Senate Bill 497
By: Senators Dixon of the 45th, Still of the 48th, Summers of the 13th, Gooch of the 51st,
Echols of the 49th and others
AS PASSED SENATE
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to elementary and secondary school students, so as to require written notification to
a parent when a student receives certain noninstructional services from certain school
employees; to provide for exceptions; to provide for education records of such
noninstructional services; to revise the "Parents' Bill of Rights" to provide for such written
notification; to require local education agencies to adopt policies, rules, or regulations; to
provide for definitions; to provide for construction; to provide for an effective date; to
provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
elementary and secondary school students, is amended in Part 5, relating to review of
removal, by redesignating Code Section 20-2-786, the "Parents' Bill of Rights," as Part 6, by
revising said Code section, and by adding a new Code section to said new part to read as
follows:
"20-2-786.
(a) This <del>Code section</del> <ins>part</ins> shall be known and may be cited as the 'Parents' Bill of Rights.'
(b) The General Assembly finds that it is a fundamental right of parents to direct the
upbringing and education of their minor children. The General Assembly further finds that
important information relating to a minor child should not be withheld, either inadvertently
or purposefully, from his or her parent, including information relating to the minor child's
education.
(c) As used in this <del>Code section</del> <ins>part,</ins> the term:
<ins>(1) 'Education records' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code
Section 20-2-670.
</ins> <del>(1)(2)</del> 'Governing body' shall have the same meaning as <del>provided</del> <ins>set forth</ins> in
subsection (a) of Code Section 20-2-167.1.
<del>(2)(3)</del> 'Instructional material' means instructional materials and content, as defined by the
State Board of Education pursuant to Code Section 20-2-1010, and locally approved
instructional materials and content, as defined in subsection (a) of Code
Section 20-2-1017.
<ins>(4) 'Local education agency' shall have the same meaning as set forth in subsection (a)
of Code Section 20-2-167.1.
</ins> <del>(3)(5)</del> 'Minor child' means <del>a person</del> <ins>an individual</ins> who is less than 18 years of age and
who has not been emancipated by operation of law or by court order pursuant to Code
Section 15-11-727 or as otherwise provided by law.
<del>(4)(6)</del> 'Parent' means <del>a person</del> <ins>an individual</ins> who has legal authority to act on behalf of
a minor child as a natural or adoptive parent or a legal guardian.
<ins>(7) 'Principal' means the school principal, or his or her designee, of the school which a
student attends or for which such student participates in extracurricular activities or
interscholastic activities.
</ins>
<del>(5)(8)</del> 'Review period' means the first two weeks of each nine-week grading period of the
school year; provided, however, that, for schools that do not implement nine-week
grading periods, <del>the term 'review period'</del> <ins>such term</ins> means the first two weeks of each
grading period of the school year.
<ins>(9) 'School' means a public elementary or public secondary school in this state.
(10) 'Student' means a minor child who is enrolled in a school or participates in
extracurricular activities or interscholastic activities for such school.
</ins> (d) No state or local government entity, governing body, <ins>local education agency,</ins> or any
officer, employee, or agent thereof may infringe on the fundamental right of a parent to
direct the upbringing and education of his or her minor child without demonstrating that
such action is reasonable and necessary to achieve a compelling state interest and that such
action is narrowly tailored and is not otherwise served by less restrictive means.
