---
title: SB 325. Education; local school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains; authorize
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb325
cite_as: SB 325, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb325
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb325.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb325/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71182
date: 2025-03-06
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-12
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: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb325.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 325
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-03-05
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Marty Harbin
- Max Burns
- John Albers
- Steve Gooch
- Randy Robertson
- Mike Hodges
- Ricky Williams
- Drew Echols
- Colton Moore
- Larry Walker
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB325/2025
upstream_id: 1992983
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school chaplains
- public education policy
- school counselors
- child abuse records
- local school boards
---
# SB 325. Education; local school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains; authorize
## Text
Senate Bill 325
By: Senators Harbin of the 16th, Burns of the 23rd, Albers of the 56th, Gooch of the 51st,
Robertson of the 29th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 20-2-182 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
program weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits, maximum class size,
reporting requirements, and application to specific school years, so as to authorize local
school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains; to
provide that school chaplains shall provide support, services, and programs for students as
assigned; to authorize school chaplains to be employed or accepted as volunteers in addition
to or in lieu of school counselors and to authorize school chaplains to perform duties of
school counselors; to provide that school chaplains need not be certificated professional
personnel; to require local boards of education to vote in public on whether to authorize
school chaplains; to amend Code Section 19-15-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to definitions concerning child abuse, so as to include school chaplains in the
definition of "child protection professional"; to amend Code Section 49-5-41 of the Official
Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to persons and agencies permitted access to records, so
as to authorize school chaplains to review records of reports of child abuse; to provide for
related matters; to provide for a short title; to provide for an effective date; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "School Chaplains Act."
SECTION 2.
Code Section 19-15-1 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to definitions
concerning child abuse, is amended by revising paragraph (5) as follows:
"(5) 'Child protection professional' means any person who is employed by the state or a
political subdivision of the state as a law enforcement officer, school teacher, school
administrator, or school counselor, or school chaplain or who is employed to render
services to children by the Department of Public Health, the Department of Behavioral
Health and Developmental Disabilities, or the Department of Human Services or any
county board of health, community service board, or county department of family and
children services."
SECTION 3.
Code Section 20-2-182 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to program
weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits, maximum class size, reporting
requirements, and application to specific school years, is amended by revising subsection (c)
as follows:
"(c)(1) The program weights for the kindergarten, kindergarten early intervention,
primary, primary grades early intervention, upper elementary, upper elementary grades
early intervention, middle school, and alternative education programs and the program
weights for the high school programs authorized pursuant to paragraph (4) of
subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-151, when multiplied by the base amount, shall
reflect sufficient funds to pay the beginning salaries for at least one school counselor for
every 450 full-time equivalent students. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015 and thereafter,
the program weights for the English for speakers of other languages program and the
programs for persons with disabilities shall also earn school counselor funding. Further,
beginning in Fiscal Year 2016 and thereafter, the program weights for the program for
intellectually gifted students and the remedial education program shall also earn school
counselor funding. The duties and responsibilities for such school counselors shall be
established by the state board to require a minimum of five of the six full-time equivalent
program count segments of the counselor's time to be spent counseling or advising
students or parents.
(2)(A) Notwithstanding any provision of paragraph (1) of this subsection or any other
law to the contrary, a local school system or public school shall be authorized to
employ or accept as a volunteer a school chaplain to provide support, services, and
programs for students as assigned by the local school superintendent or the local board
of education or other public school governing body. In addition to employing school
counselors to perform the duties of school counselors, local school systems and public
schools may employ school chaplains to perform the duties required of a school
counselor under this chapter and as provided for in paragraph (5) of Code Section
19-15-1 and Code Section 49-5-41. A school chaplain employed or accepted as a
volunteer under this subsection is not required to be a certificated professional
personnel or otherwise subject to any rule or regulation of the Professional Standards
Commission.
(B) No later than December 31, 2025, each local board of education or other public
school governing body shall vote in public on whether to adopt a policy authorizing the
employment of school chaplains."
SECTION 4.
Code Section 49-5-41 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to persons and
agencies permitted access to records, is amended by revising paragraph (10) of subsection
(c) as follows:
"(10) Any school principal, or any school guidance counselor, school social worker, or
school psychologist who is certified under Chapter 2 of Title 20, or school chaplain and
who is counseling a student as a part of such counseling person's school employment
duties, but those records shall remain confidential and information obtained therefrom by
that such counseling person may not be disclosed to any person, except that such student,
not authorized under this Code section to obtain those records, and such unauthorized
disclosure shall be punishable as a misdemeanor;"
SECTION 5.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 6.
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 local school systems and public schools employ or use volunteer 'school chaplains,' who could take on school counselor duties without needing teaching or counseling certification.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently funds school counselor positions through the state's public school funding formula and sets rules for who can access confidential child abuse records or be considered a 'child protection professional.' This bill, called the 'School Chaplains Act,' would let local school systems and individual public schools employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains to provide support, services, and programs for students as assigned by a superintendent, school board, or other governing body.
School chaplains could be used in addition to or instead of school counselors and could perform school counselor duties, but they would not have to be certificated professional personnel or follow Professional Standards Commission rules. The bill also adds school chaplains to the legal definition of 'child protection professional' (O.C.G.A. § 19-15-1) and lets them access confidential child abuse records when counseling a student (O.C.G.A. § 49-5-41). Local boards of education must vote in public by December 31, 2025 on whether to adopt a policy allowing school chaplains. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
### What it does
- Authorizes local school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains to provide support, services, and programs for students.
- Allows school chaplains to perform school counselor duties instead of, or in addition to, certified school counselors.
- Exempts school chaplains from the requirement to be certificated professional personnel or to follow Professional Standards Commission rules.
- Adds school chaplains to the legal definition of 'child protection professional' under Georgia's child abuse laws (O.C.G.A. § 19-15-1).
- Gives school chaplains who are counseling a student access to confidential child abuse report records (O.C.G.A. § 49-5-41), with unauthorized disclosure punishable as a misdemeanor.
- Requires each local board of education or school governing body to hold a public vote by December 31, 2025 on whether to adopt a policy allowing school chaplains.
### Who it affects
Public school students, parents, school counselors, local school boards and superintendents, and any people who might serve as school chaplains, whether paid staff or volunteers, in Georgia's public school systems.
### Why it matters
Schools could bring in chaplains, who do not need counseling certification, to do work currently reserved for trained school counselors, including reviewing confidential child abuse records. Whether this happens in a given district depends on a required public vote by local school boards before the end of 2025.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 names the bill the 'School Chaplains Act.'
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 19-15-1 to add school chaplains to the definition of 'child protection professional.'
- Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-182(c) to let local school systems and schools employ or accept volunteer chaplains to perform counselor duties, and exempts them from certification rules.
- Section 3 also requires local boards of education to vote publicly by December 31, 2025 on whether to authorize school chaplains.
- Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 49-5-41(c)(10) to let school chaplains access confidential child abuse records while counseling a student, with unauthorized disclosure treated as a misdemeanor.
- Section 5 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-03-05)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2025-03-06)
- Sponsors: Marty Harbin, Max Burns, John Albers, Steve Gooch, Randy Robertson, Mike Hodges, Ricky Williams, Drew Echols, Colton Moore, Larry Walker
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71182
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb325.md?full=1