HB1190: HB1190 Students and Teachers SPEAK Act; enact

Georgia's State Board of Education currently has no formal role for student input, and the law governing student representatives on local boards of education has been left blank (reserved). This bill would change both. It creates a new position called a 'student member,' a Georgia public high school junior or senior at least 16 years old, chosen through a statewide application, essay, transcript, and interview process run by regional educational service agencies (RESAs) and the State School Superintendent, with the Governor making the final selection by October 1 each year. The student member could attend State Board of Education meetings and public hearings as a nonvoting advisor, but could not weigh in on legal, disciplinary, personnel, or other sensitive matters, and could not access confidential information or attend closed sessions. The bill also spells out rules for local boards inviting student representatives and lets the Georgia Teacher of the Year advise the state board at multiple meetings instead of just one. It would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature.

• Creates a new 'student member' position allowing one Georgia high school junior or senior to serve as a nonvoting advisor to the State Board of Education for up to one school year.
• Establishes a selection process involving RESA interviews, a State School Superintendent recommendation, and a final choice by the Governor by October 1 each year.
• Bars the student member from confidential information, closed sessions, and any legal, disciplinary, or personnel matters, or other issues the board chair deems sensitive.
• Provides that the student member receives reimbursement for actual expenses and transportation costs tied to attending board meetings and hearings.
• Fills in a previously blank Code section to formally authorize and regulate student representatives on local boards of education, including a limited advisory vote on issues like school calendars and codes of conduct.
• Expands the Georgia Teacher of the Year's advisory role from a single board meeting or hearing to all such meetings and hearings held during the year.

Georgia high school juniors and seniors who might apply for the student member role, the State Board of Education and its chairperson, the Governor and State School Superintendent who run the selection process, regional educational service agencies, local boards of education and their student representatives, and the Georgia Teacher of the Year.

Georgia students would gain a formal, if limited, voice in state and local education policymaking through structured advisory roles, while local boards get clearer legal footing for involving students in decisions like school calendars and conduct codes, without granting students an actual vote on sensitive matters.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Students and Teachers SPEAK Act.'
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1 to let the General Assembly authorize teachers and students to serve as ex officio advisors to the State Board of Education.
• Section 3 adds new Code Section 20-2-1.1 defining 'student member,' setting eligibility (age 16+, grades 11-12), and detailing the RESA-based selection and interview process ending in a gubernatorial appointment by October 1.
• Section 3 also restricts the student member from confidential information, closed sessions, and sensitive matters, and provides for expense reimbursement under O.C.G.A. § 45-7-21.
• Section 4 rewrites the previously reserved O.C.G.A. § 20-2-54 to let local boards invite student representatives, define their liaison role, and grant a limited nonbinding advisory vote on student-related issues.
• Section 5 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-212.1 so the Georgia Teacher of the Year can advise the State Board at all its meetings and hearings, not just one.
• Section 6 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

1. 2026-02-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-05House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-04House Hopper (House)

• Gabriel Sanchez (D, HD-042)Primary sponsor
• Bryce Berry (D, HD-056)
• Mekyah McQueen (D, HD-061)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Mike Cameron (R, HD-001)
• Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)

• student advisors
• State Board of Education
• local school boards
• education policy
• Georgia Teacher of the Year