HB1591: HB1591 Dekalb County; Board of Education; recruitment, vetting, and appointment of and contracting with school system superintendent; establish protocols

This bill amends the 1963 local law that created DeKalb County's school board election districts, adding a new section that governs how the DeKalb County Board of Education hires its superintendent. It requires the board to conduct a comprehensive background investigation of every finalist for the job before any job offer, contract talks, or public announcement, covering criminal records, education credentials, work history, credit reports, civil court records, professional conduct complaints, social media, and news coverage. The investigation must be done by an independent third-party firm with no ties to the candidate, paid for by the board, and results must be reviewed by legal counsel and the board in executive session before any hiring decision. Before appointing or renewing a superintendent's contract, the board must post the final contract and a financial impact study online for at least seven days, then take a roll-call vote. The board must also keep a public online portal with superintendent search and personnel action records for at least ten years.

• Requires the DeKalb County Board of Education to complete a comprehensive background check on every superintendent finalist before any job offer or contract talks begin.
• Lists specific investigation elements the check must cover, including criminal records, credit reports, employment history for 20 years, and social media review.
• Requires the investigation to be done by an independent outside firm paid for by the board, not the candidate, with results kept confidential for at least seven years.
• Requires the board to post the final superintendent contract and a financial impact study online for at least seven days before voting to approve an appointment.
• Requires a public roll-call vote to approve both the superintendent's appointment and employment contract.
• Requires the board to maintain a public online portal with superintendent search and personnel action records for at least ten years.

The DeKalb County Board of Education, candidates and finalists for the superintendent job, the current and future DeKalb County School System superintendent, and DeKalb County residents and taxpayers who would gain access to more information about the hiring and contracting process.

The bill would make DeKalb County's superintendent hiring process more formal and transparent, requiring detailed vetting before any contract talks and public disclosure of contract terms before a vote. This changes how quickly and privately the board could move to hire, renew, or remove a superintendent.

• Section 1 adds a new Section 3.3 to the 1963 DeKalb County school district law, declaring the General Assembly's interest in superintendent accountability legislation for the district.
• Subsection (b) defines 'board,' 'candidate,' and 'finalist' for purposes of the new hiring rules.
• Subsection (e) requires a background investigation to start within five business days of naming finalists and lists required elements such as criminal, credit, employment, and social media checks.
• Subsection (f) requires an independent third-party investigator with no ties to the candidate, compliance with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and Georgia Professional Standards Commission rules, and seven-year record retention.
• Subsection (g) requires the investigation report to go to legal counsel and then to the board in a noticed executive session before any public hiring action.
• Subsection (h) requires the board to post the final contract and a financial impact study online for at least seven days before a roll-call vote to approve a superintendent's appointment and contract.
• Subsection (i) extends the same posting and timeline rules to contract extensions, renewals, terminations, or separation agreements.
• Subsection (j) requires a public online portal with superintendent search and personnel action records kept for at least ten years.

1. 2026-03-25House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-23House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-20House Hopper (House)

• Karla Drenner (D, HD-085)Primary sponsor
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)
• Billy Mitchell (D, HD-088)
• Omari Crawford (D, HD-089)
• Saira Draper (D, HD-090)
• Long Tran (D, HD-080)

• DeKalb County schools
• school superintendent hiring
• school board transparency
• local government law
• education governance