HB 442: Education; students shall not be counted absent from school due to performing in certain productions; provisions

Under current Georgia law, students who miss school to work in productions such as film, television, theater, or modeling can be counted absent even if they are receiving instruction on set. HB442 changes that by adding a new Code section to Georgia's compulsory attendance law. A student performer under 18 (or an enrolled public high school student over 18) who has the required labor certification can be marked present, not absent, for up to 25 school days per year while performing. To qualify, the student's parent or guardian and a child labor coordinator or studio teacher must complete a performance certification form describing the curriculum covered during the missed days. If a production runs three or more consecutive school days, the studio teacher must coordinate directly with the student's regular school teachers to align lessons with the school's curriculum. The Department of Labor, working with the Department of Education, will create the certification form and related rules. Parents must also authorize communication between studio teachers and school staff, including sharing information otherwise protected by federal student privacy law (FERPA).

• Allows student performers to be marked present rather than absent for up to 25 school days spent performing in a certified production.
• Requires a performance certification form, signed by a parent or guardian and a child labor coordinator or studio teacher, describing the curriculum covered during the absence.
• Requires studio teachers to align instruction with the student's actual school curriculum, especially for performances lasting three or more consecutive school days.
• Directs the Department of Labor, in consultation with the Department of Education, to create the certification form and adopt implementing rules.
• Requires parental authorization for studio teachers and school staff to share information from the student's education records under federal privacy law (FERPA).

Student performers under 18 (and enrolled public high school students over 18) working in film, television, theater, modeling, or similar productions; their parents and guardians; studio teachers; child labor coordinators and employing units in the entertainment industry; public schools; and the Departments of Labor and Education, which must jointly create certification rules.

Families with children working in entertainment or modeling would no longer risk truancy consequences for missing school during productions, as long as they document the arrangement and keep instruction aligned with their school's curriculum. Schools and the Department of Labor would take on new certification and coordination duties.

• Section 1 adds new Code Section 20-2-692.4, defining terms like 'student performer,' 'studio teacher,' 'child labor coordinator,' and 'production.'
• Subsection (b) allows up to 25 school days of performance-related absence per year to be counted as present, based on a completed performance certification.
• Subsection (c)(1) makes parents, studio teachers, child labor coordinators, and employing units jointly responsible for ensuring instruction fits the student's age, grade, and skill level.
• Subsection (c)(2) requires studio teachers to align lessons with the student's actual school curriculum for performances of three or more consecutive school days.
• Subsection (c)(3) requires parental authorization for studio teachers and school staff to communicate about the student, including sharing FERPA-protected education records.
• Subsection (d) directs the Department of Labor, in consultation with the Department of Education, to create the certification form and related rules.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-06House Committee Favorably Reported (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-02-19House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
4. 2025-02-18House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
5. 2025-02-13House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Teddy Reese (D, HD-140)Patrocinador principal
• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Rhonda Burnough (D, HD-077)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)

• school attendance
• child performers
• education law
• entertainment industry labor
• student privacy