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• By Terrence Wilson, J.D., Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., DeAndrea Byrd, Isabelle Philip & Makiah Lyons, J.D. • IDRA Newsletter • June – July 2025 •

The 2025 legislative session in Georgia saw fierce debates, deeply impactful policy shifts, and significant advocacy victories on issues critical to the success and safety of all students, particularly those who are marginalized.

Some measures advanced others’ agendas that are harmful and undermine equity and inclusion. But alongside IDRA, advocates, students and community members also achieved key wins in education funding and the defense of culturally-sustaining schools. This article gives a run-down of measures that impact education.

The Georgia legislature functions on a biennial schedule. Bills discussed below, which were proposed in 2025, may be revived and debated during the legislative session that starts in January 2026.

School Funding: Historic Progress, Setbacks and a Fragile Middle Ground

[l-r] DeAndrea Byrd Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., &
Isabelle Philip at the Georgia Capitol

Education funding once again dominated the policy landscape, with intense debates over vouchers, the state budget and long-overdue updates to the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, which sets the minimum funding threshold for education.

This year, Georgia created the first-ever state funding dedicated to students living in poverty, a victory for equity champions. The final budget included $15 million under student support services for this “opportunity funding,” despite the Senate’s earlier attempts to eliminate it. This amounts to roughly $13 per student, a small but critical step toward achieving long-term dedicated funding that is responsive to student needs. These funds will serve as a foundation for our continued advocacy for more substantive investment through the QBE formula.

The legislature also restored $20 million for mental health support grants, a positive development following the Senate’s attempt to reallocate those funds to school security sub-grants for security personnel and surveillance technology.

However, the legislature cut $113 million from equalization grants. These grants help offset funding disparities between high-wealth and low-wealth school districts. The cuts highlight the constant push and pull between progress and regression.

The state also maintained a massive $141 million allocation to the education savings account (ESA) voucher program, part of nearly $350 million in voucher spending across three programs for a single year. IDRA continues to oppose voucher expansion and urges that public dollars remain in public schools.

Other significant allocations included $18.5 million for literacy coaches and a total education budget of $19.8 billion, representing 53% of Georgia’s overall state funding.

School Discipline and Safety:

A Mixed Bag of Prevention and Punishment

Spurred in part by the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in 2024, lawmakers passed a sweeping school safety law (House Bill 268) that includes supportive and punitive measures.

On the positive side, the law mandates suicide prevention and violence prevention training for students in sixth grade and above. It requires high-need schools to implement positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) that reduce harmful discipline practices and foster positive school climates. A new “qualified student advocacy specialist” role will focus on student mental health.

Portions of HB 268 raise concerns about its conflation of discipline with security. Provisions mandate the transfer of student school disciplinary records in ways that label children as threats. The bill’s establishment of school-based threat assessments could result in over-labeling and criminalization of students, particularly Black and Latino students.

Even more troubling is the inclusion of harsher penalties for so-called “terroristic threats and acts” against schools. As a result, children as young as 13 could be tried as adults. IDRA testified against these measures, emphasizing the need for supportive, not punitive, responses to student behavior.

A major advocacy win was the removal of a proposed statewide student threat-tracking database, a measure that would have disproportionately harmed Black and Latino students and compromised student privacy. This victory reflects the power of coordinated pushback from families, educators and policy organizations.

Culturally-Sustaining Schools Under Attack

Georgia continues to be a battleground for efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and to restrict LGBTQ+ rights in education. This session, advocates successfully defeated Senate Bill 120 that sought to ban diversity, equity and inclusion programs in K-12 schools and universities by threatening their funding.

IDRA-supported students and leaders, including Regional Policy and Community Engagement Director Terrence Wilson, J.D., and Georgia Advocacy Director Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., testified against the bill and organized with partners to highlight its harmful implications.

SB 120 died on “crossover day,” meaning it did not pass from the Senate to the House by the legislative deadline. However, lawmakers used a procedural tactic to insert its language into House Bill 127, turning it into a “zombie bill” (where language from a dead bill is added to a live one).

