by Ty Tagami | Jan 28, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia high school sophomores are looking ever more likely to lose their phones during the school day in their senior year, as lawmakers consider expanding a ban on personal devices.
New surveys suggest overwhelming support for the idea from parents and teachers. A ban from kindergarten through middle school takes effect next fall after state lawmakers passed it last year.
Now, the author of that law has legislation that would extend the ban to high schools starting in fall 2027.
Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, said he expects House Bill 1009 to get a first hearing in a couple of weeks.
Hilton said he had heard universal support from parents and teachers about his K-8 ban. Although the prohibition will not be enforced statewide until the fall, many schools have voluntarily banned phones ahead of schedule. He said he expects an expansion to high school to be similarly popular, with some caveats about logistics for older students.
“The concerns I’ve heard thus far are more around scheduling, you know, after school activities, things like that,” Hilton said.
New surveys indicate broad support for phone-free schools.
More than two-thirds of the roughly 3,000 administrators, teachers and other educators surveyed in 176 school districts by Georgia’s largest teacher association liked the idea, according to results out this week. High school teachers were even more enthusiastic, with 83% calling for a cellphone ban.
“Why do they want these bans? Because they believe that phones are very disruptive,” said Margaret Ciccarelli, director of legislative services for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, which surveyed its members last fall.
Similarly, a survey released this week by the Emory Center for Child Health Policy found 71% of responding Georgia parents want the K-8 cellphone ban extended to high schools.
Their answers in the survey, also taken last fall, indicate that they believe a ban would lead to more learning and social interaction and would improve mental health.
The 29% of parents who opposed a high school ban were mostly concerned about being disconnected from their child during a school emergency.
“Parents’ concerns about emergency access are valid and understandable. However, effective cellphone policies can address this by establishing rapid parent notification systems and guaranteed access to phones when needed,” Julie Gazmararian, professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health, wrote in a report about the survey. “Strong support for high school cellphone bans among parents suggests broad public readiness for policy action.”
Safety experts have testified at the Capitol that a phone in a student’s hand during an emergency can be a dangerous distraction from safety instructions given by teachers and emergency responders.
But Layla Contreras, 24, said people who think high school students do not need their phone in an emergency have never lived through one.
Her sister, Sasha, is a senior at Apalachee High School in Barrow County and texted her when a gunman entered the school in September 2024, killing four.
Contreras said her sister, 17, texted her to tell her the emergency was real — and that she loved her.
Layla Contreras added that the school was locked down again last week after a false alarm. Sasha texted her that time to relay the news, too.
Layla Contreras said high school students need their phones in an emergency and should be taught how to use them responsibly the rest of the time.
“We need to teach our kids more discipline and more responsibility rather than just taking it away, because when they enter the workforce,” she said, “they’re not going to take away their phones.”
The ban expansion has high-powered support. House Speaker Jon Burns, R-Newington, said in early January that he expected a “lively discussion” about banning cellphones in high school, acknowledging the competing views of those who see devices as a liability on regular school days versus those who see them as an asset during a crisis.
“Some of that communication certainly is good for the parent to understand that the child is safe,” Burns said, “but it also interferes with the safety protocols in the schools.”
On the Senate side, a bipartisan study committee empaneled by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Republican, recommended a ban on cellphones in high schools.
And in a hearing last week, Richard Woods, the state superintendent of schools, asked lawmakers for such a ban. The Republican elected official said his teacher and student advisory councils, the latter including a student shot at Apalachee High, rank mental health as the top concern for students.
Studies show the negative academic impact and emotional strain of screen time, Woods said. “This is both an academic and a mental health issue.”
by Ty Tagami | Jan 25, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — The Georgia General Assembly will be down another lawmaker during this legislative session after the suspension of a state representative who was indicted last month in federal court.
Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the suspension of State. Rep. Sharon Henderson, D-Covington, after a committee of elected officials determined that her indictment “does relate to and adversely affect” her duties as a lawmaker.