(e)(1) All parental rights are reserved to the parent of a minor child in this state without
obstruction or interference from a state or local government entity, governing body, <ins>local
education agency,</ins> or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, including, but not limited
to:
(A) The right to direct the upbringing and the moral or religious training of his or her
minor child;
(B) The right to review all instructional materials intended for use in the classroom of
his or her minor child;
(C) The right to apply to enroll his or her minor child in a public school or, as an
alternative to public education, a private school, including a religious school, a home
study program, or other available options, as authorized by law and subject to
applicable enrollment requirements;
(D) The right to access and review all <ins>education</ins> records relating to his or her minor
child, including, but not limited to, current grade reports and attendance records, unless
otherwise prohibited by law;
(E) The right to access information relating to promotion and retention policies and
high school graduation requirements;
(F) The right to provide written notice that photographs or video or voice recordings
of his or her child are not permitted, subject to applicable public safety and security
exceptions; <del>and
</del> (G)(i) The right to request, in writing, from the local school superintendent or school
principal the information provided for in this Code section. The local school
superintendent or school principal shall produce such information for inspection
within a reasonable amount of time not to exceed three <ins>school</ins> business days of receipt
of a request. In those instances <del>where</del> <ins>when</ins> some, but not all, information requested
is available for inspection within three <ins>school</ins> business days, the local school
superintendent or school principal shall make available within <del>that</del> <ins>such time</ins> period
such information that is available for inspection. In any instance <del>where</del> <ins>when</ins> some
or all of such information is unavailable within three <ins>school</ins> business days of receipt
of the request, and such information exists, the local school superintendent or school
principal shall, within such time period, provide the requester with a description of
such information and a timeline for when the information will be available for
inspection and shall provide <del>the</del> <ins>such</ins> information or access thereto as soon as
practicable but in no case later than 30 days of receipt of the request.
(ii) If the local school superintendent or school principal denies a parent's request for
information <ins>provided for in this Code section</ins> or does not provide existing responsive
information within 30 days, the parent may appeal such denial or failure to respond
to the governing body. The governing body <del>must place</del> <ins>shall consider and take action
on</ins> such appeal <del>on the agenda for</del> <ins>at</ins> its next <ins>regularly scheduled or special</ins> public
meeting. <del>If it is too late for such appeal to appear on the next meeting's agenda, the
appeal must be included on the agenda for the subsequent meeting.
</del>
(iii) A parent aggrieved by the decision of the governing body may appeal such
decision to the State Board of Education as provided in subsection (b) of Code
Section 20-2-1160; <ins>and
(H) The right to receive written notification as required by subsection (c) of Code
Section 20-2-786.1.
</ins> (2) Unless such rights have been waived or terminated as provided by law, parents have
inalienable rights that are more comprehensive than those listed in paragraph (1) of this
subsection. This <del>Code section</del> <ins>part</ins> does not prescribe all rights of parents. Unless
otherwise required by law, the rights of a parent of a minor child shall not be limited or
denied.
(f) Each governing body shall, in consultation with parents, teachers, and administrators,
develop and adopt a policy or regulation to promote parental involvement in the public
schools. Such policy or regulation shall be updated each year by June 1 and posted on each
governing body's public website, and a copy of such policy or regulation shall be available
for review on site upon request by a parent. Such policy or regulation shall include:
(1) Procedures that meet the requirements of Code Sections 20-2-667 and 20-2-670 for
a parent to review <ins>education</ins> records relating to his or her minor child and to request the
transfer of such records to another school or a person or entity authorized to receive such
records;
(2)(A) Procedures for a parent to learn about his or her minor child's courses of study,
including, but not limited to, parental access to instructional materials intended for use
in the classroom. Instructional materials intended for use in his or her minor child's
classroom shall be made available for parental review during the review period. If such
instructional materials are not made available by a school or local <del>school system
</del> <ins>education agency</ins> for review online, then they shall be made available for review on site
upon a parent's request made during the review period.
(B) Procedures for a parent to object to instructional materials intended for use in his
or her minor child's classroom or recommended by his or her minor child's teacher;
(3) Procedures for a parent to withdraw his or her minor child from the school's
prescribed course of study in sex education if the parent provides a written objection to
his or her minor child's participation. Such procedures shall provide for a parent to be
notified in advance of such course content so that he or she may withdraw his or her
minor child from the course;
(4) Procedures for a parent to provide written notice that photographs or video or voice
recordings of his or her child are not permitted, subject to applicable public safety and
security exceptions; and
(5) Procedures that meet the requirements of Code Sections 20-2-667 and 20-2-670 for
the timely production of a student's education records by such student's current or
previous school to another school in which such student has enrolled, intends to enroll,
or is considering enrollment.
