Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 15 R cosponsors

SB 497 — School Students; written notification to a parent when a student receives certain noninstructional services from certain school employees; require

Last action — House Second Readers

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 11, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

  • Introduced

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 15 sponsors

    1 primary, 14 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (15 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 1 recorded vote so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary school students, so as to require written notification to a parent when a student receives certain noninstructional services from certain school employees; to provide for exceptions; to provide for education records of such noninstructional services; to revise the "Parents' Bill of Rights" to provide for such written notification; to require local education agencies to adopt policies, rules, or regulations; to provide for definitions; to provide for construction; to provide for an effective date; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. House Second Readers

  2. House First Readers

  3. Senate Passed/Adopted

  4. Senate Third Read

  5. Senate Read Second Time

  6. Senate Committee Favorably Reported

  7. Senate Read and Referred

  8. Senate Hopper

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 14 co-sponsors · 232 not signed on · 18 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (14)

Not signed on (232)

232 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 232 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

PASSAGE

Passed 34 Yea · 18 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 31001
Democrat 31802
Unaffiliated 0001
Total 341804
% of votes cast 61%32%0%7%
How each member voted (56)
Member Party Vote
VACANT — Not Voting
David Lucas Democrat Nay
Derek Mallow Democrat Nay
Donzella James Democrat Nay
Ed Harbison Democrat Nay
Elena Parent Democrat Nay
Emanuel Jones Democrat Nay
Freddie Powell Sims Democrat Nay
Gail Davenport Democrat Nay
Harold Jones II Democrat Nay
Jaha Howard Democrat Nay
Josh McLaurin Democrat Not Voting
Kenya Wicks Democrat Nay
Kim Jackson Democrat Nay
Michael 'Doc' Rhett Democrat Nay
Nabilah Parkes Democrat Not Voting
Nan Orrock Democrat Nay
Nikki Merritt Democrat Nay
RaShaun Kemp Democrat Nay
Randal Mangham Democrat Yea
Sally Harrell Democrat Yea
Sheikh Rahman Democrat Nay
Sonya Halpern Democrat Yea
Tonya Anderson Democrat Nay
Ben Watson Republican Yea
Bill Cowsert Republican Yea
Billy Hickman Republican Yea
Blake Tillery Republican Yea
Bo Hatchett Republican Yea
Brian Strickland Republican Yea
Carden Summers Republican Yea
Chuck Hufstetler Republican Yea
Chuck Payne Republican Yea
Clint Dixon Republican Yea
Drew Echols Republican Yea
Ed Setzler Republican Yea
Frank Ginn Republican Yea
Greg Dolezal Republican Yea
Jason Anavitarte Republican Yea
Jason T. Dickerson Republican Yea
John Albers Republican Yea
Kay Kirkpatrick Republican Yea
Larry Walker, III Republican Yea
Lee Anderson Republican Yea
Marty Harbin Republican Yea
Matt Brass Republican Not Voting
Max Burns Republican Yea
Mike Hodges Republican Yea
Randy Robertson Republican Yea
Rick Williams Republican Yea
Russ Goodman Republican Yea
Sam Watson Republican Yea
Shawn Still Republican Yea
Steve Gooch Republican Yea
Steven McNeel Republican Yea
Timothy Bearden Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does SB 497 do?
A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Article 16 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary school students, so as to require written notification to a parent when a student receives certain noninstructional services from certain school employees; to provide for exceptions; to provide for education records of such noninstructional services; to revise the "Parents' Bill of Rights" to provide for such written notification; to require local education agencies to adopt policies, rules, or regulations; to provide for definitions; to provide for construction; to provide for an effective date; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
Who sponsors SB 497?
SB 497 is sponsored by Sam Watson (Republican), Russ Goodman (Republican), Lee Anderson (Republican), Rick Williams (Republican), Max Burns (Republican), Chuck Payne (Republican), Jason T. Dickerson (Republican), Chuck Hufstetler (Republican), Blake Tillery (Republican), Ben Watson (Republican), Drew Echols (Republican), Steve Gooch (Republican), Carden Summers (Republican), Shawn Still (Republican), and Clint Dixon (Republican).
What is the current status of SB 497?
This bill has been introduced in the Senate. Introduced February 11, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 497?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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