SB 425: Education; all schools that receive state funding with students in any of grades three through five to provide instruction in cursive handwriting to all students by no later than third grade; require

This bill amends Georgia's education code (Title 20) in several ways. It creates a new requirement that any school with students in grades three through five that receives state funding must teach cursive handwriting to all students no later than third grade, though this can be folded into existing coursework. It also rewrites the law on automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-775), removing the requirement that a licensed physician oversee a school's AED program and adding new rules for bleeding control kits, including training, maintenance, and coordination with the Georgia Trauma Commission. Schools would also have to run emergency drills covering both cardiac arrest and severe bleeding starting in the 2026-2027 school year. Separately, the bill requires local school boards to adopt policies letting an employee who is physically attacked by a student or that student's parent or guardian transfer to a similar job at another school in the same district, without retaliation. Most of the bill takes effect July 1, 2026, but the AED and bleeding kit section only takes effect if the General Assembly specifically appropriates funding for it.

• Requires all state-funded schools with grades three through five to teach cursive handwriting to every student by no later than third grade.
• Removes the current requirement that a licensed physician be involved in a school's automated external defibrillator (AED) program.
• Adds bleeding control kits to school emergency medical requirements, including training, maintenance, and notifying local emergency services of their location.
• Requires two emergency drills per year starting in the 2026-2027 school year covering both cardiac arrest and severe bleeding scenarios.
• Requires local school boards to let employees who are physically attacked by a student or a student's parent or guardian transfer to a similar job at another school in the district, without retaliation.
• Makes the AED and bleeding kit changes take effect only if the General Assembly separately appropriates funding for them.

Public and other state-funded schools and their students in grades three through five, school staff responsible for AED and bleeding control kit programs, licensed physicians currently involved in school AED oversight, local school boards and public school governing bodies, and school employees who experience physical violence from students or their parents or guardians.

Students would gain guaranteed cursive instruction, schools would add bleeding control training alongside existing defibrillator rules, and physicians would no longer need to oversee AED programs. Employees attacked at work would gain a formal path to transfer schools without facing retaliation, though the medical provisions depend on future state funding.

• Section 1 adds Code Section 20-2-140.2, requiring cursive handwriting instruction by third grade in schools with grades three through five that receive state funds.
• Section 2 revises Code Section 20-2-775 to remove the licensed physician requirement for AED programs and add definitions, training, and maintenance rules for bleeding control kits.
• Section 2 requires schools to notify local emergency medical services of bleeding control kit locations and to establish emergency action plans covering both cardiac arrest and severe bleeding.
• Section 2 requires two emergency action plan drills per year beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, covering cardiac and bleeding emergencies.
• Section 3 adds Code Section 20-2-222, requiring local boards to adopt transfer policies for employees who are victims of physical violence by a student or that student's parent or guardian.
• Section 4 sets a general effective date of July 1, 2026, but makes Section 2 (AED and bleeding kits) effective only if the General Assembly appropriates funds for it.

1. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2026-03-09House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-06House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-03-04Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
5. 2026-03-04Senate Third Read (Senate)
6. 2026-02-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
7. 2026-02-24Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
8. 2026-01-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)

• Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)Primary sponsor
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Kenya Wicks (D, SD-034)
• Sonya Halpern (D, SD-039)
• Ed Setzler (R, SD-037)
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Derek Mallow (D, SD-002)
• Lee Hawkins (R, HD-027)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 4, 2026

   43 yea, 9 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #637

• cursive handwriting
• school safety
• defibrillators
• bleeding control kits
• school employee protections