Committee approves bill allowing students to work on film sets up to 25 days with certified teacher oversight

The Georgia House Committee on Education voted to advance House Bill 442 (LC492237), a bill designed to allow students to participate in professional film and television productions while protecting their academic progress.

Under the bill as presented, students may participate in a film production for up to 25 school days if a certified teacher is on site and the student’s participation is approved by the local school authority. The sponsor told the committee the certified teacher must have qualifications consistent with Georgia education standards and would deliver coursework while the student is off site so the student does not fall behind.

Sponsor rationale and committee discussion Sponsor Representative Reese described the measure as a way to expand opportunities for Georgia students to participate in the state’s growing film industry and to keep work opportunities available for local youth rather than importing talent. The sponsor said the 25-day cap was intended to prevent long-term absences that could threaten a student’s academic progress.

Committee members and legislative counsel discussed whether local school systems should be able to allow more than 25 days. Legislative counsel advised that the bill as written would impose a statutory cap of 25 days and that language would be needed if the committee intended to allow districts to exceed that cap. The sponsor noted he could withdraw a request for a broader exemption and could pursue a change later if desired.

Academic oversight and liability The sponsor said participating students would have an individualized plan worked out between school administrators and teachers to complete missed work; committee members asked about interim grade checks and timelines for completion. The sponsor and other members emphasized that local administrators would have discretion on how to manage coursework and timelines. The committee discussed and the sponsor added liability protections in related bills elsewhere; no district-level enforcement mechanism was added in the committee hearing record.

Committee action Committee members voted to report HB 442 favorably (a motion to “do pass”). The transcript records the committee approved the bill by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the committee transcript.

Next steps and unknowns Committee members requested clarification on how many students would be affected; the sponsor said he did not have a statewide count and did not expect a large volume of students would exceed the existing 10-day practices. The transcript shows the sponsor and counsel discussed possible amendments to allow local discretion to exceed 25 days, but that would require additional statutory language.