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Official Code of Georgia Annotated

Title 20. EDUCATION · Chapter 2. ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION · Article 3. LOCAL BOARDS OF EDUCATION

20-2-59. Rules; regulation of face masks.

Active2 versions printed

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Effective until June 30, 2027. See note.In force today: Effective until June 30, 2027. See note.
  1. (a)

    Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, each local school superintendent and local board of education shall make rules to govern their respective local school systems.#

  2. (b)
    1. (1)

      No local board of education shall make or enforce any rule pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section that requires students to wear face masks or face coverings while present in any area of a school or school grounds or other property owned or operated by the local school system unless such rule provides that a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in such local school system may elect for his or her child to be exempt from such rule. A parent or guardian making such election shall not be required to provide a reason or any certification of the child’s health or education status. No student shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of such election by a parent or guardian.#

    2. (2)

      No local school superintendent shall make or enforce any rule pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section that requires students to wear face masks or face coverings while present in any area of a school or school grounds or other property owned or operated by the local school system unless such rule provides that a parent or guardian of a child enrolled in such local school system may elect for his or her child to be exempt from such rule. A parent or guardian making such election shall not be required to provide a reason or any certification of the child’s health or education status. No student shall suffer any adverse disciplinary or academic consequences as a result of such election by a parent or guardian.#

  3. (c)

    This Code section shall not be subject to waivers pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82 for a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-244 for a local board of education, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 for a charter system, or Code Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school established pursuant to Article 31 or Article 31A of this chapter, a charter system, or schools within a charter system.#

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 88; Code 1933, § 32-912; Ga. L. 1956, p. 747, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1104, § 2; Ga. L. 2022, p. 23, § 2/SB 514. The 2022 amendment, effective March 29, 2022, and repealed effective June 30, 2027, rewrote this Code section, which read: “The county school superintendent and county board of education shall make rules to govern the county schools of their county.”

Editor's notes

Ga. L. 2022, p. 23, § 1/SB 514, not codified by the General Assembly, provides: “This Act shall be known and may be cited as the ‘Unmask Georgia Students Act.’”

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t20-ch1-2a-(v17)-2022-pdf.pdf, Volume V17, 2022 edition, pages 159 to 160; merge action: annotated; file SHA-256 8daa8948bdb5.

For effective date, see note.Not the version in force today (For effective date, see note.)

  1. The county school superintendent and county board of education shall make rules to govern the county schools of their county.

The notes below are printed with the section but are not enacted law (O.C.G.A. § 1-1-1(c)). They are shown apart from the text.

History

Ga. L. 1919, p. 288, § 88; Code 1933, § 32-912; Ga. L. 1956, p. 747, § 1; Ga. L. 1974, p. 1104, § 2; Ga. L. 2022, p. 23, § 2/SB 514. This Code section, as set forth above, is effective on June 30, 2027, in accordance with Ga. L. 2022, p. 23, § 6/SB 514, which provides for repeal of the amendment made by § 2 of that Act.

Read the official page (the state's PDF, opened at the page this text was read from).

Current through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

Text read from t20-ch1-2a-(v17)-2022-pdf.pdf, Volume V17, 2022 edition, page 162; merge action: annotated; file SHA-256 8daa8948bdb5.