SB 212: "Quality Basic Education Act"; disclosure of public student directory information to political candidates or persons or groups acting on their behalf; prohibit

Currently, Georgia schools that give outside groups access to campus or student directory information (names, addresses, and similar details) must give the same access to military recruiters, and students are told about voter registration and Selective Service obligations. This bill adds new restrictions on who can get that student information. It bars local school systems and public schools from disclosing student directory information to political candidates, campaign committees, political action committees, political organizations, or anyone acting on their behalf. Anyone who helps register students to vote or sign up for Selective Service on school property must sign a written statement promising not to hand that information to political campaigns or PACs, unless they are school staff doing their job or attending a public event. The bill also expands Georgia's false voter registration felony law to cover disclosing confidential voter registration information to unauthorized people, and it creates a new crime barring candidates and campaigns from getting minors to organize school-property campaign events that are otherwise against school policy. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Prohibits local school systems and public schools from disclosing student directory information to political candidates, campaign committees, PACs, or political organizations.
• Requires anyone who helps register students to vote or for Selective Service on school property to sign a written attestation that they won't share that data with campaigns or PACs.
• Exempts school staff performing official duties and people attending public school events from the attestation requirement.
• Expands the felony crime of false voter registration (O.C.G.A. § 21-2-561) to also cover disclosing confidential or restricted voter registration information to unauthorized persons, punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison or up to a $100,000 fine.
• Creates a new law (O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16) making it illegal for candidates, campaign committees, or PACs to solicit minors to organize campaign events on school property when such events are otherwise banned by law or school policy.

Public school systems, students and their families, school administrators and teachers, outside groups that register students to vote on campus, political candidates, campaign committees, political action committees, and election officials handling voter registration records.

Political campaigns would lose a potential source of student contact information gathered through school voter-registration drives, and anyone helping register students would have to formally promise not to pass that data to campaigns. The bill also raises the legal risk for anyone leaking confidential voter records or using minors to stage unauthorized campaign events at schools.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-310 to bar schools from giving student directory information to candidates, campaign committees, PACs, or political organizations.
• Section 1 adds a new subsection requiring written attestations from people who register students to vote or for Selective Service on school property, with exceptions for school staff and public event attendees.
• Section 1 also directs the State Board of Education to write rules to implement the section and moves the Pledge of Allegiance provisions to a new subsection.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 21-2-561 to make disclosing confidential voter registration information to an unauthorized person a felony carrying 1 to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $100,000.
• Section 3 adds new O.C.G.A. § 21-5-16, banning candidates, campaign committees, or PACs from soliciting minors to organize school-property campaign events that are otherwise prohibited.
• Section 4 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2025-05-14Effective Date 2025-05-14
2. 2025-05-14Act 313
3. 2025-05-14Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senado)
4. 2025-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senado)
5. 2025-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senado)
6. 2025-03-31House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)
7. 2025-03-31House Third Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
8. 2025-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Cámara de Representantes)

• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)Patrocinador principal
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)

1. AprobadaVotación: Senado6 de marzo de 2025

   32 a favor, 20 en contra (2 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Motion To Engross: Senate Vote #161

2. AprobadaVotación: Senado6 de marzo de 2025

   33 a favor, 19 en contra (2 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Passage: Senate Vote #218

3. AprobadaVotación: Cámara de Representantes31 de marzo de 2025

   98 a favor, 66 en contra (5 sin votar, 11 ausentes)

   Passage: House Vote #363

4. AprobadaVotación: Senado2 de abril de 2025

   53 a favor, 0 en contra (1 sin votar, 2 ausentes)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #416

• student privacy
• voter registration
• campaign finance
• school policy
• election law