---
title: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149. Programs for educating students regarding online internet safety.
collection: code
id: 20-2-149
cite_as: O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149 (2025)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-149
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-149.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/code/20-2-149/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/t20-ch1-2b-(v17)-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=bfd7f2d1_0#page=58
date: 2025
status: active
corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68
license: CC0-1.0
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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version: the only printed version
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current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly
heading_path: EDUCATION / ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION / QUALITY BASIC EDUCATION / COMPETENCIES AND CORE CURRICULUM
---

# O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149. Programs for educating students regarding online internet safety.

(a)(1) The Department of Education shall develop model programs for educating students regarding online safety while using the internet, taking into consideration educational materials on this topic developed by other states as well as any other materials suggested by education experts, child psychologists, and technology companies that promote child online safety issues.

(2) The model programs provided for in this subsection shall include one or more model programs for students in grades six through 12 which:

(A) Shall include instruction regarding:

(i) The social, emotional, and physical effects of social media on users;

(ii) The effects of social media on the mental health of users, particularly teenagers;

(iii) The distribution of disinformation and misinformation on social media;

(iv) How social media influences thoughts and behaviors;

(v) The permanency and risks of sharing materials online;

(vi) How to maintain personal security and identify cyberbullying, predatory behavior, and human trafficking on the internet and social media; and

(vii) How to report suspicious behavior encountered on the internet and social media to appropriate persons and authorities; and

(B) May include information regarding the benefits of social media use, such as supporting career readiness for future academic or employment opportunities, sharing information with familiar family and friends, and safely connecting with other users with similar interests.

(3) The Department of Education shall periodically update the model programs provided for in this subsection to reflect changes in internet and social media use, emergent technologies, social and psychological research, and information concerning new threats to teenagers and young adults using social media platforms and other online communication technologies.

(4) The Department of Education shall publish on its website information relating to the model programs provided for in this Code section, including recommended curricula and instructional materials as updated periodically as provided in this subsection. The Department of Education shall provide technical assistance in addition to such model programs and recommended curricula and instructional materials to aid any local board of education that may elect to incorporate one or more components of internet and social media safety into its instructional program.

(b) Each local board of education may incorporate into its instructional program a component on online internet safety, including social media safety, to be taught on a schedule as determined by the local board of education.

## History

Code 1981, § 20-2-149, enacted by Ga. L. 2008, p. 810, § 1/SB 474; Ga. L. 2024, p. 298, § 2-2/SB 351, effective July 1, 2025.

## Editor's Notes

Ga. L. 2024, p. 298, § 1-1/SB 351, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act of 2024.’”

## Law Reviews

For article on the 2024 amendment of this Code section, see 41 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 209 (2024).

## Amendments

The 2024 amendment, effective July 1, 2025, designated the existing provisions of subsection (a) as paragraph (a)(1); in paragraph (a)(1), substituted “model programs” for “a model program” and “internet” for “Internet”; added paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(4); and substituted “internet safety, including social media safety,” for “Internet safety” in subsection (b).