---
title: HB 989. Education; public comment periods during meetings of local boards of education; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb989
cite_as: HB 989, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb989
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb989.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb989/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72256
date: 2026-01-27
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: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb989.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 989
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-15
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- David Wilkerson
- Mekyah McQueen
- Solomon Adesanya
- Mary Williams
- Jordan Ridley
- Lisa Campbell
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB989/2025
upstream_id: 2083507
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school board meetings
- public comment
- open meetings
- education policy
- government transparency
---
# HB 989. Education; public comment periods during meetings of local boards of education; provide
## Text
House Bill 989
By: Representatives Wilkerson of the 38th, McQueen of the 61st, Adesanya of the 43rd,
Williams of the 37th, Ridley of the 22nd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to local boards of education, so as to provide for public comment periods during
meetings of local boards of education; to provide for public broadcasts of such meetings and
public comment periods; to require local boards of education to record or broadcast public
comment periods in the same manner and to the same extent as the remainder of the public
portions of meetings; to provide for notice; to provide for limitations; to provide for agenda;
to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 3 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to local
boards of education, is amended by revising Code Section 20-2-58, relating to regular
monthly meeting of local boards with public comment, adjournment, temporary presiding
officer, notice of date, template for financial review, and open meetings, as follows:
"20-2-58.
(a) It shall be the duty of each local board of education to hold a regular meeting during
each calendar month for the transaction of business pertaining to the public schools and to
review the financial status of the local school system. The local board of education shall
provide a public comment period during such regular monthly meetings. Such public
comment period shall be included on the agenda required to be made available and posted
prior to the meeting pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Code Section 50-14-1.
A local board of education shall not require notice by an individual more than 24 hours
prior to the meeting as a condition of addressing the local board during such public
comment period. The chairperson of the local board of education shall have the discretion
to limit the length of time for individual comments and the number of individuals speaking
for or against a specific issue. Any such regular monthly meeting may be adjourned from
time to time, and, in the absence of the president or secretary, the members of the local
board may appoint one of their own number to serve temporarily. The local board of
education shall annually determine the dates of its regular monthly meetings and shall
publish such dates either in the official county organ or, at the option of the local board of
education, in a newspaper having a general circulation in said county at least equal to that
of the official county organ for two consecutive weeks following the setting of the dates;
provided, however, that the dates shall not be changed more often than once in 12 months
and, if changed, the new date or dates shall also be published as provided in this Code
section. The local board of education shall also publish notice of such regular monthly
meetings in a prominent manner on its principal public website.
(b) The State Board of Education shall create a template for local boards of education to
use to review the financial status of their local school systems, which shall include, at a
minimum, a statement of revenues, expenditures, and encumbrances.
(c)(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, including, but not limited to, the provisions
of subsection (b) of Code Section 50-14-3, all meetings of a local board of education,
including, but not limited to, regular monthly meetings provided for in subsection (a) of
this Code section, shall be open to the public. The local board of education shall publish
notice of each such public meeting in a prominent manner on its principal public website.
(2) Visual and sound recording and broadcasting, including, but not limited to
webcasting, shall be permitted at all such public meetings of the local board of education,
including, but not limited to, during public comment periods; provided, however, that any
person engaged in such recording or broadcasting who causes an actual disruption of the
proceedings, as determined according to the rules of conduct for meetings open to the
public adopted and published by the local board of education, may be removed from such
meeting as provided for in paragraph (5) of this subsection.
(3)(A) The local board of education shall provide a public comment period during all
regular monthly meetings provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section. The local
board of education may provide a public comment period during any other meeting of
the local board of education.
(B) Any public comment period provided for in this subsection shall be recorded or
broadcast by the local board of education in the same manner and to the same extent as
the remainder of the public portions of the meeting are recorded or broadcast.
(C) A local board of education shall not require notice by an individual more than 24
hours prior to any meeting as a condition of addressing the local board during such
public comment period.
