At an informal July 9, 2025 meeting presentation, legal counsel Mister Dennison outlined a broad set of new state statutory requirements included in the omnibus education bill (discussed in the meeting as Senate Bill 268) and explained which items will require operational work by district teams.

Dennison said the bill is wide‑ranging and is largely driven by safety concerns. Key operational provisions he identified include a new definition of "critical records" and accelerated records transfer timelines: recipients must receive a student's critical records covering the prior 24 months, and sending schools are expected to provide those critical records within five days or face an administrative dispute process. "We have to give the critical records for the past 24 months to other schools quickly so they can make those decisions on enrollment," Dennison said.

Why it matters: The new transfer rules interact with revised provisional‑enrollment rules. Dennison described a provisional enrollment pathway intended to allow immediate but conditional enrollment when records are missing while preserving options such as remote learning during the provisional window; he said students coming from juvenile or Department of Human Services placements must be enrolled immediately.

Safety and law enforcement coordination: The legislation expands obligations for campus police and requires memoranda of understanding with local police agencies across Chatham County. Dennison noted GCIC fingerprinting rules raised practical questions: "GCIC...wants everyone to be fingerprinted if they're using another department's information...which would mean we would have to...do the same background fingerprint check 8 times," a complication staff will need to resolve through MOUs and interagency coordination. The law also requires behavioral threat assessments and mandates a state committee to clarify what counts as an educational record for these purposes; Dennison said the committee’s guidance is expected early next year and that MOUs may need to be amended afterward.

Student supports and reporting: The bill embeds PBIS (positive behavior supports) and RTI (response to intervention) requirements for schools with low climate ratings, expands suicide‑awareness training, and requires anonymous reporting mechanisms and youth violence prevention clubs at each school. Dennison said these items will increase staff training and workload but not necessarily immediate policy changes at the board level.

Technology, social media and cyberbullying: The law requires an updated acceptable‑use approach and a cyberbullying protocol that districts must file with the state. Dennison described a timeline: a district draft due in October, a submission to the state by Oct. 15, state guidance by Dec. 1, a model policy by Jan. 1, 2026, and compliance standards to follow in April. He also summarized the new Distraction Free Education Act requirement that districts adopt a policy by Jan. 1 and may phase in device restrictions by July 1; the policy must address accommodations under Section 504 and discipline processes.

Budget and implementation: Dennison and board members repeatedly described many of the new requirements as operationally heavy and largely unfunded mandates. Board member Miss Hall urged the board’s state association to press for statewide templates: "let's ask our organization... GSBA... Pressure the state to come up with things," she said. Board member Mister Kaczmar asked whether the district can reasonably wait for state or federal guidance before acting on items that require new procedures.

Next steps: Dennison said teams in student information systems, counseling, facility operations, campus police, and HR are already assessing the operational tasks and will return with recommended policy changes where necessary. He advised the board that some MOUs and practices will be drafted to meet statutory deadlines and then revised after state guidance is published.