HB1486: HB1486 Education; term "education record"; revise definitions

Georgia law currently uses several different time terms, like 'school day,' 'business day,' and their plural forms, scattered across different sections dealing with student records, sports rules, and school discipline policies. House Bill 1486 would replace these inconsistent terms with a single defined term, 'school business day,' in eight different Code sections covering topics from parental record review to charter school petitions. The bill also rewrites the definitions section in Title 20 (O.C.G.A. Section 20-1-9) to formally define 'school business day' and 'school day' for the first time, and updates the definition of 'education record' used in the student data privacy law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-662). It updates cross-references in the transfer student records law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-670) and the parental inspection law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-720) so they point to the correct definitions. The bill would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or becoming law without a signature.

• Creates formal definitions of 'school business day' and 'school day' in O.C.G.A. Section 20-1-9, tied to whether a school administrator must report in person and whether the school calendar marks the day as closed.
• Replaces the terms 'school day,' 'school days,' 'business day,' and 'business days' with 'school business day' or 'school business days' in eight separate Code sections covering records, sports, and discipline.
• Updates the definition of 'education record' in the student data privacy law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-662) to clarify what counts as an education record under federal FERPA rules and what is excluded.
• Revises the parent notification and record request process for transfer students (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-670), setting a five school business day window for parents to request copies of transferred records and another five days to request a correction meeting.
• Fixes a cross-reference error in the parental record inspection law (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-720) so 'education record' correctly points to the transfer records definition instead of the student data privacy definition.
• Expands the list of Code sections that guarantee parents and legal custodians the right to inspect their child's education records to include the transfer records law and the Parents' Bill of Rights.

Parents and legal custodians of Georgia public school students, local boards of education and school administrators who must track and respond to record requests, the Department of Juvenile Justice's school system, and school personnel involved in student transfers, discipline, and data privacy compliance.

Parents seeking to review or correct their child's school records would face clearer, uniformly defined deadlines instead of a patchwork of terms like 'school day' and 'business day' that could be interpreted differently across various laws, potentially reducing confusion in how schools calculate response windows.

• Section 1 repeals and re-enacts O.C.G.A. Section 20-1-9, adding definitions for 'school business day' (requiring an administrator present and the school not marked closed) and 'school day.'
• Section 2 revises the 'education record' definition in O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-662, tying it to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and listing categories of student data excluded from the definition.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-670, setting a five school business day deadline for parents to request copies of transferred education records after notification, and another five days to request a correction meeting.
• Section 4 revises O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-720, correcting the cross-reference for 'education record' to point to Section 20-2-670 and adding Sections 20-2-667, 20-2-670, and 20-2-786 as sources of parents' inspection rights.
• Section 5 replaces 'school day,' 'school days,' 'business day,' and 'business days' with 'school business day' or 'school business days' across eight named Code sections, including the Parents' Bill of Rights and the Charter Schools Act.
• Section 6 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.

1. 2026-03-06House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-03House Hopper (House)

• Holt Persinger (R, HD-119)Primary sponsor
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)

• student records
• parental rights in schools
• education law
• school data privacy
• FERPA compliance