HB 1486: Education; term "education record"; revise definitions

Georgia law currently uses several different terms, such as 'school day' and 'business day,' when setting deadlines for schools to respond to parents and legal custodians seeking student records. This bill would standardize those terms into a single new term, 'school business day,' defined as any weekday when at least one school administrator must report in person and the school is not officially closed. It also creates new statewide definitions for terms like 'local school system,' 'school system,' and 'school day' in a new Code Section 20-1-9. The bill also revises the definition of 'education record' used in Georgia's student data privacy law (O.C.G.A. 20-2-662) to align it more closely with the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), and updates the definition used when students transfer schools (O.C.G.A. 20-2-670). It removes a rule requiring parents to request a copy of a transferred student's records within five school business days of being notified, while keeping other request procedures. It also adds cross-references so parents' right to inspect student records under O.C.G.A. 20-2-720 points to the newer transfer-records law and the Parents' Bill of Rights. The changes take effect immediately once signed by the Governor.

• Creates a new Code Section 20-1-9 defining terms like 'local school system,' 'school system,' 'school day,' and the new term 'school business day' for use throughout Georgia's education title.
• Replaces the terms 'school day,' 'school days,' 'business day,' and 'business days' with 'school business day' or 'school business days' across eight different Code sections covering topics like sports discrimination, harmful materials complaints, and charter schools.
• Revises the definition of 'education record' in the student data privacy law (O.C.G.A. 20-2-662) to more directly track the federal FERPA definition and removes a provision letting local boards exclude records they decide cannot reasonably be shared.
• Removes the requirement that a parent or legal custodian request a copy of a transferred student's education records within five school business days of being notified of the transfer.
• Updates cross-references in the parental records inspection law (O.C.G.A. 20-2-720) so the definition of 'education records' and the list of governing statutes point to the transfer-records law and the Parents' Bill of Rights.

Parents and legal custodians of Georgia public school students, local school systems and boards of education, school administrators and principals, the Department of Juvenile Justice's school system, and companies that handle student data under Georgia's student data privacy law.

By standardizing deadline terminology and removing a five-day request window, the bill changes how quickly and under what timeline parents can obtain copies of their child's transferred school records. The revised 'education record' definition could also affect what data schools and vendors must treat as protected student information.

• Section 1 repeals and replaces O.C.G.A. 20-1-9, adding statewide definitions including the new term 'school business day,' tied to whether an administrator must report in person and the school calendar shows it open.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. 20-2-662's definition of 'education record' to reference the federal FERPA law directly and removes the exception for records a local board decides cannot reasonably be shared.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. 20-2-670, tying 'education records' to the federal FERPA definition and eliminating the requirement that a parent request copies of transferred records within five school business days of notice.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. 20-2-720 so 'education records' is defined by cross-reference to the transfer-records statute (20-2-670) rather than the data privacy statute, and adds 20-2-670 and 20-2-786 (Parents' Bill of Rights) to the list of laws governing parents' inspection rights.
• Section 5 replaces the terms 'school day,' 'school days,' 'business day,' and 'business days' with 'school business day' or 'school business days' in eight named Code sections.
• Section 6 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon its becoming law without signature.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)Primary sponsor
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)

• student records
• parental rights
• education law
• student data privacy
• school transfers