Georgia CommonsSenate Rules Committee, February 5, 2026
2025-2026 Regular Session · 450 CAP · 14 min
This is a machine transcript of the General Assembly's video, made by a speech-recognition model. It is not an official record and can mishear words, names, and numbers. Speakers are not identified. The video is the record: every timestamp links to the moment it plays.
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Summary
Written by an AI model (gpt-6.1-sol) from the transcript. It is not part of the record, and the video is what was said.
The committee considered four measures for a children and families-themed floor calendar: SB 383 on child fatality reviews, SB 431 on prompt school enrollment for foster students, SR 622 on studying foster care costs, and SB 402 on expanding an autism pilot program for foster youth. After brief presentations and no substantive questions, the committee unanimously approved placing all four measures on the next day's calendar.
Bills discussed (4)
Each account covers the stretch of the meeting it names. The bill's number is said in that stretch, unless it was the only bill on a committee's agenda.
SB 383. Child Abuse; local child fatality review committees; modify the review
From 0:07:26 · turns 3 to 34
The sponsor described SB 383 as a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agency bill that would update and clean up the child fatality review process. No questions were asked. The committee later unanimously approved placing the bill on the next day's calendar with three other measures.
SB 431. Education; enrollment of foster care students within two school days of a request for enrollment by such student's parent or legal custodian; require
From 0:07:48 · turns 7 to 34
The sponsor said SB 431 would require foster students to be enrolled within two days of changing schools. The sponsor explained that foster students frequently change placements and schools, and said some districts delay enrollment, causing students to fall behind. The sponsor also cited problems with credits not transferring and a report of a student having to repeat a grade. No questions were asked. The committee later unanimously approved placing the bill on the next day's calendar with three other measures.
SR 622. Joint Study Committee on Evaluating Escalating Costs in Georgia's Foster Care System; create
From 0:08:16 · turns 10 to 34
The sponsor said SR 622 would create a joint study committee to examine rising costs of out-of-home care for foster children and recommend ways to address them. The sponsor cited a Department of Human Services deficit, described the problem as longstanding, and said the government shutdown had not helped. No substantive questions followed. The committee later unanimously approved placing the resolution on the next day's calendar with three other measures.
SB 402. Children and Youth; pilot program provision for screenings, clinical evaluations, training for autism spectrum disorder to children in foster care; establish
From 0:08:42 · turns 12 to 34
The chair explained that SB 402 would expand an autism pilot program for foster youth from one district to three. The chair said the existing program was believed to be in District 12 and had found autism to be about six times more prevalent among foster children than among children outside foster care. The chair said expanding the program would allow comparison with two more districts. The chair suggested the findings might eventually guide support for families to prevent foster care placements and resources for foster homes, while emphasizing that those future steps were assumptions, not part of this bill. No substantive questions followed. The committee unanimously approved placing the bill on the next day's calendar with three other measures.
Transcript
35 turns. Select a time to play that moment of the video.
- 0:06:43
My vice chairman's so anxious, I'm gonna let him do the prayer.
- 0:06:45
I knew that was coming. Thank you so much for allowing me to, to pray with you. Please bow your heads. Please, Lord, continue to look over us in our decisions, and please guide us in your will. And continue to look over us in our travels, and, um, may God speed us home. Uh, in Christ's name I pray, Amen.
- 0:07:03
Amen. All right, if you'll look in your folders on your rules consideration calendar, uh, we're gonna have a little theme tomorrow, a little children and family day. So, Senator Kirkpatrick, you're gonna be a busy lady. You take it away. You got three bills. Let's go ahead and cover them all.
- 0:07:25
Okay. Great. Senate Bill 383 is the first one. That is an agency bill from GBI, and it cleans up and updates the, um, child fatality review process.
- 0:07:41
All right. We got any questions for the author? No questions.
- 0:07:44
Okay.
- 0:07:44
All right, moving on.
- 0:07:46
Um, I'll skip down to Senate Bill 431, which has to do with immediate enrollment of foster students within two days of changing schools. As you know, they change placements in schools frequently, but some of our school districts are not immediately enrolling them, which causes them to get behind. Their credits don't transfer and, um, we even heard a story of somebody that had to repeat a grade.
- 0:08:12
Okay.
- 0:08:14
And then-
- 0:08:14
Any questions? No questions. All right. SR 622.
- 0:08:17
And then SR 622 is a joint study committee. Everyone's aware of the significant issues with the deficit at DHS that have shown up recently. That's not a new problem. The government shutdown didn't help with it, but we need to get to the bottom of it and try to make recommendations to try to address the rising costs of, uh, out-of-home care for the foster kids.
- 0:08:41
Okay. And then SB 402, I can cover that. There's, uh, currently a pilot program. I believe it's in District 12. Is that right, Madam Chair? And, uh, they're looking at autism in foster youth, and they're, they found in District 12 that a, that autism is, I believe, six times more prevalent in ul- in foster children than it is in, um, children outside of foster care. And so, uh, Senator Tillery wants to expand to two more districts the pilot program so that they can, um, uh, see if the numbers match up in those two districts.
- 0:09:20
And then we get to, uh, after that is done, then we'll try to figure out, you know, it'll prob- I would assume, be a two-pronged approach where we would look at resources to provide parents so that the child doesn't end up in foster care, but also making sure foster parents and homes have the resources they need when they are with those foster children, but that's just an assumption. But this bill simply expands the pilot program from one, one district to three.
- 0:09:51
Any questions? Are y'all impressed I knew that?
- 0:09:55
Very.
- 0:09:56
I am.
- 0:09:58
We're glad to have you-
- 0:09:59
Okay. Um-
- 0:09:59
... glad to have you on the Children and Families Committee.
- 0:10:01
Yeah, I'm on there. That helps. All right. Let's pick a few. Uh, Senator Harbison, we left off with you.
- 0:10:09
SB 402.
- 0:10:11
SB 402. Senator Cowsert.
- 0:10:16
We'll go with, uh, SB 383.
- 0:10:22
SB 383. All right, Senator Robertson.
- 0:10:32
Has anybody picked up SR 622?
- 0:10:35
I have not.
- 0:10:36
I would love to have that.
- 0:10:37
All right. Okay, that's three. Let's do one more. Senator Jackson.
- 0:10:51
I believe, uh- Last but not least, SB 431.
- 0:10:54
S- SB 431. All right. I've got SB 383, SB 402, SB 431, and SR 622.
- 0:11:05
So moved.
- 0:11:06
I've got a motion from my vice chairman, a second from Senator Anderson. Any further discussion? All in favor say, "Aye."
- 0:11:14
Aye.
- 0:11:14
All opposed say, "Nay." Motion carries unanimous. And, uh, just so you know, if your bill was on the yellow sheet yesterday but not today, it will be back on tomorrow, so amongst a few others. So no fretting. All right. Meeting adjourned.