Georgia CommonsSB 537: Education; schools that receive state funds from displaying any flag other than the flag of the United States or the flag, coat of arms, or state emblem of the State of Georgia; prohibit
Last action February 20, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred
A Georgia Senate bill would ban public schools and colleges that get state funding from displaying any flag other than the United States flag or Georgia's flag, coat of arms, or state emblem, and would make it illegal for individuals to display a banned flag on school property.
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 Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Currently Georgia law does not restrict which flags schools can display. This bill would add a new section to Georgia's education code (O.C.G.A. § 20-1-13) that bars any elementary, secondary, or postsecondary school receiving state funds from displaying, anywhere on property it owns, leases, or operates for educational purposes, any flag except the United States flag or Georgia's flag, coat of arms, or state emblem. The bill also makes it a crime for any individual to display or cause to be displayed a prohibited flag at such a school. The bill does not specify a penalty for this new offense or set an effective date beyond the standard process, and it repeals any conflicting laws.
What the bill does
- Bars any Georgia school (elementary, secondary, or postsecondary) that receives state funds from displaying any flag other than the U.S. flag or Georgia's flag, coat of arms, or state emblem.
- Applies the ban to all facilities the school owns, leases, or operates for educational purposes, at any time.
- Makes it unlawful for any individual to display or cause to be displayed a banned flag at a covered school.
- Repeals any existing Georgia laws that conflict with this new rule.
Who it affects
Public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools in Georgia that receive state funding, along with their administrators, teachers, and staff who might display flags, and any individual, such as a student, employee, or visitor, who might put up a flag on school property.
Why it matters
Schools that currently display flags such as pride flags, historical flags, or other symbolic banners would have to remove them or risk violating state law. Individuals who put up a prohibited flag on school grounds could face legal consequences, changing what visual displays are allowed in Georgia's publicly funded schools.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code section 20-1-13(a), prohibiting any school receiving state funds from displaying any flag besides the U.S. flag or Georgia's flag, coat of arms, or state emblem, anywhere on school-owned or operated property.
- Section 1 also adds subsection (b), making it unlawful for any individual to display or cause the display of a flag banned under subsection (a).
- Section 2 repeals any Georgia laws that conflict with this new provision.
From the bill
“shall be prohibited from displaying, in any manner, at any time, and at any place in any facility owned, leased, or operated by such school for educational purposes, a flag other than the flag of the United States or the flag, coat of arms, or state emblem of the State of Georgia”
“It shall be unlawful for any individual to display or cause to be displayed any flag that is prohibited under subsection (a) of this Code section.”
Status timeline
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Marty Harbin (R, SD-016)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Max Burns (R, SD-023)
- Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
- Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Sam Watson (R, SD-011)
Topics
- school flag policy
- public education
- state funding conditions
- free speech in schools