2021 Georgia Code
Title 20 - Education
Chapter 2 - Elementary and Secondary Education
Article 27 - Loitering at or Disrupting Schools
§ 20-2-1184. Reporting of Students Committing Prohibited Acts

1. Any teacher or other person employed at any public or private elementary or secondary school or any dean or public safety officer employed by a college or university who has reasonable cause to believe that a student at that school has committed any act upon school property or at any school function, which act is prohibited by Code Section 16-5-21 or 16-5-24, Chapter 6 of Title 16, and Code Section 16-11-127, 16-11-127.1, 16-11-132, or 16-13-30, shall immediately report the act and the name of the student to the principal or president of that school or the principal's or president's designee; provided, however, that an act which is prohibited by Code Section 16-11-127.1 shall be reported only when it involves a:
   1. Firearm, as defined in Code Section 16-11-131;
   2. Dangerous weapon or machine gun, as defined in Code Section 16-11-121; or
   3. Weapon, as defined in Code Section 16-11-127.1, together with an assault.
2. The principal or designee who receives a report made pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section who has reasonable cause to believe that the report is valid shall make an oral report thereof immediately by telephone or otherwise to the appropriate school system superintendent and to the appropriate police authority and district attorney.
3. Any person participating in the making of a report or causing a report to be made as authorized or required pursuant to this Code section or participating in any judicial proceeding or any other proceeding resulting therefrom shall in so doing be immune from any civil or criminal liability that might otherwise be incurred or imposed, providing such participation pursuant to this Code section is made in good faith.
4. Any person required to make a report pursuant to this Code section who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Code 1981, §20-2-1184, enacted by Ga. L. 1990, p. 1834, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 7; Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 2-12/SB 308; Ga. L. 2014, p. 432, § 2-11/HB 826; Ga. L. 2015, p. 805, § 11/HB 492.)

The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, substituted the present provisions of subsection (a) for the former provisions, which read: "Any teacher or other person employed at any public or private elementary or secondary school or any dean or public safety officer employed by a college or university who has reasonable cause to believe that a student at that school has committed any act upon school property or at any school function, which act is prohibited by any of the following:

"(1) Code Section 16-5-21, relating to aggravated assault if a firearm is involved;

"(2) Code Section 16-5-24, relating to aggravated battery;

"(3) Chapter 6 of Title 16, relating to sexual offenses;

"(4) Code Section 16-11-127, relating to carrying a weapon or long gun in an unauthorized location;

"(5) Code Section 16-11-127.1, relating to carrying weapons at school functions or on school property or within school safety zones;

"(6) Code Section 16-11-132, relating to the illegal possession of a handgun by a person under 18 years of age; or

"(7) Code Section 16-13-30, relating to possession and other activities regarding marijuana and controlled substances,

"shall immediately report the act and the name of the student to the principal or president of that school or the principal's or president's designee."

The 2015 amendment, effective July 1, 2015, added "; provided, however, that an act which is prohibited by Code Section 16-11-127.1 shall be reported only when it involves a:" at the end of subsection (a) and added paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3).

- Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provided that the Act shall be known and may be cited as the "School Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994."

Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, sets forth legislative findings and determinations for the "School Safety and Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 1994."

Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 29, not codified by the General Assembly, provides for severability.

Ga. L. 1994, p. 1012, § 30, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that the Act shall apply to all offenses committed on or after May 1, 1994.

Ga. L. 2010, p. 963, § 3-1/SB 308, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the amendment of this Code section shall apply to all offenses committed on and after June 4, 2010, and shall not affect any prosecutions for acts occurring before June 4, 2010, and shall not act as an abatement of any such prosecution.

- For survey article on local government law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 263 (2008). For article, "Crimes and Offenses," see 27 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 131 (2011).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Violation of section does not require fingerprinting.

- Violation of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1184 is not, at this time, designated as an offense for which those charged with a violation are to be fingerprinted. 1990 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 90-22.

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Failure to report assault on a student.

- Appellate court's reversal of a grant of judgment on the pleadings to the defendants, the members of a school board of education, a school principal, the assistant principal, and a clinic nurse in their individual capacities, was in error in a negligence suit brought by the parents of a student who was assaulted by another student; the mandated action set forth in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1185 on the part of a school to create a safety plan was a discretionary duty rather than a ministerial duty, and while O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1184 establishes Georgia's public policy concerning the need to report timely to the appropriate authorities the identity of students who commit certain proscribed acts on school grounds, the statute did not create a civil cause of action for damages in favor of a victim or anyone else for the purported failure to report timely. Murphy v. Bajjani, 282 Ga. 197, 647 S.E.2d 54 (2007).