--- title: HB 564. Georgia Prevention and Plan Act; enact collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb564 cite_as: HB 564, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb564 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb564.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb564/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70617 date: 2025-02-24 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb563.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb565.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb564.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 564 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-20 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Bryce Berry - Lydia Glaize - Omari Crawford - Mary Ann Santos - Gabriel Sanchez text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB564/2025 upstream_id: 1978470 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - school mental health - student safety - school crisis response - education policy - suicide prevention --- # HB 564. Georgia Prevention and Plan Act; enact ## Text House Bill 564 By: Representatives Berry of the 56th, Glaize of the 67th, Crawford of the 89th, Santos of the 117th, and Sanchez of the 42nd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health of students, so as to provide that the Department of Education shall develop a mental health crisis plan to rapidly provide mental health services to students experiencing incidents of violence, threats of violence, natural disasters, or other crisis situations; to provide for a definition; to provide for the development and distribution of promotional materials, training programs, and curricula; to provide for the adoption of rules and regulations; to provide for a short title; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Prevention and Plan Act." SECTION 2. Part 3 of Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to health of students, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "20-2-779.5. (a) As used in this Code section, the term 'local education agency' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 20-2-167.1. (b) The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Suicide Prevention Program established pursuant to Code Section 37-1-27, and mental health experts, shall develop a mental health crisis plan to rapidly provide mental health services to students experiencing incidents of violence, threats of violence, natural disasters, or other crisis situations. (c) By January 1, 2026, the mental health crisis plan shall be made available to all local education agencies in this state. (d) The Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Suicide Prevention Program established pursuant to Code Section 37-1-27, and mental health experts, shall be authorized to develop promotional materials, training programs, and curricula to be used in training students and school personnel to recognize and report severe mental illness and to provide such materials, programs, and curricula to local education agencies. (e) The Department of Education shall adopt rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Code section." SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would require the Department of Education to create a statewide mental health crisis plan for schools, delivering rapid mental health support after violence, threats, or disasters. ### Plain-language summary Georgia schools currently have no single statewide plan for quickly getting mental health help to students after a crisis like a violent incident, a threat, or a natural disaster. House Bill 564, called the Georgia Prevention and Plan Act, would require the Department of Education to build such a plan in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the state's Suicide Prevention Program, and mental health experts. The plan would have to be made available to all local school districts in Georgia by January 1, 2026. The Department of Education would also be allowed to create promotional materials, training programs, and curricula to teach students and school staff how to recognize and report severe mental illness, and to adopt any rules needed to carry out the new law. ### What it does - Requires the Department of Education to develop a statewide mental health crisis plan for rapidly serving students after violence, threats, disasters, or other crises. - Requires the plan to be developed in consultation with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Suicide Prevention Program, and mental health experts. - Sets a January 1, 2026 deadline for making the plan available to all local school districts (local education agencies) in Georgia. - Authorizes the Department of Education to create and distribute promotional materials, training programs, and curricula for students and school staff to recognize and report severe mental illness. - Directs the Department of Education to adopt rules and regulations to put the new requirements into effect. ### Who it affects Public school students and staff across Georgia, local school districts that must receive and use the state's crisis plan, the Department of Education, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, and the state's Suicide Prevention Program, all of which have new roles under the bill. ### Why it matters If enacted, Georgia schools would gain a standard statewide plan for responding to mental health needs after a crisis, rather than each district figuring it out alone. Students and staff could also receive new training on recognizing and reporting severe mental illness, changing how schools prepare for emergencies. ### Key provisions - Section 1 names the law the 'Georgia Prevention and Plan Act.' - Section 2 adds new Code Section 20-2-779.5, defining 'local education agency' by reference to O.C.G.A. ยง 20-2-167.1. - Subsection (b) requires the Department of Education to develop the mental health crisis plan in consultation with named state agencies and mental health experts. - Subsection (c) sets a January 1, 2026 deadline for distributing the plan to all local education agencies. - Subsection (d) authorizes development and distribution of training materials and curricula on recognizing and reporting severe mental illness. - Subsection (e) requires the Department of Education to adopt implementing rules and regulations. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-20) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-02-24) - Sponsors: Bryce Berry, Lydia Glaize, Omari Crawford, Mary Ann Santos, Gabriel Sanchez - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70617 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb564.md?full=1