ATLANTA (AP) — New laws taking effect on Saturday in Georgia include a ban on gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for those under 18.
Like similar laws in other states, it’s likely to face a legal challenge. A federal judge in Arkansas recently struck down that state’s ban.
Supporters say the law prevents children from making decisions they might later regret.
Transgender youth and parents warn lawmakers are marginalizing a group already prone to high rates of suicide.
“It’s cutting off, literally, lifesaving care for many people in Georgia,” said Dr. Izzy Lowell, an Atlanta-based doctor who specializes in gender-affirming care for transgender and nonbinary individuals.
Doctors would still be able to prescribe medicines to block puberty under the Georgia law. But Lowell said the puberty blocker exception can only buy two or three years for a prepubescent transgender child because delaying puberty means children won’t develop the bone density that accompanies puberty.
Other new laws in Georgia include a commission empowered to discipline and remove wayward prosecutors, stiffer prison sentences for those who recruit minors into gangs and an overhaul of how Georgia schools teach reading.
PROSECUTOR OVERSIGHT: Senate Bill 92 creates a new commission with the power to discipline and remove wayward prosecutors. When signing the bill into law, Gov. Brian Kemp said it will curb “far-left prosecutors” who are “making our communities less safe.” But Democrats and some Republicans opposed the measure saying the legislative majority was seeking another way to impose its will on local voters.
The commission is supposed to create rules and begin operating by Oct. 1 and will take complaints on misconduct by district attorneys and county solicitors general that happen after July 1.
GANGS: Senate Bill 44 adds a mandatory 10 years to prison sentences for anyone convicted of recruiting minors into a gang. It also makes it harder for judges to avoid giving anyone convicted of gang activity an additional five years in prison.
Opponents say long prison terms will be expensive for taxpayers. They also say there’s little proof that longer sentences deter people from committing crimes
The law also mandates that judges require cash bail from defendants who have been convicted of skipping bail or had an arrest warrant issued for missing a court date in the past five years. It also requires judges to consider prior convictions before releasing someone without cash bail.
READING INSTRUCTION: House Bill 538 overhauls how Georgia schools teach reading in kindergarten through third grade, seeking to make young students better readers.
The law requires the state Board of Education to vet teaching materials and for school districts to use approved materials to teach reading.
The state must also approve reading screeners to be administered three times a year in grades K-3 beginning in 2024-2025. The test will identify students with reading weaknesses, like dyslexia. School systems must notify parents of deficient students and set up plans to help students.
Each K-3 teacher must complete a state-approved training program on how to teach reading by July 2025.
The law also requires new teachers to be tested for their knowledge of state-approved literacy instruction methods and requires the Department of Early Care and Learning to train preschool teachers in age-appropriate reading instruction.