New Georgia laws set to take effect on trans health, prosecutor oversight, K-3 reading instruction

On Saturday, Georgia’s new law banning gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for those under 18 takes effect. Part of a nationwide effort by conservatives to restrict transgender athletes, gender-affirming care and drag shows, Senate Bill 140 is perhaps the most high-profile of the state’s new laws.

For many, the law is seen as “devastating.”

“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.

Supporters say the law’s restrictions prevent children from making decisions they might later regret. Parents and transgender youth heavily lobbied against the bill, warning that lawmakers were further marginalizing a group already prone to taking their own lives at disturbingly high rates.

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.

Lowell and her coworkers were likely to sign up more than 25 Georgia patients younger than 18 for hormone replacement therapies by the time the law takes effect.

Minors who are already receiving hormone replacement therapy as of Saturday in Georgia will be allowed to continue.

Doctors would still be able to prescribe medicines to block puberty under the Georgia law, which takes effect July 1. 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.

“You can’t put someone on puberty blockers until they’re 18. That’s absolutely medically unsafe,” she said. “So that’s a false concession.”

Lowell, who said her practice currently treats 300 to 400 Georgia minors who have been prescribed hormone replacement therapy, said she will try to see patients from other states through telemedicine appointments.

“They literally just have to drive over the (state) border,” Lowell said. “They can sit in their car in a parking lot over the border at the time of the visit.”

Patients seeking care must be in the same state as the licensed provider to be seen in a telemedicine appointment. Physicians who violate the new law could be disciplined by the state medical board.

Here’s a look at some other top laws taking effect Saturday in Georgia:

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.