In today’s alert, get legislative updates and opportunities to take action on bills that will change Georgia classrooms for years to come
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Crossover Day Wins for Georgia Education
Crossover Day was last Thursday. Any bills that did not pass through one chamber and get sent to the other are effectively dead for the rest of this year. However, we still have to watch for the language from these “dead bills” getting copied and pasted into a bill that did cross over, making them “zombie bills.”
That being said, we can still celebrate our efforts to stop some bills that would have been truly harmful to Georgia’s students and families. Below is a glimpse into our work on each of these bills.
SB 120 – the Anti-Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Bill – is Dead
SB 120, a sweeping anti-diversity bill that would set Georgia back and make schools less safe for all students, did not come up for a vote on Crossover Day, meaning it will not be able to pass into law in that form this year.
See video of testimony by Dunwoody High School Civic Action Cohort student Laila Erold and by IDRA Regional Policy Director Terrence Wilson, J.D.
We also signed on to a letter in opposition to SB 120 alongside other civil rights organizations, as well as a statement of victory to the media.
Our team participated in a news conference calling to oppose SB 120 alongside legislators and organizations, such as the Legal Defense Fund and ACLU.
HB 18, the Anti-Immigrant Dual Enrollment Bill is Dead
HB 18 would have put roadblocks in the way of some students accessing dual enrollment depending on their immigration status. The bill did not make it out of the House Higher Education Committee.
Our team raised alarms of how this bill might lead to a challenge to Plyler v. Doe and the right of all children to access education in this country regardless of immigration status, sharing materials with our partners during our coalition calls and producing detailed analysis on the bill to inform our lobbying efforts.
HB 602, the Anti-Student Protestor Bill is Dead
HB 602 would have rescinded state scholarships, such as HOPE, from student protestors convicted of a broad array of offenses. The bill did not get called for a vote on Crossover Day.
As with all our priority bills, our team advocated with key legislators at the ropes (outside the chambers in between votes) and at their offices.
We included HB 602 in our Crossover Action Alert to provide community members the knowledge and tools they need to be involved in this often daunting and fast-paced process.
We especially want to thank our Georgia Coalition for Education Justice members and other partners who advocated alongside us, from speaking with legislators directly, to testifying in committee, to mobilizing their communities against these bills.
Despite these wins, there are quite a few harmful bills that beat the buzzer and crossed over, which we’ll now have to follow through the rest of session. These include voucher bills that would defund public schools, regressive school discipline policies, legislation targeting trans students, and bills expanding and supporting charter schools.
Post-Crossover Legislative Landscape
Here is a sample of the education bills we’ll be watching for the rest of the session, along with their assigned committee (so you know which hearings to watch for) and our stance. Each bill number listed below is followed by its assigned committee.
Education Bills to Watch in the House + Committee Assignments
- SB 1 (House Education) is an anti-trans sports ban. (Against)
- SB 61 (House Judiciary Non-Civil) would increase punishments on children accused of “terroristic threats,” including felony charges and fines. (Against)
- SB 74 (House Judiciary Non-Civil) would remove protections for librarians and libraries, potentially criminalizing librarians who display LGBTQ+ literature and causing libraries to proactively censor these texts for fear of fines. (Against)
- SB 82 (House Education) would expand and support charter schools, incentivizing school districts to approve them and punishing districts for denying charters. (Against)
- SB 124 (House Education) would mandate implementation of federal Department of Education guidelines by the Georgia state education agency and expand the “promise scholarship” voucher to students with an active duty military parent. (Against)
- SB 152 (House Education) would expand the “promise scholarship” voucher to biological and adopted children of foster families. (Against)
- SB 179 (House Education) is a school discipline bill that could intensify existing discipline disparities and has concerning implications for student privacy. It would establish a misdemeanor for parents and students who don’t adhere to its records transfer policy. In good news: it includes suicide awareness mandates for schools. (Against)
Education Bills to watch in the Senate + Committee Assignments
- HB 38 (Senate Higher Education) expands an existing need-based aid college completion grant program. It is a step in the right direction for college access for Georgia students, but does not go far enough. (For)
- HB 267 (Senate Judiciary) is a sweeping anti-trans bill including bathroom restrictions, a sports ban, and removing “gender” from the Georgia Code entirely. It is an attempt to legislate trans Georgians out of existence. (Against)
- HB 268 (Senate Judiciary) is a school discipline bill that could intensify existing disparities and has concerning implications for student privacy. However, it is less harmful than the other discipline bills we are watching and includes valuable police-interaction reporting requirements and mental health supports. (Monitoring)
- HB 328 (Senate Finance) is a tax credit voucher that would further defund public schools and funnel taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools. (Against)
For all of our bills, see our Georgia Coalition for Education Justice bill tracker.
Tools & Resources
Learn more about IDRA’s policy recommendations for Georgia
How to Testify before the Georgia General Assembly – Infographic
Learn more about our statewide coalition, the Georgia Coalition for Education Justice
Keep up with bills using the Georgia Coalition for Education Justice bill tracker.
