A bill from State Sen. Marty Harbin presented in the Georgia Senate would require students to show basic civics knowledge before they could be awarded a high school diploma, according to the Georgia State Senate.
Filed as SB426 on Tuesday, Jan. 27 during the 2026 regular session of the 158th General Assembly, the bill is described as: ‘Education; high school students seeking a high school diploma to achieve a minimum score of 70 percent on the United States Citizenship Civics Test; require.’
The following summary, created using the actual bill text, offers clarifications of the bill’s details.
The proposal requires that, beginning July 1, 2027, any high school student in Georgia pursuing a diploma, as well as those pursuing a state-approved high school equivalency diploma, must score at least 70% on the United States Citizenship Civics Test. The measure references the test version administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and allows unlimited retakes to reach the required score. It instructs local school boards, other public school governing bodies, and HSE programs to establish certification processes for qualifying scores, aiming to ensure graduates possess fundamental civics knowledge.
The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Ed Setzler (Republican-37th), Sen. John Albers (Republican-56th), and Sen. Carden Summers (Republican-13th), as well as four additional co-sponsors.
Since the session’s start, Harbin has put forward nine other bills, one of which has been enacted.
Harbin earned his BA from Georgia State University in 1977.
A Republican, Harbin was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 2015 to serve District 16, succeeding former state senator Ronnie Chance.
Georgia’s legislative process starts when a lawmaker, sometimes working with input from a constituent, asks the Office of Legislative Counsel to draft legislation. After filing with the Clerk of the House or Secretary of the Senate, the bill undergoes a first reading and is assigned to a committee for review and discussion. If approved, it moves to the chamber floor for debate, a third reading, and a vote. The bill must pass both legislative chambers—occasionally through a conference committee to resolve differences—before it is sent to the governor. The governor then has six days during the session—or up to 40 days after the session adjourns (Sine Die)—to sign, veto, or let the measure become law without a signature. The Georgia General Assembly convenes yearly for a 40-day session starting the second Monday of January.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB425 | 01/27/2026 | Education; all schools that receive state funding with students in any of grades three through five to provide instruction in cursive handwriting to all students by no later than third grade; require |
| SB424 | 01/27/2026 | “Transactional Gold and Silver Act”; enact |
| SB399 | 01/14/2026 | “Mason Sells AED Coordination Act”; enact |
| SB325 | 03/05/2025 | Education; local school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains; authorize |
| SB324 | 03/05/2025 | Life Insurance; certain protections for life insurance policyholders and beneficiaries; provide |
| SB261 | 02/26/2025 | Magistrates Retirement Fund; early retirement benefit; provide |
| SB120 | 02/06/2025 | Education; public schools, local education agencies, and public postsecondary institutions shall not promote, support, or maintain any programs or activities that advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion |
| SB121 | 02/06/2025 | Uninsured Motorist Coverage; minimum required under motor vehicle liability policies for a individual convicted of driving under the influence or reckless driving; increase |
| SB46 | 01/28/2025 | “Government Serves the People Act”; enact |
Information in this article was obtained from the Georgia State Senate. The source data can be found here.
