Georgia House Bill HB1352

Georgia 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/17/26

Caption

Student Character Development Act; enact

Impact

The act requires local education agencies to implement certain procedures regarding attendance and accountability for students attending released time courses. Additionally, it authorizes the Department of Education to take steps to maximize federal and state funding for local education agencies, regardless of the number of students participating in such courses. Under the new policy that local education agencies must adopt by August 2026, schools are allowed to grant academic credit for these courses based on secular criteria and without assessing religious content.

Summary

HB1352, known as the 'Student Character Development Act', proposes amendments to Georgia's compulsory attendance laws. The bill allows public school students to attend courses in religious moral instruction offered by individuals or organizations not affiliated with public schools. Each local education agency is mandated to adopt a policy that permits students to be excused from school for at least one hour per week to attend such courses, provided that they have written consent from a parent or guardian. Importantly, students participating in these courses will not be counted as absent from school during this time.

Contention

While proponents argue that this bill fosters character development and gives students an opportunity to receive moral education, critics may raise concerns about the separation of church and state. This aspect of the bill could lead to debates on educational equity and the validity of academic credit based on religious instruction. There are implications that some local schools could struggle to implement these policies fairly, as they would need to maintain a neutral stance regarding the religious content of the courses while ensuring that secular evaluation criteria are employed. The bill represents a significant shift in the intersection of education and religious instruction in the public school system.