Barrow County outlines layered school-safety upgrades and timetable to implement new Georgia law
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Summary
Barrow County Schools staff described years of layered security upgrades and a phased plan to implement HB 268—an omnibus school-safety law—including panic-alert systems, integrated mapping, faster student-record transfers, anonymous tip technology and new personnel; no new board vote was taken on the law’s implementation at the meeting.
Barrow County Schools officials on Tuesday described a multi-year, multi-layer approach to student safety and explained how the district plans to implement HB 268, a 57‑page omnibus school‑safety law Governor Brian Kemp signed April 28, 2025.
The presentation combined a historical review of measures already in place — from school resource officers and upgraded door hardware to weapons detection systems and bus cameras — with a timeline for new, law‑driven requirements such as mobile panic alerts, integrated campus mapping and faster transfer of student records.
Why it matters: the law imposes specific technology and information‑sharing requirements and new training and planning windows that the district says will require coordination with state agencies and local public‑safety partners.
District staff opened by emphasizing partnerships. “Relationships and partnerships. These are our greatest assets,” said Doctor J.B. Bowen, a Barrow County Schools official who led the overview, naming the sheriff’s office, Winder police and fire, and regional health and behavioral partners as regular collaborators.
John Skinner, a Barrow County Schools staff member who presented the district’s emergency procedures and digital tools, told the board the district has updated an “EOP” (Emergency Operations Plan) and pushed procedures to an app so staff can access them offline. He also described an ongoing rollout of Syntegix mapping and the systemwide school‑safety blueprint: a mapping and resource layer the district expects to complete for all campuses in roughly five to six months. Skinner summarized a planning principle the district has added to its procedures: “no plan can anticipate every possible scenario. So staff training and preparedness is the key to responding appropriately.”
Superintendent Doctor Thompson summarized HB 268 and its major operational effects for districts. “This particular portion of the law requires every Georgia school district to have a mobile panic alert system,” he said, noting the statute also requires a 24/7 tip line and integrated campus mapping. Thompson said about 90% of Georgia districts already had panic alerts; the statute gives the remaining districts until July 1, 2026, to implement panic alerts and mapping features, and phases other requirements over later deadlines.
The law tightens how quickly student records must move between districts. Jenny Persinger, a district staff member who described changes to registration and records processes, said the law lets parents request an electronic copy of a student’s records and requires districts to provide that copy by 5 p.m. on the third business day following the request. Persinger said critical records that must transfer electronically within three business days include academic transcripts, attendance records, discipline records, any record of a guilty finding of a felony and psychological evaluations; if sending districts fail to provide records within 10 days, receiving districts may use interim measures such as remote learning or a case‑management consultation.
The district is also testing and planning new tools. Staff described a September 2025 launch target for an anonymous reporting app called Stop It, which will route tips and link to crisis‑text resources and a centralized incident‑response center. The district is expanding use of an internal safety audit app called SchoolDOG and said a new security technical coordinator, Rob Curran, will begin on Aug. 1 to manage tactical IT and security systems.
What remains to be done: Thompson and presenters said several elements require external guidance and funding: integrated statewide guidance from GEMA and the Georgia Department of Education for behavior threat assessment teams, the phased trainings for suicide and violence prevention (scheduled for the 2026–27 school year), and some personnel‑funding details for “student advocate” positions that will be allocated by grant to districts in the 2026–27 cycle.
No formal board action approving implementation steps for HB 268 was taken at the called meeting; staff presented the district’s plan and answered board questions.
Looking ahead: staff said they will finish Syntegix mapping for all campuses this school year, onboard the Stop It reporting platform in September 2025, and continue partner negotiations to produce data‑sharing addenda to existing memoranda of understanding with law‑enforcement partners.
