Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones (R-GA) recently announced a new priority for the 2026 Legislative Session, the True Patriotism and Universal Student Access (TPUSA) Act. The legislation is sponsored by Senator Ben Watson (R – Savannah) and is set to be introduced today.
While promoting the bill on X, Lt. Gov. Jones stated that this will be Georgia’s effort to build on the legacy of the late Charlie Kirk. He pointed out how he is the only 2026 gubernatorial candidate to have been endorsed by both President Donald Trump and Turning Point Action, which puts him in a position to lead this effort.
Georgia is building on the work of Charlie Kirk to ensure students can speak, organize, and express their beliefs freely — and we’re the first state in the nation to do it.
As the only @realDonaldTrump and @TPAction-endorsed candidate in this race, you know I will always defend… pic.twitter.com/3RBi4jYOSc
— Burt Jones (@burtjonesforga) February 23, 2026
The Bill
The TPUSA Act will implement several reforms to public school policy to ensure and enhance the First Amendment rights of students across the state.
First, school students in Georgia must be permitted to engage in political activities and expression before, during, and after the school day in the same manner and to the same extent that students may engage in non-political activities and expression.
Second, school students may organize partisan or non-partisan political activities and groups before, during, and after school to the same extent that students are permitted to organize other non-curricular student activities and groups during non-instructional time.
Third, schools that provide a limited open forum are barred from denying equal access or discriminating against groups based on their political, philosophical, or ideological alignments.
Fourth, partisan and non-partisan political groups will be given the same access and opportunities to announce and advertise meetings and use school facilities as other groups, and cannot be discriminated against based on the political content of their expressions.
Finally, school students will be guaranteed the right to wear clothing, accessories, and jewelry that display political messages and symbols in the same manner and to the same extent that other types of clothing, accessories, and jewelry are permitted under the school dress code.
