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GA Senators file ‘”Keeping Georgia’s Schools Safe Act” to Regulate Private Schools

Republicans want to impose further regulations on private schools by requiring ‘safety coaches’ in public and private schools and anyone who is safety coach is automatically given a homestead exemption on their school property taxes.

A group of Senators in Georgia have filed legislation to amend school safety laws and regulations in Georgia to include private school institutions.

Pro Roof GA

Senator John Albers, a Roswell Republican, is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 15 filed on Tuesday, and is joined by Senators Jeff Mullis, Mike Dugan, Butch Miller, Steve Gooch, and PK Martin in the effort. The bill has not yet been assigned a committee.

Senate Bill 15, dubbed the “Keeping Georgia’s Schools Safe Act,” would effectively require

Senator Jeff Mullis, Photo: Georgia State Senate

private schools to create and conduct a “threat assessment” by the next school year, if passed, and maintain the program every two years. A threat assessment is defined as “an evaluation for responding to, or preventing or reducing, the threat of violence, mass casualty incidents and other acts of terrorism, natural disasters, and hazardous materials or radiological accidents.” Public schools in Georgia are already required to do this but there is no requirement of private schools.

The bill defines private schools as institutions that teach kindergarten through twelfth grade, or any combination of the grades and is ‘nonpublic’ and requires the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency (GEMHSA) to maintain a list of the private schools and their assessment records.

Mike Dugan, Photo: Georgia State Senate

SB 15 amends OCGA  20-2-1185 and would add additional requirements to the existing public school threat assessment requirements and then impose the collective list on private schools as well. The additions would include:

  • Preparation for security issues involving school functions held during noninstructional hours
  • Addressing security issues involving the transportation of pupils to and from school and school functions when such transportation is furnished by the school or school system
  • Requires annual drills with students, teachers, and other school  personnel for responses to fire, weather, acts of violence, and acts of terrorism at least once a year

The bill also creates an additional layer of government by creating a task force charged sharing and providing homeland security activity on private and public school data and it allows the task force to create individual profiles on students for the purpose of analyzing threats.

Additionally, the GEMHSA would be charged with creating a training program for ‘school safety coaches’ in public and private schools and then would be responsible for the training of said coaches. The bill would grant a a homestead exemption from all ad valorem taxation for school purposes in the amount of the full value of the property.

You can read the bill below. [If you’re reading on a mobile device or having trouble loading the PDF, click here to read the bill.]

Lawmakers have until the 28th legislative day of session to pass legislation out of their respective chambers and on to the opposite legislative body in order for the bill to have an opportunity to become law this year. The legislative calendar has not yet been set.

SB 15_2019

Jessica Szilagyi is a former Statewide Contributor for AllOnGeorgia.com.

4 Comments

4 Comments

  1. Nelda Smith

    January 16, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    Parents home school because they want government out of their child’s life. Same with private schools. Why are these politicians putting their noses in this? Politicians should be concerned with PUBLIC SCHOOLS and the mess on “Climate Change (proven hoax) ” , “gender identity” , “religious / ethnic studies” being taught to our children under the direction of Globalist UN and their UNESCO. It is proven that public school students have been dumbed down every year and our colleges have become more of an extended baby sitting service instead of pillars of higher learning. Take away computers and calculators and these students are lost. Politicians, fight to improve our public schools and leave the private sector alone!

  2. Brian Lowery

    February 10, 2019 at 8:34 am

    These so-called “Republicans” are getting as bad as the Socialist Democrats wanting government fingers in everything. What part of P-R-I-V-A-T-E school do you not understand?

  3. R Brannen

    February 10, 2019 at 8:41 am

    Parents who make the choice to have their children attend private schools have already done the due dilligence on the issues you are trying to regulate. The bill is governmental interference. Please choose a cause to improve (and there are many listed in the reply above) and leave private schools just that…private!

  4. John

    February 10, 2019 at 9:46 am

    I thought we Republicans preferred less government. A reason people send their kids to private school is to be a part of education that is NOT government run, since too often public schools cannot meet many needs of those they intend to educate. Now we have Republicans prying open the can so they have control of private schools. Not a fan.

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