SB 609: DeKalb County; County Board of Education; changes in boundaries of school district; revise provisions

This bill amends a long-standing 1963 Georgia law that set up the districts for electing members of the DeKalb County Board of Education, a law that has already been amended several times, most recently in 2025. The change here is narrow: it adds a new subsection to Section 3.2 of that law dealing with how school district boundaries shift after certain annexations. The new subsection singles out one property, identified as 1195 University Drive NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, and says the general boundary rules in that section do not apply to it. Instead, that property is removed from the DeKalb County school district and placed into the Atlanta Independent School System. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws, which is standard language ensuring this new provision takes precedence over older, inconsistent provisions.

• Adds a new subsection (h) to Section 3.2 of the 1963 DeKalb County school board districting law, as amended over the years.
• Exempts one named property, 1195 University Drive NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306, from the general boundary-change rules in that section.
• Transfers that specific property out of the DeKalb County school district and into the Atlanta Independent School System.
• Repeals any existing laws that conflict with this new provision.

The residents and property owner at 1195 University Drive NE in Atlanta, who would now be served by the Atlanta Independent School System instead of DeKalb County Schools. It also touches the DeKalb County Board of Education and Atlanta Public Schools, whose enrollment boundaries shift as a result.

For the household at that address, this changes which public school system their children are zoned for, moving them from DeKalb County Schools to Atlanta Public Schools. The bill illustrates how Georgia legislators sometimes resolve individual boundary disputes through targeted local legislation rather than administrative rezoning.

• Section 1 adds subsection (h) to Section 3.2 of the underlying 1963 DeKalb County school districting Act, as amended by later laws through 2025.
• Subsection (h) states the section's general rules do not apply to the property at 1195 University Drive NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30306.
• Subsection (h) removes that property from the DeKalb County school district and places it within the Atlanta Independent School System.
• Section 2 repeals any laws or parts of laws that conflict with this Act.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-05-12
2. 2026-05-12Act 701
3. 2026-05-12Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-04-02House Passed/Adopted (House)
6. 2026-04-02House Third Readers (House)
7. 2026-04-02House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
8. 2026-03-19House Second Readers (House)

• Kim Jackson (D, SD-041)Primary sponsor
• Sally Harrell (D, SD-040)
• Randal Mangham (D, SD-055)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 16, 2026

   48 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #719

2. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   110 yea, 63 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #846

• school district boundaries
• DeKalb County schools
• Atlanta Public Schools
• local legislation