The suspension, which Kemp signed Thursday, is in effect until Henderson’s term ends or her case is closed.
A quick disposition appears unlikely. Henderson has retained a lawyer, and her case in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta is scheduled for a pretrial conference Feb. 19.
Henderson is accused of two counts of theft of government funds and 10 counts of making false statements in connection with claims that she filed for federal unemployment benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prosecutors alleged she collected $17,811 in unemployment benefits to which she was not entitled.
Another member of the state House quickly resolved charges related to defrauding the same unemployment program.
Former Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, pleaded guilty in the same federal court to making false statements to fraudulently obtain $13,940 in federal emergency relief funds during the pandemic, Theodore S. Hertzberg, the U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, announced Wednesday.
Kemp was required by the Georgia Constitution to assemble the review committee on Henderson’s status.
On Jan. 8, he appointed three members. Two were Republicans: Attorney General Chris Carr and Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, the House speaker pro tem. The third was Sen. Harold Jones, II, D-Augusta, the Senate minority leader.
They issued their finding Thursday, the same day Kemp suspended Henderson.
Several other seats in the legislature remain open for a variety of reasons, but Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been scheduling special elections to fill them, with one for Bennett’s vacated seat on March 10.
by Ty Tagami | Jan 25, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Most of Georgia dodged the punches of the winter storm that has been pummeling the nation, but state emergency officials warned Sunday afternoon that it is not over yet.
“Although we have had a lull in the storm this morning, we are still expecting another round of freezing rain in northeast Georgia this afternoon,” state emergency management director Josh Lamb said.
Winter Storm Fern was expected to dump more rain as temperatures drop below freezing across northern parts of the state, raising the likelihood of treacherous road conditions Monday and more downed trees and power lines.
As of Sunday afternoon, there were about 80,000 power outages, mostly in metro Atlanta and the northeast corner of the state, concentrated in a wedge fanning out east and south from Ga. 400 to I-20.
Transportation workers have treated 18,000 miles of roadway with 1.5 million gallons of brine and 2,500 tons of salt and rock fragments. Traffic volume was down 70% to 80% from a typical Sunday.
Even so, a couple dozen state routes were closed at some point during the storm, and there had been 25 crashes by Sunday afternoon, including one involving a brine truck.
Col. Billy Hitchens of the state Department of Public Safety urged those who take to the roads to drive at an “appropriate” speed, which may be below the posted limit, and to leave more space than normal between themselves and other vehicles.
Gov. Brian Kemp authorized the use of 500 members of the National Guard, but so far Maj. Gen. Dwayne Wilson said he had deployed only about 120 of them. They are primarily helping to clear roads for first responders and power crews, mostly in Raybun, Stephens and White counties, he said.
In many areas, temperatures are forecast to remain above freezing into Sunday night before dropping below 32 degrees in the early morning. That would leave the rain less time to freeze onto limbs, making trees top heavy.
But the wet ground combined with high winds can still increase the risk of power outages.
“You can still see downed trees and power lines this evening because the ground is saturated, and we have the winds gusting 20 to 30 miles per hour,” said Will Lanxton, the state meteorologist. “It doesn’t take that much wind to down trees and power lines, but any areas that do see ice accumulations this evening and tonight are much more likely to see those downed power lines.”
As for Monday’s commute, Lamb urged people to stay home. Anyone who feels they must drive should carefully assess the road conditions in their area, he said. “But the best thing to do is stay off of it.”
by Ty Tagami | Jan 24, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — With an ice storm named Fern bearing down on Georgia Saturday afternoon, Gov. Brian Kemp activated the National Guard, staging 120 members to deploy to the northeast part of the state, where ice and wind were expected to cause the most disruption.
The Guardsmen will be organized into strike teams, deploying as needs arise, his office said. They are expected to help clear routes and assist as needed.
Georgia Power was expecting the storm to begin causing problems overnight, and said it had 10,000 personnel ready to restore power.
