NEWTOWN, Conn. – This week, the Georgia Senate and House of Representatives passed the Safety and Violence Education for Students Act (SAVE Students Act). This legislation passed with bipartisan support roughly six months after the tragic shooting at Apalachee High School in 2024. The bill now heads to Governor Brian Kemp’s office for his signature.
The SAVE Students Act is a model piece of school safety legislation developed by Sandy Hook Promise in conjunction with national experts. Its passage will make violence prevention training available to all students. The bill focuses on social inclusion, suicide and violence prevention, student leadership, and anonymous reporting systems.
With the passage of House Bill 268, all Georgia public school students in grades 6 through 12 will receive one hour of evidence-based suicide prevention training and one hour of evidence-based violence prevention training. As part of the mandate, schools may designate a youth-led violence prevention club on campus. Additionally, by July 2026, all school districts are required to implement an anonymous reporting system.
“The passage of this bill will save countless lives in Georgia, and we applaud the state’s legislators for their collaborative efforts to protect children. As we saw with the Apalachee High School tragedy, there were numerous warning signs that preceded the attack. Numerous indications of a serious situation. The ability to recognize these signs and get help is one of the best opportunities to stop a school shooting, or other acts of violence or self-harm. Because of this bipartisan legislation, Georgia students will receive the training to prevent these kinds of tragedies and it will make all of Georgia’s school safer,” said Mark Barden, co-founder and co-CEO of Sandy Hook Promise and father of Daniel, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy.
Examples of the types of trainings that schools could implement include Sandy Hook Promise’s Know the Signs programs, which teach youth and adults the warning signs of violence and self-harm as well as how to get help. Know the Signs is also backed by the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS ARS), which enables students to anonymously report threats and other harmful behaviors and connect with trained counselors at the SS ARS National Crisis Center – the only center of its kind that is nonprofit and exclusively serving school communities 24/7/365.
Since its founding, the Know the Signs program has prevented at least 18 credible planned school attacks in addition to more than 700 averted suicides nationwide.
Additionally, Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Clubs are one example of a youth-led violence prevention club that Georgia schools could implement. More than 5,000 of these clubs exist nationwide, providing youth the opportunity to have a direct role in making their schools, homes, and communities safer.
With the addition of Georgia, the SAVE Students Act has made advancements in five states. Ohio and Louisiana have each passed the act into law. And the bill is currently introduced and still active in the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
For more information on how you can take action to advance school safety legislation, please visit the Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund’s website to learn more.
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The Sandy Hook Promise Action Fund (SHPAF) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization committed to protecting all children from gun violence in schools, homes, and communities. The SHP Action Fund advances a holistic policy platform that promotes gun safety, youth mental health, and violence prevention education. The organization works at the state and federal level to pass nonpartisan legislation through inclusive partnerships, diverse grassroots education, and community mobilization. It is part of Sandy Hook Promise, founded and led by several family members whose loved ones were killed in the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012.
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