Georgia CommonsHouse · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
HB 629: Education; remove requirement of having a licensed physician in automated external defibrillator programs
Last action March 31, 2026 · Senate Tabled
A Georgia House bill would drop the requirement that a licensed physician oversee school defibrillator programs, add new rules for bleeding control kits in schools, and stop districts from waiving the state's duty-free lunch and planning period law.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law currently requires every K-12 public school to keep an automated external defibrillator (AED) on site and involve a licensed physician or other medical board-authorized person to oversee training, notification, and maintenance for the program. This bill removes that physician oversight requirement entirely. In its place, the bill adds a parallel set of requirements for bleeding control kits, defined as kits approved by the American College of Surgeons and available through the Georgia Trauma Commission's Bleeding Control Kit Program. Schools would have to train staff, notify local emergency services, maintain the kits, include bleeding emergencies in their written emergency action plans, and cover bleeding control in required practice drills alongside cardiac emergencies. The bill also amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218 so that the state's duty-free lunch and planning period law can no longer be waived by strategic waiver, charter, or completion special school agreements. The physician-removal and bleeding kit changes only take effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for them; the lunch/planning period change applies starting the 2026-2027 school year.
What the bill does
- Removes the requirement that a licensed physician or Georgia Composite Medical Board-authorized person oversee a school's AED training, notification, and maintenance program.
- Adds a new definition and requirements for 'bleeding control kits,' including training, emergency medical services notification, and maintenance obligations for schools.
- Requires school emergency action plans and internal response teams to cover severe bleeding emergencies, not just cardiac arrest.
- Expands required practice drills so schools must address both cardiac and severe bleeding emergency scenarios starting in the 2025-2026 school year.
- Bars school systems from waiving the state's duty-free lunch period and planning period law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218) through strategic waiver, charter system, charter school, or completion special school agreements.
- Makes the AED and bleeding control kit changes effective only if the General Assembly appropriates specific funding for them.
Who it affects
Georgia public K-12 schools and their staff, especially members of internal emergency response teams; the Georgia Composite Medical Board and licensed physicians who currently oversee AED programs; the Georgia Trauma Commission and Regional Trauma Advisory Committees; the Department of Education; and teachers who benefit from duty-free lunch and planning periods.
Why it matters
Schools would no longer need a physician's involvement to run their defibrillator programs, potentially easing an administrative burden, while gaining new obligations to stock and train staff on bleeding control kits for emergencies like severe injuries. Teachers would also keep guaranteed duty-free lunch and planning time regardless of a school's waiver status, since districts could no longer opt out of that protection.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-775, removing the requirement for physician or medical board-authorized oversight of a school's AED program.
- Section 1 adds a definition of 'bleeding control kit' tied to American College of Surgeons approval and the Georgia Trauma Commission's program.
- Section 1 requires schools to notify local emergency medical services of bleeding control kit locations and maintain and replenish the kits after use.
- Section 1 expands the required written emergency action plan and internal response team duties to cover severe bleeding alongside cardiac arrest.
- Section 1 requires at least two emergency action plan practice drills per year, starting in 2025-2026, covering both cardiac and bleeding emergencies.
- Section 2 adds a new subsection (h) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-218 making the duty-free lunch and planning period law immune from several types of school system waivers.
- Section 3 makes Section 1 effective only if the General Assembly appropriates specific funding for it, tied to the relevant fiscal year; Section 2 applies starting the 2026-2027 school year.
From the bill
“'Bleeding control kit' means a kit used to stop or slow bleeding in emergencies that is approved by the American College of Surgeons and may be obtained through the Georgia Trauma Commission Bleeding Control Kit Program.”
“Section 1 of this Act shall become effective only if funds are specifically appropriated for purposes of this Act in an appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.”
Discussed in meetings (8)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
House Health Committee, February 2, 2026
From 0:21:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor presented a substitute for HB 629 that would remove physician oversight requirements from school AED programs and add bleeding-control kits and training. The sponsor said increasingly automated AEDs made physician oversight less necessary, while elementary schools were having difficulty finding physicians. A witness for the Northeast Georgia Regional Trauma Advisory Committee said a project supplying bleeding-control kits to public schools was about 99% complete and requested continuing Stop the Bleed training alongside CPR and AED instruction. One member asked why physician involvement was being removed and whether counties could face liability. The sponsor explained the equipment changes and said CPR instructors could provide AED instruction, but did not separately address liability. In response to another question, the sponsor clarified that training would be for school response teams, not students. A physician committee member supported removing the oversight requirement. The sponsor said the substitute made implementation dependent on appropriations to protect against a future loss of funding through the Trauma Commission. Asked about a fiscal note, the sponsor said none had been prepared because current funding came from outside state funds. Members also discussed possible future AED requirements for field trips. The committee approved the substitute unanimously.
House Rules Committee, February 5, 2026
From 0:37:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 425
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said a substitute for HB 629 would add bleeding-control kits and training to CPR and automated external defibrillator training for school response teams. The sponsor said the proposal followed the Apalachee school shooting and had support from trauma commissions. According to the sponsor, a national source supplies the kits free to schools, and the substitute made implementation dependent on funding in case that support ended. Members asked no questions. Later, the committee placed the bill on Friday’s calendar without opposition.
House floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14)
From 1:46:49 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 461
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 629 would remove the physician requirement from school automated external defibrillator programs. The sponsor said Children's Healthcare of Atlanta had raised concerns about the number of elementary schools and shortages of rural physicians, and described newer devices as easier to operate. The committee substitute also added bleeding-control kits to be stored alongside defibrillators. The sponsor said Northeast Georgia Medical Center raised that need following the Apalachee school shooting, and said Trauma Commission funding meant no additional state financial impact. One member described meeting a middle-school student revived with a defibrillator and asked whether reducing requirements would expand access; the sponsor agreed. Another member urged passage and recognized a parent whose child's death the member said could have been prevented by a school defibrillator. The House adopted the substitute without objection and passed the bill 168 to 0.
Senate Education and Youth Committee, March 26, 2026
From 1:10:44 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said the substitute to HB 629 would expand school emergency preparedness beyond cardiac events to severe bleeding, requiring bleeding-control kits, trained personnel, emergency action plans and regular drills. The presenter said it would remove physician-oversight requirements while retaining training and accountability standards. The presenter also said the substitute would prevent school systems from waiving teachers' duty-free lunch and planning time, describing those protections as important for effectiveness and retention. No substantive questions or opposition followed. Members held a show-of-hands vote on a motion to approve the substitute, but the result was not expressly announced.
Senate Rules Committee, March 30, 2026
From 0:54:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: A presenting senator said HB 629 would expand school emergency preparedness beyond cardiac events to severe bleeding emergencies. The presenter also said it would protect teachers' duty-free lunch and planning time by preventing those protections from being waived. A member selected it, and the committee unanimously approved the calendar containing it.
Status timeline
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
Show full history (12 actions)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Lee Hawkins (R, HD-27)
- Sharon Cooper (R, HD-45)
- Mark Newton (R, HD-127)
- Gerald Greene (R, HD-154)
- Karen Mathiak (R, HD-82)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
Votes
- House voteFebruary 6, 2026
168 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 7 excused)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
39 yea, 10 nay (2 not voting, 3 excused)
Topics
- school safety
- student health
- defibrillators
- teacher planning time
- emergency preparedness