HB 127 also did not pass this session, but it will be eligible for consideration again on the first day of next year’s session. The fight to protect inclusive education in Georgia is far from over.

The onslaught against LGBTQ+ students was also severe. SB 1 was signed into law, banning trans students from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. SB 36 also passed as a so-called “religious freedom” bill that allows discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals under the guise of religious liberty.

Additional anti-trans legislation is expected to continue to move forward next year, including civil penalties for gender-affirming care for minors (SB 30), bans on trans healthcare coverage in state-sponsored insurance (SB 39 / HB 660), and a sweeping bill banning access to bathrooms and school sports for trans students (HB 267).

This sustained legislative hostility endangers the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth and undermines schools’ ability to serve every student with dignity and respect. IDRA urges policymakers to reject these discriminatory policies and center student safety and belonging.

Threats to Immigrant Students and Families

Several bills targeting immigrant communities pose direct risks to student safety and access to education. SB 21 and HB 531, set for debate in 2026, propose to remove sovereign immunity protections. It could force teachers and school staff to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement in ways that expose undocumented students and their families to deportation.

HB 18 threatens to limit access to dual enrollment programs based on immigration status, further restricting educational pathways for undocumented youth who are ineligible for state and federal financial aid once they get to college. This legislation would restrict college options for high-achieving students who are already subject to significant administrative and financial burdens.

These proposals run counter to Georgia’s constitutional obligation to provide equal access to public education for all children, regardless of immigration status.

Other Legislative Developments

The session featured bills aimed at eroding First Amendment rights in schools and libraries. SB 74 and HB 483 would limit student access to diverse stories by attempting to criminalize librarians for sharing “controversial” literature, including LGBTQ+ books. HB 602 aims to criminalize college students for participating in protests. These measures threaten free expression and academic freedom and are likely to resurface in the next session.

Additionally, the “carrot-and-stick” charter school bill (SB 82 / HB 202), now signed into law, incentivizes school districts to approve charter applications with modest grants but punishes them by stripping waivers for operational flexibility if they reject charters later approved by the state. There are minimal guardrails for this bill, such as time bounds and performance thresholds, that create significant administrative and financial repercussions and undermine local decision making. IDRA and other advocates opposed this push toward privatization, which weakens local control and oversight.

Looking Ahead

While many harmful bills failed to pass, they remain active threats for 2026. The resurrection of diversity, equity and inclusion bans, continued voucher expansion attempts, and new versions of anti-immigrant, anti-trans and anti-free-speech legislation are likely to return.

Yet, the 2025 session showcased the strength of our collective advocacy. From securing opportunity funding to blocking diversity, equity and inclusion rollbacks and discriminatory tracking systems, students, families and allies made their voices heard and made a difference.

IDRA will continue to push our 2025 policy priorities by urging Georgia lawmakers to invest in strong, inclusive public education. We champion securing equitable school funding, ending harmful disciplinary practices, and fostering culturally sustaining learning environments.

Terrence Wilson, J.D., is IDRA’s regional policy and community engagement director. Comments and questions may be directed to him via email at terrence.wilson@idra.org. Mikayla Arciaga, M.A.Ed., is IDRA’s Georgia advocacy director and Education Policy Fellows coordinator. Comments and questions may be directed to her via email at mikayla.arciaga@idra.org. DeAndrea Byrd and Isabelle Philip are IDRA Education Policy Fellows. Comments and questions may be directed to them via email at contact@idra.org. Makiah Lyons, J.D., is an Equal Justice Works Fellow hosted by IDRA. Comments and questions may be directed to her via email at makiah.lyons@idra.org.

[© 2025, IDRA. This article originally appeared in the June-July edition of the IDRA Newsletter. Permission to reproduce this article is granted provided the article is reprinted in its entirety and proper credit is given to IDRA and the author.]