Georgia HB 268: Child abuse; mandatory reporters; change provisions

Bill Text

25 HB 268/AP
House Bill 268 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE)
By: Representatives Persinger of the 119
th, Efstration of the 104
th, Gaines of the 120
th, Burns
of the 159
th, Erwin of the 32
nd, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 11 of Title 15, Chapter 2 of Title 20, and Chapter 3 of Title 38 of the1
Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the juvenile code, elementary and secondary2
education, and emergency management, respectively, so as to provide for the safety, health,3
and well-being of students and school communities; to require public schools to implement4
a mobile panic alert system capable of connecting disparate emergency services technologies5
to ensure real-time coordination between multiple state and local first responder agencies in6
the event of a school security emergency; to provide for the implementation of additional7
strategies or systems; to provide for exceptions; to provide for a short title; to require public8
schools to procure school mapping data; to provide for requirements of such school mapping9
data; to authorize the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to10
adopt rules and regulations for the requirements for school mapping data; to provide for11
immunity from civil liability; to provide for the transfer of student records and other12
information among schools, law enforcement agencies, and other agencies with legal13
interests in students; to repeal references to the Department of Behavioral Health and14
Developmental Disabilities as legal custodian of school age children and to make conforming15
changes; to require memoranda of understanding between certain state agencies and local16
units of administration to include provisions relevant to the disclosure of student information;17
to provide for the release of student information from certain state agencies to local units of18
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25 HB 268/AP
administration; to provide for reimbursement grants to local school systems that hire19
qualified student advocacy specialists; to provide for minimum qualification and essential20
duties of such qualified student advocacy specialists; to authorize RESAs to participate in21
dispute resolution procedures; to provide for the designation of RESA student affairs22
officers; to provide for the Department of Education's chief privacy officer to promulgate a23
guidance document relevant to sharing student records and other information; to provide for24
the release of student education records by local boards of education and local education25
agencies; to provide for certain student education records to be deemed critical records; to26
provide for the transfer of student education records, including critical records, to receiving27
schools; to provide for required disclosures; to provide for provisional enrollment at28
receiving schools; to provide for the transfer of students seeking enrollment in any grade29
higher than third grade; to provide for case management consultations; to provide for policies30
and implementation; to require positive behavioral interventions and supports and response31
to intervention programs and initiatives for certain low-performing elementary and secondary32
and middle schools; to provide for school administrators to disclose certain information33
regarding students with the students' assigned classroom teachers; to provide for such34
information to remain confidential; to provide for reports of law enforcement official35
encounters with school age youth; to prohibit policies which deny or effectively prevent36
parents and legal custodians from reviewing certain education records; to provide for37
statutory construction regarding the disclosure of certain education records; to provide for38
local boards of education to petition courts to require parents to authorize the release of a39
transferring student's education records; to provide for evidence based suicide awareness and40
training programs and a state-wide anonymous reporting program; to provide for evidence41
based youth violence prevention training programs; to provide for student violence42
prevention clubs; to provide for local policies for anonymous reporting; to provide for43
mandatory assessments when certain students withdraw from or stop attending school; to44
update the "Parents' Bill of Rights"; to require written agreements for law enforcement45
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officers in schools to include specific terms and conditions relevant to the handling and46
disclosure of student information; to require the Department of Education to publish model47
terms and conditions; to revise provisions for school safety plans; to require public school48
safety plans to address the behavioral health needs of students; to provide for the Georgia49
Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency to establish an emergency alert50
response system and a secure state-wide alert system; to provide for an emergency alert51
response system; to