There are several new laws going into effect on July 1, 2024. Citizen Impact is dedicated to informing you on key elements in laws that will affect Georgia Christians and their families. Two important laws that Governor Kemp signed this year are the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act and the Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act. The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act is especially important, as it is one of the first school choice laws in Georgia and has been years in the making.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act creates an “Educational Savings Account” for parents to access up to $6,500 for their child’s qualified education expenses (e.g., private school tuition, tutoring services, curriculum). Current private school and home-school students are not eligible. Eligible students would be those in a “failing” public school (meaning the lowest-performing 25% in the state). Additionally, it prioritizes families earning less than 400% of the federal poverty level, or about $120,000 for a family of four, putting them first in line for funding. We were able to strengthen the bill’s religious freedom language in 2023. The program will end in 2035, absent an extension by lawmakers.

The Protecting Georgia’s Children on Social Media Act is a good faith effort by lawmakers to help parents navigate issues related to social media that have become prominent in the last few years. The law requires local school boards to implement a social media policy restricting social media use on school computer or internet equipment by using software or other online technology. Students will be allowed to access social media if approved by a parent or administrator for educational or other legitimate purposes. The social media policy will also restrict cyberbullying and provide counseling for the victim and the offender. After three offenses, the offender will be transferred to a different school than the victim. Additionally, school boards are required to educate students on the negative effects of social media; and how to protect themselves from identity theft and predatory behavior.  

SB 189 amends Georgia’s election laws. It requires that absentee ballots be kept in a secured container that cannot be accessed by unauthorized people. This new law also states that if there is evidence that a voter has already voted somewhere else, died, or their primary residence is in a different precinct, they may be removed from the voting precinct. Additionally, people who are homeless will now use their county’s voter registration office as their address for voting purposes.

SB 376 amends Georgia laws to prioritize placing a child in a safe and permanent home, rather than reuniting them with their parent, if the parent fails to make substantial progress toward correcting the original issues that caused the child’s removal.

SB 494 legalizes hemp consumables, like gummies, with THC (an oil found in cannabis responsible for the its psychoactive effects). Also, it may not have closed the Delta-8 (a kind of THC that has psychoactive and intoxicating effects) loophole. One thing that makes this especially dangerous is how accessible these products are to everyone, including children and teenagers. See the article by Dr. Matthew Rossheim of the University of North Texas which gives more information.