“The current forecast continues to predict freezing rain and subfreezing temperatures over several days, which is expected to cause power outages across a wide part of the state,” the company said Saturday evening. “Ice adds weight to tree branches, increasing the chances they will snap and fall onto power lines.”
Georgia EMC said it had extra utility poles, wires, connectors and transformers ready, with vendors on standby to supply more material.
In a briefing Thursday, state meteorologist Will Lanxton warned of extreme icing of up to an inch.
“When you’re talking an inch of ice, that rivals some of the biggest ice storms we’ve ever had in the state,” he said. “And not only are you talking about impossible travel conditions, you’re talking about power outages that may not be able to be fixed for days.”
by Ty Tagami | Jan 23, 2026 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia emergency managers hope to avoid another weather catastrophe like in 2014, when what some called “Snomageddon” and others labeled the “Snowpocalypse” locked down metro Atlanta and beyond.
The nicknames were probably inappropriate, since the main culprit was ice rather than snow. It made roads impassable, freezing cars in place everywhere, including the interstates. And those lucky enough to make it home felt the chill when tree limbs entombed in heavy ice snapped then fell on power lines.
That is what is barreling toward much of Georgia again, with the first ice storm warning since that infamous day in 2014.
“The area that’s under an ice storm warning right now, which is most of North Georgia and north of I-20, should expect to see some significant ice accumulations. We’re talking a quarter of an inch to an inch of ice,” said Will Lanxton, the state meteorologist. “That is a lot of ice.”
If it comes to pass, he said, travel will be “difficult to impossible” for most affected areas.
That means crews will not be able to reach downed power lines. It means homes will get very cold, possibly for days.
“Tuesday morning, we’re getting some of the coldest air that we’ve had in North Georgia in years. We’re going to see single-digit low temperatures,” said Lanxton, who spoke at a news briefing Friday afternoon. “That’s temperature with wind chill closer to zero or maybe negatives. So Tuesday morning is going to be brutal cold.”
That means any ice that happens to melt if the thermometer climbs above 32 degrees Monday will simply refreeze.
Two steps forward, one step back.
The wind is another factor. Lanxton said he expects it to blow steadily at 10-15 m.p.h., with gusts of up to 30 m.p.h.
That is more bad news for trees, especially if they are laden with ice.
The basic message: get ready. Insulate water pipes and turn off water to outdoor spigots, opening them to relieve any pressure that can build when water expands as it freezes.
That is just the start.
Josh Lamb, the director of the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, said people in the affected area — metro Atlanta and northeast Georgia as far south as Augusta — should stock a few days’ supply of water and food and prepare a plan to get warm if the heating fails. State parks will have warming centers (find them at gastateparks.org\alerts) open starting at noon on Saturday, and so might some communities.
Stay informed by keeping external batteries charged so smartphones can operate over an extended period. Fuel up the car and load it with emergency supplies, including an ice scraper, though Lamb discouraged driving anywhere, with state Department of Transportation crews scheduled to pre-treat interstates around midnight Friday.
Have a backup communication plan for family members who may not be home when the weather hits.
“We all believe it’s not going to happen to us until it until it does,” Lamb said. “I would just tell everybody that this storm is significant enough, you need to be taking the proper preparations now and not wait until later because you may not have that opportunity.”
The state will open its emergency operations center at 7 a.m. Saturday.
Georgia Power has readied 10,000 personnel, recruiting contractors and utilities in Florida and other states.
When conditions are safe, the company said in a statement Friday, crews will work around the clock to restore power: “The company continues to encourage customers to be prepared to be without power should Winter Storm Fern cause extensive damage or make conditions difficult for power restoration – impassable or icy roads prolong outages following an ice storm.”
Delta Air Lines, meanwhile, is warning hopeful travelers to expect a bumpy ride. The Atlanta-based carrier cancelled flights in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas on Thursday. On Friday, the airline said to expect more cancellations in North Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee and said it was expecting more schedule “adjustments” for Atlanta and the northeast on Saturday morning.
