---
title: SB 263. Law Enforcement Powers of School Security; include a specified area surrounding school property; expand jurisdictional authority
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb263
cite_as: SB 263, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb263
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb263.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb263/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70868
date: 2025-02-27
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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previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb262.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb264.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb263.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 263
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-02-26
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Derek Mallow
- Freddie Sims
- RaShaun Kemp
- Chuck Payne
- Elena Parent
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB263/2025
upstream_id: 1986177
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school safety
- law enforcement jurisdiction
- school security officers
- police powers
- education policy
---
# SB 263. Law Enforcement Powers of School Security; include a specified area surrounding school property; expand jurisdictional authority
## Text
Senate Bill 263
By: Senators Mallow of the 2nd, Sims of the 12th, Kemp of the 38th, Payne of the 54th and
Parent of the 44th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 20-8-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law
enforcement powers of school security personnel in each public school system of the state,
certification, and carrying of firearms or weapons, so as to expand jurisdictional authority
of certain law enforcement officers to include a specified area surrounding school property;
to provide for a conforming change; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws;
and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 20-8-5 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to law enforcement
powers of school security personnel in each public school system of the state, certification,
and carrying of firearms or weapons, is amended by revising subsections (a) and (c) as
follows:
"(a) In each public local school system in this state, school security personnel employed
by the local board of education of a county or an independent board of education of a
municipality for the various public schools thereof who are certified pursuant to
subsection (b) of this Code section and who are authorized by the such local board of
education of that county or the independent board of education of that municipality shall
have the same law enforcement powers on school property and on public or private
property within five miles of school property, including the power of arrest, as law
enforcement officers of that respective the county or municipality in which the local school
system is located."
"(c) The provisions of this Code section shall not prohibit a local board of education of a
county or an independent board of education of a municipality from employing school
security personnel without law enforcement powers."
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.
A Georgia Senate bill would let certified school security officers exercise law enforcement powers, including arrest, not just on school property but also on public or private property within five miles of a school.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law (O.C.G.A. § 20-8-5), school security personnel who are certified and authorized by their local board of education have the same law enforcement powers, including arrest, as regular police or sheriff's deputies, but only on school property. This bill would expand that authority so certified school security officers could exercise those same powers on public or private property located within five miles of school property, not just on the campus itself.
The bill keeps the existing rule that local boards of education are not required to give their school security personnel law enforcement powers at all; boards may still choose to employ unarmed or non-police security staff. The change applies to both county school systems and independent city school systems statewide. No new certification process or funding is created; the bill only changes the geographic scope of existing authority.
### What it does
- Expands the jurisdiction of certified school security officers from school property only to also include public or private property within five miles of school property.
- Preserves the existing requirement that officers be certified and specifically authorized by their local board of education before exercising law enforcement powers.
- Keeps intact the local board's option to employ school security staff who do not have law enforcement powers, such as unarmed monitors.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this expanded jurisdiction once enacted.
### Who it affects
Certified school security officers and the local school boards (county and independent city systems) that employ them, students and staff on and near campuses, and residents and property owners within five miles of a school who could now be subject to arrest powers exercised by school security personnel.
### Why it matters
If enacted, certified school security officers could stop, detain, or arrest people well beyond school grounds, on nearby streets, businesses, or private property, using the same authority as local police. This broadens where school-based law enforcement can act, affecting people far from the school itself.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-8-5(a) to extend school security officers' law enforcement powers, including arrest, to public or private property within five miles of school property, in addition to school property itself.
- Section 1 also makes a conforming edit clarifying that these officers have the same powers as law enforcement officers of the county or municipality where the school system is located.
- Subsection (c) is retained to confirm local boards of education may still employ school security staff without law enforcement powers.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting state laws but does not specify an effective date beyond standard enactment.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-02-26)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-02-27)
- Sponsors: Derek Mallow, Freddie Sims, RaShaun Kemp, Chuck Payne, Elena Parent
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70868
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb263.md?full=1