--- title: SB 332. County Board of Education of DeKalb County; board members shall only be elected by electors of the DeKalb County school district; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb332 cite_as: SB 332, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71339 date: 2025-05-13 status: passed 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/sb331.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb333.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 919 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 332 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-13 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 sponsors: - Emanuel Jones - Donzella James - Long Tran text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB332/2025 upstream_id: 2005471 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - DeKalb County schools - school board elections - local government law - county board of education - annexation rules --- # SB 332. County Board of Education of DeKalb County; board members shall only be elected by electors of the DeKalb County school district; provide ## Text 25 SB 332/AP Senate Bill 332 By: Senators Jones of the 10th and James of the 28th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act to create and establish in DeKalb County, Georg ia, districts from which1 the members of the County Board of Education of DeKalb County shall be elected, approved2 April 12, 1963 (Ga. L. 1963, p. 3424), as amended, particularly by an Act approved3 March 14, 1984 (Ga. L. 1984, p. 4192), and an Act approved May 10, 2021 (Ga. L. 2021,4 p. 4256), so as to provide that such board members shall only be elected by electors of the5 DeKalb County school district; to revise provisions related to changes in boundaries of the6 DeKalb County school district following certain annexations; to provide for related matters;7 to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 An Act to create and establish in DeKalb County, Georgia, districts from which the members11 of the County Board of Education of DeKalb County shall be elec ted, approved April 12,12 1963 (Ga. L. 1963, p. 3424), as amended, particularly by an Act approved March 14, 198413 (Ga. L. 1984, p. 4192), and an Act approved May 10, 2021 (Ga. L . 2021, p. 4256), is14 amended in Section 3 by revising subsection (a) as follows:15 S. B. 332 - 1 - 25 SB 332/AP "(a) The members of the board of education of DeKalb County serving at the time this Act16 becomes effective shall continue to serve out the terms of offi ce to which they were17 elected. Their successors shall be elected by electors residing within the boundaries of the18 DeKalb County school district, and they shall take office and serve for the term of office19 as provided in this Act."20 SECTION 2.21 Said Act is further amended by adding a new subsection to Section 3.2 to read as follows:22 "(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, this section shall23 not apply to an annexation achieved through the adoption of a l ocal Act of the General24 Assembly that affects a single residential parcel of property that does not exceed one acre25 in size; provided, however, that no more than four such annexations per calendar year shall26 be exempted pursuant to this subsection."27 SECTION 3.28 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.29 S. B. 332 - 2 - ## 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 Senate bill changes DeKalb County's school board election law so future board members must be elected only by voters living within the DeKalb County school district, and adjusts how annexations affect district boundaries. ### Plain-language summary DeKalb County's school board members are chosen under a 1963 state law that has been amended several times. This bill changes that law so that future board members' successors must be elected specifically by voters who live within the boundaries of the DeKalb County school district, rather than by DeKalb County electors more broadly. Current board members finish out their existing terms unaffected. The bill also adds a new exception to the rules governing how annexations change the school district's boundaries. Under the new provision, a small residential annexation done through a local act of the General Assembly, one that affects a single residential parcel of one acre or less, will not trigger the usual boundary-change process. No more than four such small annexations can be exempted this way in a single calendar year. ### What it does - Requires that successors to current DeKalb County Board of Education members be elected only by voters residing within the DeKalb County school district's boundaries. - Leaves current board members' existing terms of office unchanged and lets them finish serving as originally elected. - Creates an exemption from the district boundary-change process for local acts annexing a single residential parcel of one acre or less. - Caps the number of annexations eligible for this exemption at four per calendar year. - Repeals any prior laws that conflict with these changes. ### Who it affects DeKalb County voters, current and future members of the County Board of Education of DeKalb County, and residents of parcels affected by small residential annexations handled through local acts of the General Assembly. ### Why it matters The change clarifies who gets to vote for DeKalb County school board seats by tying eligibility to residence within the school district itself, which could matter if the county and school district boundaries diverge. The annexation exemption limits how often small property annexations reshape school district lines. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises subsection (a) of Section 3 of the 1963 Act so that successors to sitting board members are elected only by electors residing within the DeKalb County school district. - Section 1 preserves the terms of board members already serving when the Act takes effect. - Section 2 adds new subsection (g) to Section 3.2, exempting certain small residential annexations (one parcel, one acre or less, via local act) from the standard district boundary-change rules. - Section 2 limits this annexation exemption to no more than four such annexations per calendar year. - Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-13) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-13 (2025-05-13) - Sponsors: Emanuel Jones, Donzella James, Long Tran - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71339 > The history, votes, and amendments (919 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb332.md?full=1