New Georgia school safety law brings mental health services, security upgrades to local schools

New Georgia school safety law brings mental health services, security upgrades to local schools

As students across central Georgia head back to school this week, a new state law is changing how districts handle student safety and mental health. House Bill 268 took effect July 1st in response to last year’s deadly school shooting at Apalachee High School. Today, educators and mental health experts gathered in Macon to talk about the changes. Hunter King with more on what this could mean for local schools. The topic how to implement new rules from House Bill 268 into Central Georgia schools. The legislation requires changes to how schools handle student discipline, safety, and mental health services. A couple of things that it focused on was getting mental health services to kids who need them and also improving the school climate, uh, making sure people feel safe and supported in the school. The law creates new positions called qualified student advocacy specialists. These workers will identify at-risk students and connect them with help. The state allocated $6.9 million to fund these positions. Statewide, any type of solution has to come from all of us working together, and it requires different systems working together to reduce barriers and improve access to care. Bibb County has a chronic absenteeism rate of 28.5%. That’s 9 points above the state average. We help kids who are going through the discipline process and after the tragedy in Winder, kids were being expelled. For really minor things, the law also mandates new safety technology. All public schools must install mobile panic alert systems by July 2026. Schools must also develop behavioral threat assessment plans by January 2027. The state is providing about $20,000 per school for behavioral health initiatives, but experts on Wednesday say success will depend on how well schools, mental health providers, and communities work together. Reporting in Macon, Hunter King 13 WMAZ News. The legislation also requires schools to limit out of school suspensions and implement positive behavioral interventions statewide about 13% of schools currently have poor school climate ratings according to the state’s Department of Education.

Educators and mental health experts gathered in Macon to discuss implementing sweeping changes required under HB 268