---
title: HB 829. Education, Department of; publish guidance relating to best practices for secure browsing and parental controls; require
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb829
cite_as: HB 829, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb829
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb829.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb829/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71625
date: 2026-03-03
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 185
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb829.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 829
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-25
last_action: House Committee Favorably Reported
sponsors:
- Arlene Beckles
- Carolyn Hugley
- Spencer Frye
- Al Williams
- Robert Flournoy
- Segun Adeyina
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB829/2025
upstream_id: 2014706
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- online safety
- school curriculum
- parental controls
- age verification
- Attorney General enforcement
---
# HB 829. Education, Department of; publish guidance relating to best practices for secure browsing and parental controls; require
## Text
House Bill 829
By: Representatives Beckles of the 96th, Hugley of the 141st, Frye of the 122nd, Williams of
the 168th, Flournoy of the 74th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
elementary and secondary education, so as to require the Department of Education to publish
guidance relating to best practices for secure browsing and parental controls; to amend
Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online internet
safety, so as to require the Attorney General publish an annual report documenting its
enforcement actions relating to online safety; to provide for related matters; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and
secondary education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-149, relating to programs
for educating students regarding online internet safety, as follows:
"20-2-149.
(a)(1) The Department of Education shall develop model programs for educating
students regarding online safety while using the internet, taking into consideration
educational materials on this topic developed by other states as well as any other
materials suggested by education experts, child psychologists, and technology companies
that promote child online safety issues.
(2) The model programs provided for in this subsection shall include one or more model
programs for students in grades six through 12 which:
(A) Shall include instruction regarding:
(i) The social, emotional, and physical effects of social media on users;
(ii) The effects of social media on the mental health of users, particularly teenagers;
(iii) The distribution of disinformation and misinformation on social media;
(iv) How social media influences thoughts and behaviors;
(v) The permanency and risks of sharing materials online;
(vi) The dangers of viewing material harmful to minors;
(vii) Age verification procedures on websites and social media;
(viii) How to maintain personal security and identify cyberbullying, predatory
behavior, and human trafficking on the internet and social media; and
(vii)(ix) How to report suspicious behavior encountered on the internet and social
media to appropriate persons and authorities; and
(B) May include information regarding the benefits of social media use, such as
supporting career readiness for future academic or employment opportunities, sharing
information with familiar family and friends, and safely connecting with other users
with similar interests.
(3) The Department of Education shall periodically update the model programs provided
for in this subsection to reflect changes in internet and social media use, emergent
technologies, social and psychological research, and information concerning new threats
to teenagers and young adults using social media platforms and other online
communication technologies.
(4) The Department of Education shall publish on its website information relating to the
model programs provided for in this Code section, including recommended curricula and
instructional materials as updated periodically as provided in this subsection, along with
guidance relating to best practices for secure browsing and parental controls. The
Department of Education shall provide technical assistance in addition to such model
programs and recommended curricula and instructional materials to aid any local board
of education that may elect to incorporate one or more components of internet and social
media safety into its instructional program.
(5) The Department of Education shall evaluate the report published by the Attorney
General pursuant to subsection (g) of Code Section 39-5-5 in assessing the reach and
impact of online safety education efforts.
(b) Each local board of education may incorporate into its instructional program a
component on online internet safety, including social media safety, to be taught on a
schedule as determined by the local board of education."
SECTION 2.
Chapter 5 of Title 39 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to online internet
safety, is amended by adding a new subsection to Code Section 39-5-5, relating to
commercial entity age verification, access to material harmful to minors, data retention,
penalties, and exclusions, to read as follows:
"(g) The Attorney General shall publish an annual report documenting enforcement actions
taken under 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 add lessons on harmful online material and age verification to school internet safety programs, require the Department of Education to publish parental control guidance, and require the Attorney General to issue an annual online safety enforcement report.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already directs the Department of Education to build model programs teaching students in grades six through 12 about online safety, including topics like cyberbullying and sharing personal material online. This bill expands that required curriculum to also cover the dangers of material harmful to minors and how websites verify a user's age. It also requires the Department of Education to publish guidance on its website about secure browsing practices and parental controls, alongside the existing curriculum materials.
The bill separately amends Georgia's online safety law (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5), which covers age verification by commercial websites and access to material harmful to minors. It adds a new requirement that the Attorney General publish an annual report on enforcement actions taken under that law. The Department of Education would then use that report to evaluate how well its own online safety education efforts are reaching students. No specific effective date is listed beyond the standard process for a signed bill.
### What it does
- Adds instruction on the dangers of material harmful to minors and on website age verification procedures to the state's model online safety curriculum for grades six through 12.
- Requires the Department of Education to publish guidance on secure browsing practices and parental controls on its website alongside existing curriculum materials.
- Requires the Department of Education to review the Attorney General's new annual enforcement report to assess how well online safety education is working.
- Requires the Attorney General to publish an annual report on enforcement actions taken under Georgia's commercial age verification and online safety law (O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5).
### Who it affects
Public school students in grades six through 12, local school boards that choose to adopt online safety curriculum, the Department of Education, which must update materials and publish new guidance, and the Attorney General's office, which must produce the new annual enforcement report.
### Why it matters
Georgia students would receive more specific classroom instruction on harmful online content and age verification, and parents and schools would get new state guidance on browsing safety and parental controls. Publishing enforcement data annually would also make the state's online safety law enforcement record more visible to the public.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149 to add instruction on the dangers of material harmful to minors and on age verification procedures to the required topics in the model online safety curriculum.
- Section 1 requires the Department of Education to publish guidance on secure browsing best practices and parental controls alongside its existing curriculum materials online.
- Section 1 adds a new requirement that the Department of Education evaluate the Attorney General's annual report to assess the reach and impact of its online safety education efforts.
- Section 2 adds a new subsection (g) to O.C.G.A. § 39-5-5 requiring the Attorney General to publish an annual report on enforcement actions taken under that Code section.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-03-25)
- Last action: House Committee Favorably Reported (2026-03-03)
- Sponsors: Arlene Beckles, Carolyn Hugley, Spencer Frye, Al Williams, Robert Flournoy, Segun Adeyina
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71625
> The history, votes, and amendments (185 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb829.md?full=1