(D) The chairperson of the local board of education shall have the discretion to limit
the length of time for individual comments and the number of individuals speaking for
or against a specific issue during any public comment period provided for in this
subsection.
(E) Public comment periods for regular monthly meetings shall be included on the
agenda for each regular monthly meeting required to be made available and posted prior
to the meeting pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (e) of Code Section 50-14-1.
(4) By October 1, 2022, and by August 1 each year thereafter, each local board of
education shall adopt rules of conduct for public meetings of the local board of education
and shall publish such rules of conduct in a prominent manner on its principal public
website. Such rules shall include provisions for the removal of members of the public
persons for actual disruption of a public meeting of the local board of education.
(4)(5) A member of the public person may be removed from a public meeting of a local
board of education for an actual disruption of the proceedings, as determined according
to the rules of conduct for meetings open to the public adopted and published by the local
board of education.
(5)(6) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of any law
enforcement officer or the application or enforcement of Chapter 14 of Title 50."
SECTION 2.
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.
House Bill 989 would require every local school board in Georgia to hold a public comment period at its monthly meetings and record or broadcast it the same way as the rest of the meeting.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law already requires local school boards to meet monthly and allows for public meetings to be open, but the current detailed rules for public comment periods are scattered and less specific. This bill rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-58 to move and expand those rules. It requires local boards of education to hold a public comment period during every regular monthly meeting, and gives them the option to hold one during other meetings too. It requires that period be recorded or broadcast in the same way and to the same extent as the rest of the public meeting, including through webcasting. The bill keeps the rule that a board cannot require more than 24 hours' notice from someone who wants to speak, and keeps the board chairperson's discretion to limit how long people can speak and how many people can speak on each side of an issue. Public comment periods for monthly meetings must appear on the posted meeting agenda. The bill also broadens who can be removed for disrupting a meeting from 'members of the public' to any 'person.'
### What it does
- Requires local boards of education to hold a public comment period during every regular monthly meeting, not just as a general practice but as a written legal requirement.
- Allows, but does not require, a public comment period at other (non-monthly) board meetings.
- Requires that any public comment period be recorded or broadcast in the same manner and to the same extent as the rest of the public meeting, including via webcasting.
- Keeps the existing 24-hour notice limit, barring boards from requiring more advance notice from someone who wants to speak.
- Keeps the chairperson's discretion to limit the length and number of individual comments during public comment periods.
- Broadens the disruption-removal rule from covering 'members of the public' to covering any 'person,' and moves this requirement into the open-meetings subsection.
### Who it affects
Local boards of education across Georgia, school district administrators who run board meetings, and members of the public, including parents, students, and community members, who want to speak at or watch school board meetings in person or online.
### Why it matters
Georgians who want to address their local school board would have a guaranteed opportunity to speak at every monthly meeting, and that comment period would have to be recorded or streamed just like the rest of the meeting, making public input and board reactions to it part of the public record rather than something that could go unrecorded.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-58 to remove the old public comment language from subsection (a) and rebuild it in more detail within subsection (c).
- New subsection (c)(3)(A) requires a public comment period at every regular monthly meeting and permits one at other meetings.
- New subsection (c)(3)(B) requires public comment periods to be recorded or broadcast the same way as the rest of the public meeting.
- New subsection (c)(3)(C) bars boards from requiring more than 24 hours' notice before someone may speak during public comment.
- New subsection (c)(3)(D) preserves the chairperson's power to limit comment length and the number of speakers on each side of an issue.
- New subsection (c)(3)(E) requires public comment periods for monthly meetings to be listed on the posted meeting agenda.
- Subsection (c)(2) is expanded to explicitly permit broadcasting, including webcasting, at public meetings and during public comment periods.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-15)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-27)
- Sponsors: David Wilkerson, Mekyah McQueen, Solomon Adesanya, Mary Williams, Jordan Ridley, Lisa Campbell
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72256
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb989.md?full=1