Georgia CommonsSB 471: Education; requires a student to wear a face mask or face covering while present on school property; eliminate automatic repeal provision
Last action March 6, 2026 · House Second Readers
A Georgia Senate bill would make permanent a 2022 law that bars schools from requiring students to wear face masks unless parents can opt their child out, by removing the law's built-in expiration date.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Engrossed version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
In 2022, the Georgia General Assembly passed a law (Ga. L. 2022, p. 23/SB 514) saying that local school boards, superintendents, and school staff cannot make or enforce a rule requiring students to wear a face mask or face covering on school property unless the rule lets a parent or guardian opt their child out. That 2022 law included a provision that would have caused it to automatically expire at a later date. SB 471 amends that 2022 law by repealing and reserving Section 6, which was the automatic repeal provision. Removing that section means the mask opt-out protections no longer have a built-in end date and would continue to apply to Georgia public schools indefinitely, unless changed by future legislation.
What the bill does
- Amends the 2022 law on school mask rules by repealing Section 6, which was the provision setting an automatic future repeal date.
- Leaves in place the underlying rule that local school boards and staff cannot require masks unless parents can opt their child out.
- Makes the parental opt-out protection permanent rather than temporary, since it no longer has a built-in expiration.
- Repeals any other Georgia laws that conflict with this change.
Who it affects
Local school boards of education, school superintendents, and other school administrators, teachers, and staff who set rules about face coverings, as well as students and their parents or guardians in Georgia's public schools.
Why it matters
Without this change, the 2022 mask opt-out law was set to expire at some point, potentially leaving school mask policy without that specific state-level restriction. By removing the expiration, the bill would keep in place, on an ongoing basis, the requirement that parents be allowed to exempt their child from any school mask mandate.
Key provisions
- Section 1 amends the 2022 Act (Ga. L. 2022, p. 23/SB 514) by repealing and reserving Section 6 of that Act, which contained the automatic repeal provision.
- Section 2 repeals any other Georgia laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.
- The bill does not change the underlying substantive rule that school mask mandates must include a parental opt-out.
From the bill
“is amended by repealing and reserving Section 6.”
“no local board of education, local school superintendent, or school administrator, teacher, or other school personnel shall make or enforce any rule that requires a student to wear a face mask or face covering while present on school property unless such rule provides that a parent or guardian of such student may elect for his or her child to be exempt from such rule”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- Max Burns (R, SD-023)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 3, 2026
51 yea, 1 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
Topics
- school mask policies
- parental rights in schools
- public school regulations
- education law