HB 175: Education; employee comprehensive background checks for early care and education programs and Head Start programs; revise provisions

Georgia law already requires background checks for people working in licensed child care programs. HB 175 broadens who must be checked, extending coverage explicitly to directors and other individuals affiliated with programs that receive federal child care funds, including Head Start programs, which the bill newly defines. It also updates what the background check itself must include, replacing the old fingerprint and sex offender registry search with a broader FBI criminal history records check plus searches of child abuse and sex offender registries and databases. The bill changes several 'may' provisions into 'shall', meaning the Department of Early Care and Learning must revoke a program's license or refuse to issue one if a director or employee fails to complete or pass the required background check, rather than simply having discretion to do so. It also clarifies the process for forwarding fingerprints from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to the FBI. The changes take effect July 1, 2025.

• Adds a definition of 'Head Start program' to Georgia's early care and learning code, tying it to the federal Head Start Act.
• Expands the comprehensive background check requirement to cover directors and other individuals affiliated with a program, not just employees.
• Replaces the old fingerprint and National Sex Offender Registry check with a broader FBI criminal history records check plus searches of child abuse and sex offender databases.
• Changes license revocation and denial from discretionary ('may') to mandatory ('shall') when a director or employee fails the required background check.
• Clarifies the fingerprint submission process, requiring GBI to forward results to the FBI for a national check if no criminal record is found at the state level.

Early care and education programs and Head Start programs in Georgia, their directors and employees, potential hires including college students in early education programs, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which processes background check requests.

Child care programs would face stricter, mandatory consequences, including license revocation, if they fail to properly screen directors, employees, or other affiliated staff for criminal history, which could affect staffing decisions and how quickly programs must remove disqualified individuals from contact with children.

• Section 1 adds a definition of 'Head Start program' to O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-2, referencing the federal Head Start Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 9801.
• Section 2 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-30 to redefine 'comprehensive records check determination' to include a broader FBI criminal history check and searches of child abuse and sex offender databases.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-34 to extend the fingerprint and records check application requirement to directors and other affiliated individuals, not just caregiving employees.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-39 to make license revocation and denial mandatory rather than discretionary when background check requirements are not met.
• Section 4 also extends record-keeping and compliance duties to directors and other affiliated individuals of early care and education programs.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-07-01Effective Date
2. 2025-05-13Act 175
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-13Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Todd Jones (R, HD-25)Primary sponsor
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-32)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-29)
• David Wilkerson (D, HD-38)
• Katie Dempsey (R, HD-13)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

   170 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 5 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #176

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2025

   54 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 0 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #298

• child care regulation
• background checks
• Head Start
• school and daycare safety
• child care licensing