Phone bans, speed cameras, more. GA education bills land on Gov. Kemp’s desk

Georgia lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to a slate of education bills and the state’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget on the final day of the legislative session, sending the measures to Gov. Brian Kemp for approval.

The proposed budget includes $38.5 billion in funding, with $70 million for more than 1,300 literacy coaches serving kindergarten through third grade in all public schools. The approved measures also address issues including scholarships, cellphone bans and speed cameras in school zones.

Kemp now has 40 days to sign or veto legislation. Here is a list of key education measures heading to his desk:

• Senate Bill 556: Lawmakers passed the Dedicating Resources to Educationally Advance More Students (DREAMS) Scholarship, Georgia’s first need-based financial aid program for students attending public colleges and universities in the state. If signed into law, the scholarship would go into effect starting in the 2026-27 academic year.

Eligible students would receive a maximum of $3,000 per year unless their unmet financial need is less than that amount. The bill also provides for the inclusion of advanced fine arts courses, including advanced placement and International Baccalaureate courses, to count toward the HOPE scholarship.

• HB 651: This bill revises how school speed cameras are used and how violations are enforced by local governments. Violations can only be issued when a driver is going more than 10 mph over the speed limit.

This bill also limits how revenues from citations can be used. Funds collected from these citations must only go toward public safety or law enforcement initiatives that “enhance and ensure the protection of students, staff, and visitors to such a school,” according to the measure.

This bill makes changes to how school zone speed cameras are approved and operated by local governments, specifically by allowing local referendums before a municipality or county approves a new speed camera contract. Each election authorizes the cameras for six years, then requires another referendum for continued use.

The measure changes how speed cameras are approved and operated by requiring voter approval before a city or county can install them. Each referendum would allow cameras to operate for six years, after which another vote would be required.

• House Bill 1009: This bill bans public school kindergarten through 12th-grade students from using cellphones and other personal electronic devices during the school day beginning July 1, 2027. This is a bell-to-bell period measure, which means the period beginning with the first bell signaling the start of instructional time and ending with the final bell signaling the conclusion of class, including all scheduled instructional time, breaks, transitions and assemblies. This measure passed on March 23.

The bill calls for schools to establish appropriate methods for storing students’ personal electronic devices, such as a student’s locker, a locked pouch or a designated place in the classroom.

The bill also calls for clear rules for when and how cellphones can be used during off-campus activities, including school-sponsored events and field trips, daily transportation, athletic and extracurricular events, and other learning opportunities off school grounds, such as dual enrollment, work-based learning and apprenticeship programs.

What bills did not get approved?

• Senate Bill 513: The Every Day Counts Act failed the House by a vote of 80-90. SB 513 said that a chronically absent student may be prevented from obtaining a new instruction permit or driver’s license unless the student is enrolled in school or compliant with an approved attendance intervention plan. Other consequences included ineligibility for interscholastic and extracurricular activities.

• House Bill 1023: Efforts to install mandated weapons detection systems in public schools were tabled.

View the website to Kemp’s office for updates on Kemp’s signed legislation.