Georgia CommonsSB 54: State Board of Education; establishment of a program and state-wide database relating to threats to safety made on or impacting school campuses; require
Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds · Last action January 29, 2025 · Introduced
The text as LegiScan holds it, read from the PDF the legislature publishes with its margin line numbers, running heads, and page footers removed. Line breaks are joined into paragraphs here; no word is changed.
Underlined words are what the bill adds to current law and struck-through words are what it removes, as the printed bill shows them.
Senate Bill 54
By: Senators Jones of the 10th, Jones II of the 22nd, Sims of the 12th, Lucas of the 26th, Orrock of the 36th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state board of education, so as to require the establishment of a program and state-wide database by the State Board of Education relating to threats to safety made on or impacting school campuses; 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 1 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to state board of education, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-20.1.
(a) No later than July 1, 2026, the State Board of Education shall establish an emergency alert response system to be provided to public elementary and secondary schools in this state that allows:
(1) School administration to notify law enforcement of threats made on or impacting a school campus;
(2) School administration to notify local emergency first responders of an active threat to safety upon a school campus; and
(3) A public elementary or secondary school to communicate with neighboring local school systems about threats made on or impacting a school campus or emergency procedures initiated upon a school campus due to an active threat to safety.
(b) No later than July 1, 2027, the State Board of Education shall establish a secure state-wide database for use by public elementary and secondary schools in this state to report and monitor incidents of safety threats made on or impacting a school campus. The name of any person who threatens the safety of a school shall be included in such database; provided, however, that no student shall be entered on any such database until the threat to school safety has been investigated and verified by local law enforcement and the student has been evaluated by a certificated school social worker from the local school system, if any are employed by the school system. The State Board of Education shall develop standards for determining when a verified threat qualifies for inclusion of a person within the database and a method for petitioning for removal from any database developed pursuant to this subsection. Any such removal standards shall include a required evaluation of the student by a certified school social worker. Such database shall be accessible only to designated personnel at each public elementary or secondary school in this state. When a student has been added to the database established pursuant to this subsection, the local school system shall provide the parents or guardians of the student with recommendations for counseling services and provide the student with available specialized mental health services while in school.
(c) The State Board of Education shall be authorized to consult with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and local boards of education and other elementary and secondary school governing bodies for purposes of this Code section."
SECTION 2.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.