Georgia considering laws to deal with kids who make threats

Georgia is discussing this legislation now:

”After last year’s deadly shooting at Apalachee High School, lawmakers vowed to ensure students could learn safely and get mental health support as needed. The House passed House Bill 268, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Holt Persinger who represents Barrow County, 159-13. It would instruct schools to create a plan identifying the ability for threats to breach the buildings.

The Senate passed Senate Bill 17, which would require local school systems to implement a panic alert system to coordinate between first responders in the event of an emergency. Senators also passed Senate Bill 61, which addresses children who make “terroristic threats,” and Senate Bill 179, which would require schools to quickly communicate about disciplinary problems with transferring students.

House Bill 268 is more likely to move forward, and lawmakers have amended the language — namely removing a provision that would have required schools to develop a database with information about students who have made credible threats.

And two bills that deal with school zone cameras that automatically ticket drivers who are speeding have been resurrected for consideration. One would ban the cameras, while another would give motorists more warning before they reach them.”

— Trans Georgians, school safety bills await their fate as state legislative session draws to a close, Maya T. Prabhu and Michelle Baruchman, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 31, 2025

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