As the 2025 legislative session wanes, lawmakers are putting the finishing touches on House Bill 268, a bi-partisan bill aimed at protecting school children by identifying potential school shooters before they bring a weapon to school.
The Georgia Senate voted 45-9 just on the heels of the House’s overwhelming 154-12 vote of approval and ratification of Senate changes in the language.
The measure now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for signature.
We applaud legislators for finding a middle of the road compromise that neither attempts more gun restrictions, nor edges over into territory that might allow a student’s private medical records to be compromised.
According to House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, the bill is a reaction to the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, which killed four and left nine others wounded.
A 14-year-old student, Colt Gray, brought a gun to school last September and opened fire. His father, Colin Gray, who was accused of giving his son access to a gun, also faces charges in the shootings.
While there is no agreed upon expert “profile” of children who are at risk to become mass killers, there are similarities that exist. In many cases, had people paid attention to the potential shooter’s social media posts, tragedy may have been avoided.
According to the Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 76% of recent school shooters displayed disturbing threats on-line with pictures of firearms and ammunition and an overwhelming majority of the killer kids reported bullying.
The new bill empowers school counselors to communicate to police and attempt to offer mental health support to at-risk students. The bill also allows for such mental health support to be included in the student’s records that will travel with them should they change schools.
While the bill gives teachers and administrators the power to communicate with each other about at-risk children, it does not hold educators in any way responsible should that child fall through the cracks and bring a gun to school, nor does it place any undue restrictions on legitimate and responsible gun owners.
We urge Gov. Kemp put a priority on this bill and quickly get it signed into law.
