Policy Implementation There are many steps taken to stop violence at Georgias schools and maintain a safe learning

environment for students, teachers, staff and administrators. According to Georgia school superintendents, Georgia schools are safe (Ballard & Brady, 2007) due to a systematic and mandatory plan for implementing policy related to HB 826. Regulations for school safety are mandated by the State Department of Education. Georgia school safety laws cover the following issues: mandated school safety plans, bullying/student code of conduct, weapons n school safety zones, conflict resolution, cultural diversity, student discipline, loitering and etc. If HB 826 should become law, the following changes will take place where Georgias current school safety zone laws are concerned. Under current laws in Georgia, even though a person is a license holder he or she may not carry a weapon in a school safety zone. The bill if it should become law will amend laws regarding dangerous weapons, public school disciplinary tribunals, and change provisions relating to carrying weapons within certain school safety zones and at school functions. The law seeks to change the current provisions that teachers and administrators cannot carry guns, but will allow local school boards the authority to appoint some licensed weapons holders to carry a gun in a school safety zone. House Bill 826 will provide school zones with more flexibility in handling violations in school safety zones. The bill would also allow teachers to carry weapons if they are licensed, psychologically tested and are appointed by the school District to do so. Current laws regarding school safety zones would enforce the expulsion of children who were caught with a fishing knife or baseball bat, the new legislation would allow schools districts the leniency to deal with students in these situations on a case by case basis (Bernarde, 2014). Representative Tom Rice, Georgia State Representative for District 95 wrote in his legislative update that representatives spent long hours at the State Capital to ensure that important pieces of legislation such as HB 826 were passed and ready to be voted by crossover day (Bernarde, 2014). A dis-service that exist for Georgia families that are relevant to current laws that pertain to weapons in a school safety zone is that students and families are left with little or no recourse for a student to continue their education in his or her current county because of complete expulsion from the county school in which he or she resides. A great benefit with the new and modified delivery system is that with passage of HB 826 a student carrying a weapon innocently will allow for the student who is caught with weapons such as a fishing knife or baseball bat to remain in school and not be expelled from the school system beyond the current school quarter or semester or may be given educational instructions in an alternative school setting and will not receive a felony that scars their record (Georgia Assembly Home Page, 2014). Again another disadvantage is that current laws fine a licensed firearm holder a maximum of $10,000 or imprisonment of 5-10 years or both if they are caught carrying a weapon in a school safety zone, whereas the benefit of the new legislation if passed will be prima-facie evidence (Georgia Assembly Homepage, 2014) and will now be fined only $10.00 if he or she produces in court his or her weapons carry license with provisions that it was valid during the time of his or her arrest or produces proof of his or her exemption. Schools will continue to utilize the same delivery systems in the event that HB 826 becomes law in Georgia. Schools will continue to use current or similar methods associated with violations of weapons in school safety zones. House Bill 826 state that the following modified

service delivery is carried out where a student has been guilty of bringing a weapon to a school safety zone without the intent to harm: The student shall not be expelled for a period of more than one year: provided, however, that a hearing officer, tribunal, panel, administrator, superintendent, or local board of education shall have the authority to modify such expulsion requirement on a case by case basis (Georgia general assembly, 2014). Since the bill has not yet become law in Georgia, fiscal budgets and financing do not yet exist for this bill. To shed some light on the state of school safety funding it should be noted that armed security officers in schools have wide-spread support and provide defense on its front lines but adding officers to more of Georgia schools could be costly (Atlanta Journal Constitution, 2013). Rep Brooks Coleman of Duluth believes that by adding more resource officers at schools there would be a knee jerk reaction because public schools in Georgia currently receive about $7 billion in state funding during each of the past two fiscal years and expect that same level to be maintained. From this information it can be reasonably concluded that current funding may not be adequate to increase funding for school safety should the bill become law.