HB161.html

Article 27 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to loitering at or disrupting schools, is amended by striking Code Section 20_2_1180, relating to loitering upon school premises, and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
"20_2_1180.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to remain upon the premises or within the school safety zone as defined in paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Code Section 16_11_127.1 of any public or private school in this state or to remain upon such premises or within such school safety zone when that person does not have a legitimate cause or need to be present thereon. Each principal or designee of each public or private school in this state shall have the authority to exercise such control over the buildings and grounds upon which a school is located so as to prohibit any person who does not have a legitimate need or cause to be present thereon from loitering upon such premises. Each principal or designee of each public or private school in this state shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency to prohibit any person who does not have a legitimate need or cause to be present therein from loitering within the school safety zone.
(b) Any person who shall not have any legitimate cause or need to be present upon the premises or within the school safety zone of any public or private school in this state who shall willfully fail to remove himself or herself from such premises after the principal or designee of such school shall request him or her to do so shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature.
(c) Upon entering any elementary or secondary school building between the official starting time and the official dismissal time, any person who is not a student at such school, an employee of the school or school system, a school board member, an approved volunteer following the established guidelines of the school, or a person who has been invited to or otherwise authorized to be at the school by a principal, teacher, counselor, or other authorized employee of the school shall check in at the designated location as stated on posted signs and provide a reason for his or her presence at the school. Failure to check in at the designated location as provided in this subsection shall be prima_facie evidence that such person is in violation of subsection (b) of this Code section. This subsection shall not apply to law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians or paramedics, or any public safety or emergency management officials in the performance of an emergency call or to other persons making authorized deliveries to the school. This subsection shall not apply to any person entering a school which serves as an official polling place for the purpose of voting on election day or attending or participating in an academic or athletic event while remaining in the authorized area or parent, grandparent or guardian listed on a child's pick-up list who fails to sign-in while delivering school supplies, food, clothing, or other legitimate business and who has not previously been sanctioned by school officials for disrupting a school.
(d) A school administrator or his or her designee may ask any visitor to explain his or her presence in the school building at any time when the school is in official session.
(e) If the school posts signs on entrances to the school requiring visitors to check in at the designated location, such signs shall be deemed prima_facie evidence that persons entering the school were on notice of the requirements of this Code section.
(f) Nothing in this Code section shall be construed to prohibit school administrators from prohibiting the admission of any person who has violated school policy or state law."