(g) This Code section <del>does not and</del> shall not be construed to:
(1) Authorize a parent of a minor child in this state to engage in conduct that is unlawful
or to abuse or neglect his or her minor child in violation of the law;
(2) Prohibit a judge or officer of a court of competent jurisdiction, law enforcement
officer, or any agent of a state or local government entity that is responsible for child
welfare from acting in his or her official capacity within the reasonable and prudent scope
of his or her authority;
(3) Prohibit a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order that is otherwise
permitted by law; or
(4) Apply to a parental action or decision that would end life.
(h) This Code section shall not be subject to waiver pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for
a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 or 20-2-2065 for a charter
system, Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school <ins>established pursuant to Article 31 or
</ins>
<ins>Article 31A of this chapter, Code Section 20-2-2096.3 for a completion special school,</ins> or
Code Section 20-2-244.
<ins>20-2-786.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Noninstructional services' means medical, nursing, or therapeutic counseling services
provided to a student that are not part of instruction or instruction related services relating
to state approved courses provided or coordinated by a certified teacher, a substitute
teacher, or other qualified personnel.
(2) 'School employee' means a school counselor, school nurse, school psychologist,
school social worker, student advocacy specialist, school administrator, or teacher
employed by or on behalf of a public elementary or public secondary school in this state
regardless of whether such employment is pursuant to a contract or is full time or part
time.
(3) 'Therapeutic counseling services' means services primarily focused on addressing a
student's mental and emotional issues. Such term shall not include services primarily
focused on a student's academic skills, achievements, planning, or goals relative to his
or her elementary or secondary education or to his or her postsecondary or career
objectives.
(b) Each time a school employee provides noninstructional services to a student, he or she
shall make a record of such noninstructional services, and such record shall be part of the
student's education records.
(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, each time a student
receives noninstructional services from a school employee, written notification shall be
provided to the student's parent as soon as practicable but in no case later than 48 hours
after such noninstructional services were provided.
</ins>
<ins>(2)(A) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, a school
employee shall not be required to provide written notification to the student's parent as
required in paragraph (1) of this subsection when, acting in good faith and based on
sound judgment, he or she reasonably believes that:
(i) The student presents an imminent danger of harming himself, herself, or another
and the parental notification required in paragraph (1) of this subsection would
exacerbate such danger; or
(ii) Suspected child abuse, as such term is defined in Code Section 19-7-5, involving
the student has occurred or there is an imminent danger of such child abuse occurring
and the parental notification required in paragraph (1) of this subsection would
exacerbate such danger.
(B) If, pursuant to subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, a school employee does not
provide written notification to a student's parent as required in paragraph (1) of this
subsection, he or she shall provide, within 12 hours of providing noninstructional
services to the student, written notice to the student's principal of such decision and
shall include in such notice a clear explanation of the basis for such decision. If in such
cases the school employee is the school principal, he or she shall provide such written
notice to his or her immediate supervisor.
(d) By July 1, 2026, each local education agency shall adopt policies, rules, or regulations
to implement the requirements of this Code section.
(e) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to:
(1) Authorize or require a school employee to violate federal or state law;
(2) Change any individual's duty to report child abuse, as required by Code
Section 19-7-5;
(3) Prohibit a judge or officer of a court of competent jurisdiction, law enforcement
officer, or any agent of a state or local government entity that is responsible for child
</ins>
<ins>welfare from acting in his or her official capacity within the reasonable and prudent scope
of his or her authority; or
(4) Prohibit a court of competent jurisdiction from issuing an order that is otherwise
permitted by law.
(f) This Code section shall not be subject to waiver pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for
a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 or 20-2-2065 for a charter
system, Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school established pursuant to Article 31 or
Article 31A of this chapter, Code Section 20-2-2096.3 for a completion special school, or
Code Section 20-2-244."
</ins> SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.