• By Isabelle Philip May 8, 2025 •
There were many bills moving this past legislative session in Georgia affecting youth and their access to education that did not directly fall under IDRA’s policy priorities, but that are important to understand and keep an eye on.
These bills included legislation attacking transgender Georgians, immigrant families, and our first amendment rights. While we played supporting roles in some of these fights, our partners and coalition members took the lead. Here are their current statuses along with links to connect with our partners.
Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation
Signed into law
- SB 1 is an anti-trans sports ban. It would ban trans children from participating on the school sports team that aligns with their gender identity.
- SB 36, RFRA, is a religious right to discriminate. It creates a loophole that could allow the circumventing of Georgia law on the basis of an individual’s religion.
On the Governor’s desk
- SB 185 would ban gender affirming care for imprisoned transgender Georgians.
Bills that could be debated next year
- SB 30 is an anti-trans ban on gender affirming care for minors that would open physicians to civil lawsuits.
- SB 39 and HB 660 are anti-trans healthcare coverage bans for state-sponsored health insurance plans. It would affect teachers and their families.
- HB 267 is a sweeping anti-trans bill that includes bathroom restrictions, a ban on trans children participating on the school sports team that aligns with their gender identity and removing “gender” from the Georgia Code.
If you are interested in combatting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, we invite you to connect with our partners at Georgia Equality, Transparent, and PFLAG Lawrenceville.
Legislation Undermining the First Amendment
Bills that could be debated next year
- SB 74 and HB 483 would remove protections for librarians and libraries, potentially criminalizing librarians who display “controversial” literature, such as LGBTQ+ literature.
- HB 602 would force higher education institutions to rescind state scholarships and grants for one semester or term for some student protestors due to “disruptive” behaviors.
- HB 133 would permit school districts to allow academic credit and be excused from school for out-of-school religious instruction, known as “released-time courses.”
- HB 313 would require Georgia’s K-12 schools to display the Ten Commandments in multiple locations.
If you are interested in issues related to first amendment protections, we invite you to connect with our partners at the ACLU of Georgia and the 1st Amendment Foundation. Connect with Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ) and the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for bills attacking the right to protest, and the Georgia Library Media Association (GLMA) for bills affecting libraries and librarians in particular.
Legislation Targeting Immigrant Families
Bills that could be debated next year
- SB 21 and HB 531 would remove sovereign immunity from government officials regarding cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), meaning that teachers and school staff might be forced to help deport their students.
- HB 18 could put roadblocks in the way of some students accessing dual enrollment depending on their immigration status.
If you are interested in combatting anti-immigrant legislation, we invite you to connect with our partners at Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAAJ), the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights (GLAHR), Migrant Equity Southeast (MESE), and Latino Community Fund (LCF).
Isabelle Philip is an IDRA Education Policy Fellow. Comments and questions may be directed to her via email at isabelle.philip@idra.org.
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