School safety bills scarce in 2nd Ga. legislative session since Apalachee shooting

School and student safety continue to be a topic of conversation at the Gold Dome more than a year after four people were killed in Georgia’s deadliest school shooting — but few bills are likely to make it all the way to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk by the end of the legislative session in April.

After two students and two teachers were shot and killed at Apalachee High School in Barrow County in September 2024, lawmakers passed a sweeping school safety bill that sought to regulate how schools deal with threats.

The bill requires public school districts to “identify, assess and mitigate” potential threats made by students, to implement panic alert systems and to create behavioral health plans for students. It also makes the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency responsible for discerning what constitutes a credible threat, among other things.

In the months following the shooting, lawmakers were unable to agree on legislation about firearms.

“There had been some indications from the Republicans immediately after the shooting that they were going to be more open to talking about gun safety as an issue,” said Rep. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, who has introduced several bills related to gun safety. “Of course, their enthusiasm waned between September and January.”

House Bill 79, which would have given tax credits up to $300 for people who stored their guns safely, passed in the House — but senators added a provision that would also establish a tax holiday for the purchase of firearms.

The bill has not yet come to a vote again this year.

As Crossover Day looms Friday — the day that bills should pass at least one chamber of the Legislature if they’re going to become law this year — few school safety bills appear to have the momentum to get to the governor’s desk.

Sen. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville, introduced Senate Bill 401, which would require public school systems to teach students about firearm safety in physical education. It was not poised to advance through Crossover Day.

Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, said his bill that would ban the use of cellphones during the school day at high schools would improve safety. It’s dangerous for students to be on their phones during an emergency, he said. House Bill 1009 easily passed in the House last month.

House Bill 1023, sponsored by Chuck Efstration, R-Mulberry, would require local public schools to install weapons detection systems at entrances.

The bill easily passed in the House of Representatives, though there’s been some pushback: It does not set aside funding for the expensive technology. Efstration has said schools could use the annual security grants from the state, which total roughly $50,000 per school. It’s in the Senate’s hands now.