Students at Dade County Elementary returned to class Thursday morning, as new Georgia laws impacting education take effect.

New laws require increased preparedness for emergencies, address chronic absenteeism, ban cell phones for K-8 students, and outlaw a technique used to teach students how to read.

Gov. Brian Kemp signs bills on school safety, teacher pay, and transgender athletes

The education bills address topics such as transgender athletes in school sports, quality of education, and school safety.

Safety

All staff must now have a panic alert device, which can be used to call attention to anything from a student sick in class to a serious lockdown.

In Dade County, all staff and school resource officers have had these devices in the form of a button on their badge for the past f

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