HB 543: Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act; enact

Georgia currently has no statewide requirement for child care centers and schools to test their drinking water for lead. House Bill 543, called the "Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act," would add a new section to Georgia law requiring every child care learning center and every public or private school to test drinking water outlets for lead by July 1, 2026, and to create a remediation plan for any contamination found, defined as five parts per billion or more. If lead is found, the center or school must notify parents, guardians, and staff in writing, post the results and plan publicly, report to the Department of Public Health, and provide an alternate water source. The Department of Public Health must write testing and remediation rules by January 1, 2026, working with state environmental, education, and early learning agencies. Schools already classified as public water systems are exempt, and the law cannot be waived for charter systems or schools.

• Requires every child care learning center and public or private school to test drinking water outlets for lead contamination by July 1, 2026.
• Defines lead contamination as a concentration of five parts per billion or greater under the new Code section.
• Requires written notice to parents, guardians, and staff, public posting of results, and a report to the Department of Public Health whenever contamination is found.
• Requires centers and schools to provide an alternate lead-free water source and complete a remediation plan when contamination is found.
• Directs the Department of Public Health to set testing and remediation rules by January 1, 2026, in consultation with three other state agencies.
• Exempts centers and schools already classified as federal public water systems and bars use of several existing school waiver laws to escape the requirement.

Public and private schools, child care learning centers, parents and guardians, school and center staff, the Department of Public Health, the Department of Education, the Department of Early Care and Learning, and the Environmental Protection Division of the Department of Natural Resources.

Families and staff would learn directly if their school or child care center's water has unsafe lead levels, and centers would have to act quickly to fix the problem and provide safe water in the meantime, changing how lead risks in drinking water are found and addressed statewide.

• Section 1 gives the bill its short title, the "Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act."
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 20-1-12, defining child care learning center, lead contamination (5 ppb or greater), and school.
• Subsection (b) sets a July 1, 2026 deadline for lead testing of drinking water outlets and requires a remediation plan with a completion timeline.
• Subsection (c) requires written notice to families and staff, public posting, reporting to the Department of Public Health, and an alternate water source when contamination is found.
• Subsection (d) requires the Department of Public Health, with other agencies, to issue testing and remediation rules by January 1, 2026.
• Subsection (e) allows the Department of Education to give grants to help centers and schools comply, subject to available funding.
• Subsection (f) exempts centers and schools already classified as public water systems under federal regulations.
• Subsection (g) bars several existing school waiver laws from being used to avoid this requirement.

1. 2025-02-24House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-02-21House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-02-20House Hopper (House)

• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)Primary sponsor
• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)
• Eric Bell (D, HD-075)
• Robert Dawson (D, HD-065)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)

• drinking water safety
• lead contamination
• school health
• child care regulation
• public health