2025 Georgia Codes – Page 231

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to remain in or on any school safety zone in this state or to remain in
or on any such school safety zone when such person does not have a legitimate cause or need to be present
thereon. Each principal or designee of each public or private school in this state shall have the authority to
exercise such control over the buildings and grounds upon which a school is located so as to prohibit any
person who does not have a legitimate need or cause to be present thereon from loitering upon such prem-
ises. Each principal or designee of each public or private school in this state shall notify the appropriate
law enforcement agency to prohibit any person who does not have a legitimate need or cause to be present
therein from loitering within the school safety zone.
(b) Any person who:
(1) Is present in or on any school safety zone in this state and willfully fails to remove himself or herself
from such school safety zone after the principal or designee of such school requests him or her to do so; or
(2) Fails to check in at the designated location as required by subsection (c) of this Code section shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(c) Upon entering any school building between the official starting time and the official dismissal time, any
person who is not a student at such school, an employee of the school or school system, a school board
member, an approved volunteer following the established guidelines of the school, or a person who has been
invited to or otherwise authorized to be at the school by a principal, teacher, counselor, or other authorized
employee of the school shall check in at the designated location as stated on posted signs and provide a rea-
son for his or her presence at the school.
(c.1) Subsections (b) and (c) of this Code section shall not apply to:
(1) Law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians or paramedics, or any public safe-
ty or emergency management officials in the performance of an emergency call or to other persons making
authorized deliveries to the school;
(2) Any person entering a school on election day, for purposes of voting, when the school serves as an offi-
cial polling place; or
(3) Any person attending or participating in an academic or athletic event while remaining in the authorized
area or a parent, grandparent, or guardian listed on a child’s pick-up list who fails to sign-in while deliver-
ing school supplies, food, clothing, other legitimate business and who has not previously been sanctioned
by school officials for disrupting a school.
(d) A school administrator or his or her designee may ask any visitor to explain his or her presence in the
school building at any time when the school is in official session.
(e) If the school posts signs on entrances to the school requiring visitors to check in at the designated loca-
tion, such signs shall be deemed prima-facie evidence that persons entering the school were on notice of the
requirements of this Code section.
(f) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prohibit school administrators from prohibiting the
admission of any person who has violated school policy or state law.
(g) As used in this Code section, the term “school safety zone” shall have the same meaning as set forth in
Code Section 16-11-127.1.

(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly, intentionally, or recklessly disrupt or interfere with the
operation of any public school, public school bus, or public school bus stop as designated by local boards
of education. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, a person convicted of violating this
Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(b)(1) As used in this subsection, the term “complaint” shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Sec-
tion 15-11-2.
(2) A local board of education shall develop a system of progressive discipline that may be imposed on a
child accused of violating this Code section before initiating a complaint.
(3) When a complaint is filed involving a violation of this Code section by a child not included in paragraph
(4) of this subsection, it shall include information showing that the local board of education sought to:
(A) Resolve the expressed problem through available educational approaches; and
(B) Engage the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to resolve the expressed problem and that such
individual has been unable or unwilling to resolve the expressed problem, that the expressed problem
remains, and that court intervention is necessary.
(4) When a complaint is filed involving a violation of this Code section by a child who is eligible for or
suspected to be eligible for services under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act or Section
504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973, it shall include information showing that the local board of
education:
(A) Has determined that such child is eligible or suspected to be eligible for services under the federal Indi-
viduals with Disabilities Education Act or Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973;
(B) Has reviewed for appropriateness such child’s current Individualized Education Program (IEP) and
placement and has made modifications where appropriate;
(C) Sought to resolve the expressed problem through available educational approaches; and
(D) Sought to engage the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian to resolve the expressed problem and
that such individual has been unable or unwilling to resolve the expressed problem, that the expressed
problem remains, and that court intervention is necessary.