Georgia lawmakers are taking it upon themselves to add new school safety regulations to state statutes.
A group of senators introduced a bill that would allow cases involving children ages 13 to 17 making threats to end up outside of the juvenile justice system and in the superior court instead for making terroristic threats.
It means students or other juveniles could face charges as adults.
After the shooting at Apalachee High School in Barrow County in September, hundreds of school threats were called in to various law enforcement agencies and schools across Georgia, many, if not all, were false.
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Even if they are not real threats to schools, if they are made “with the purpose of terrorizing another who at the time of such threat is physically present,” those 13 to 17 could again face felony charges and a move to superior court.
This includes actions that disrupt school activities, whether at a public school or a private one, and includes transportation activities like traveling to sporting events or field trips.
The bill also has provisions for teenagers who use firearms against public safety officers, making it a Class A felony charge of aggravated assault and allowing those cases to be transferred to superior court from juvenile court, as well.
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The bill would also allow superior courts to transfer any case involving a 13 to 17-year-old child convicted of lesser offenses to be moved to juvenile court.
If a child is convicted and a superior court has jurisdiction, the proposed legislation would also require that school superintendents and schools where the child is enrolled to be informed of the case details within 30 days of a conviction, should the offenses committed qualify as an adult offense.
Courts are urged, according to the legislative text, to consider the age of a child, the seriousness of the offense and if someone was injured, as well as community protection, premeditation or aggression and whether it was part of a repeated pattern showing the “child may be beyond rehabilitation in the juvenile justice system” before moving them to superior court instead.
For parents, the bill includes options for student transfers when it comes to disciplinary records.
If a student would be transferring to another school, parents would be able to get records faster, but to transfer to anywhere in sixth grade or above, they would need to present certified academic transcripts and disciplinary records to the new school.
The transfer forms would have to include if a student committed a class A or class B felony.
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