SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Gov. Brian Kemp signed new laws Thursday that will require Georgia schools to perform annual drills for responding to campus shooters early in the school year and to perform literacy assessments for younger students three times per year to see if they can read at grade level.
Kemp signed the education measures, which passed the legislature with bipartisan support, into law during a conference of Georgia school superintendents in Savannah.
The school safety bill, House Bill 147, was one of the Republican governor’s legislative priorities for the beginning of his second term. It mandates that all Georgia public schools conduct an active shooter drill involving teachers and students by Oct. 1 each year. Students would be required to participate unless local districts allow parents to opt their children out.
The measure also requires the state Professional Standards Commission to create a safety and anti-gang program for training teachers and other school personnel in improving security and identifying youth gang members and gang recruitment efforts.
“We continue to put the safety of our students and educators first in the state of Georgia,” Kemp told the school superintendents. He said his safety bill “modernizes school safety protocols and equips those who work in our schools with the skills they need and want to protect our students in the classroom.”