors

Topics