--- title: SB 120. Education; public schools, local education agencies, and public postsecondary institutions shall not promote, support, or maintain any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb120 cite_as: SB 120, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb120 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb120.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb120/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70042 date: 2026-01-12 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/sb119.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb121.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 494 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb120.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 120 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-06 last_action: Senate Recommitted sponsors: - Marty Harbin - Steve Gooch - Max Burns - John Albers - Frank Ginn - Billy Hickman - Carden Summers - Colton Moore - Sam Watson - Ricky Williams - Timothy Bearden - Jason Anavitarte - Chuck Payne - Matt Brass - Brandon Beach - Lee Anderson text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB120/2025 upstream_id: 1961043 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - diversity equity and inclusion - public schools - higher education funding - education policy - school funding --- # SB 120. Education; public schools, local education agencies, and public postsecondary institutions shall not promote, support, or maintain any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion ## Text 25 LC 61 0201S The Senate Committee on Higher Education offered the following substitute to SB 120: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 20 of the Official Cod e of Georgia Annotated,1 relating to general provisions relative to education, so as to provide that local education2 agencies and postsecondary institutions shall not promote, support, or maintain any programs3 or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusio n; to provide for sanctions; to4 provide for definitions; to provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and5 applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Geor gia Annotated, relating to9 general provisions relative to education, is amended by adding a new Code section to read10 as follows:11 "20-1-12.12 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:13 (1) 'Local education agency' shall have the same meaning as se t forth in Code14 Section 20-2-167.1.15 (2) 'Postsecondary institution' means a school which is:16 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0201S (A) An institution of the University System of Georgia; or17 (B) A unit of the Technical College System of Georgia.18 (b) No local education agency or postsecondary institution sha ll promote, support, or19 maintain any programs or activities that advocate for diversity , equity, and inclusion. 20 Diversity, equity, and inclusion includes:21 (1) Any effort to promote the different treatment of, or provi de special benefits to,22 individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, or23 sexual orientation;24 (2) Any effort to promote or promulgate policies and procedure s designed or25 implemented with reference to race, color, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity,26 or sexual orientation;27 (3) Any effort to promote or promulgate any training, programm ing, recruitment,28 retention, or activities designed or implemented with preferential treatment of any race,29 color, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation over another;30 (4) Any effort to promote or promulgate any training, programm ing, or activities31 designed or implemented with reference to race, color, ethnicit y, gender identity, or32 sexual orientation; and33 (5) With respect to a postsecondary institution, any effort to promote, as the official34 position of the postsecondary institution, a particular, widely contested opinion35 referencing unconscious or implicit bias, cultural appropriation, allyship, gender ideology36 or theory, microaggressions, group marginalization, antiracism, systemic oppression,37 social justice, intersectionality, neopronouns, heteronormativity, disparate impact, racial38 privilege, sexual privilege, or any similar or related formulation of these concepts.39 (c) Any postsecondary institution that violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be40 subject to the withholding of state funding or state administer ed federal funding. Such41 withholding of state funding or state administered federal fund ing shall include funds42 - 2 - 25 LC 61 0201S provided to the postsecondary institution directly as well as funding for scholarships, loans,43 and grants pursuant to Chapter 3 of this title for students of such postsecondary institution.44 (d) The State Board of Education shall be authorized to withhold a portion of state funding45 to a local education agency pursuant to Code Section 20-2-243 i f such local education46 agency violates subsection (b) of this Code section.47 (e) This Code section shall not be subject to waiver pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for48 a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 or 20-2-2065 for a charter49 system, Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school, Code Secti on 20-2-2096.3 for a50 completion special school, or Code Section 20-2-244.51 (f) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed so as to prohibit compliance with any52 applicable state or federal antidiscrimination law."53 SECTION 2.54 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall appl y beginning with the55 2025-2026 school year with respect to local education agencies and the 2025-2026 academic56 year with respect to postsecondary institutions.57 SECTION 3.58 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.59 - 3 - ## 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 Senate bill would ban public schools, school districts, and public colleges and technical schools from running or supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, with state funding at risk for those that don't comply. ### Plain-language summary This bill adds a new section to Georgia's education code barring local school districts and public postsecondary institutions (University System of Georgia schools and Technical College System schools) from promoting, supporting, or maintaining programs that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. It defines DEI broadly to include efforts that give different treatment based on race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation, as well as training or programming referencing a long list of concepts such as implicit bias, systemic oppression, and social justice. Colleges that violate the ban risk losing state funding and state-administered federal funding, including money for student scholarships, loans, and grants. The State Board of Education could withhold part of a district's funding for violations. The rule cannot be waived under several existing charter school and flexibility laws, though it does not override existing antidiscrimination laws. It would take effect July 1, 2025, starting with the 2025-2026 school year and academic year. ### What it does - Bars local school districts and public postsecondary institutions from promoting, supporting, or maintaining programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. - Defines diversity, equity, and inclusion broadly, covering efforts tied to race, sex, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation, and related training or programming. - Allows the state to withhold state funding or state-administered federal funding, including student scholarships, loans, and grants, from postsecondary institutions that violate the ban. - Authorizes the State Board of Education to withhold part of a local school district's state funding for violations. - Blocks school districts and charter schools from using several existing waiver laws to get around this rule. - Sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to the 2025-2026 school year for districts and academic year for colleges. ### Who it affects Public school districts (local education agencies), public colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia, and technical colleges in the Technical College System of Georgia are directly affected, along with their students, staff, and administrators who run diversity-related programs or trainings. ### Why it matters Schools and colleges that continue diversity, equity, and inclusion programming, including trainings on topics like implicit bias or systemic oppression, could lose state money or student financial aid funding. Districts and colleges would need to review and likely eliminate existing DEI offices, trainings, or initiatives to keep their funding. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds new Code Section 20-1-12, defining 'local education agency' and 'postsecondary institution' (University System and Technical College System schools) for purposes of the ban. - Subsection (b) prohibits promoting, supporting, or maintaining DEI programs, with a five-part definition of what counts as DEI, including preferential treatment based on protected characteristics and postsecondary advocacy for concepts like systemic oppression or gender ideology. - Subsection (c) allows withholding of state or state-administered federal funding from violating postsecondary institutions, including scholarship, loan, and grant funding for their students. - Subsection (d) lets the State Board of Education withhold part of a violating local school district's state funding under existing Code Section 20-2-243. - Subsection (e) exempts this rule from being waived under several existing charter system, charter school, and strategic waivers laws. - Subsection (f) clarifies the ban does not require violating existing state or federal antidiscrimination laws. - Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying starting with the 2025-2026 school year and academic year. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-02-06) - Last action: Senate Recommitted (2026-01-12) - Sponsors: Marty Harbin, Steve Gooch, Max Burns, John Albers, Frank Ginn, Billy Hickman, Carden Summers, Colton Moore, Sam Watson, Ricky Williams, Timothy Bearden, Jason Anavitarte, Chuck Payne, Matt Brass, Brandon Beach, Lee Anderson - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70042 > The history, votes, and amendments (494 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb120.md?full=1