HB 1471: Georgia Student Mental Health Days Act; enact

Under current Georgia law, students who miss school for reasons other than physical illness or specific approved excuses can face unexcused absences. This bill, called the Georgia Student Mental Health Days Act, would require every local school system and public school in Georgia to adopt a policy granting students excused absences for up to five mental health days per school year. Parents, guardians, or students who are 18 or older or emancipated would need to notify the school that the absence is for a mental health day, and schools would have to keep documentation, but schools could not require students to disclose details about their mental health condition. Schools would also have to tell parents and guardians about available mental health resources at the start of each year or upon enrollment. The State Board of Education would create a model policy for districts to use. The law would take effect July 1, 2026, starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

• Requires every local school system and public school to adopt a policy allowing up to five excused absences per school year for mental health days.
• Defines a mental health day as an absence due to a student's mental health or emotional well-being.
• Requires parents, guardians, or eligible students to notify the school of a mental health absence and requires the school to document it.
• Bars schools from requiring students or parents to disclose details about the student's mental health condition to get the absence excused.
• Requires schools to notify parents and guardians about available mental health resources at the start of the school year or upon enrollment.
• Directs the State Board of Education to create a model policy for local school systems and public schools to follow.

Public school students and their parents or guardians across Georgia, local school systems and public schools that must adopt and administer the new attendance policy, and the State Board of Education, which must develop a model policy for districts to use.

Students who need time off for mental health reasons would gain a guaranteed, privacy-protected path to an excused absence, similar to a sick day, without having to disclose personal details. Schools would take on new administrative duties, including tracking these absences and informing families about mental health resources.

• Section 2 adds new Code section 20-2-692.5 defining a mental health day as an absence due to a student's mental health or emotional well-being.
• Subsection (b) requires local school systems and public schools to grant up to five excused mental health absences per school year and to require notification and documentation.
• Subsection (c) prohibits schools from requiring disclosure of mental health details as a condition of excusing the absence.
• Subsection (d) requires schools to notify parents or guardians of available mental health resources at the start of the year or upon enrollment.
• Subsection (e) directs the State Board of Education to develop a model policy for local systems and schools to use.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

1. 2026-03-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-26House Hopper (House)

• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)Primary sponsor
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)

• student mental health
• school attendance policy
• public education
• school absences