GSSA Capitol Report
Tuesday, March 31- – Legislative Day 39
The House Special Rules Committee met and considered the following:
HR1947 (Blackmon – R) Creates a House Study Committee on Education Finance DO PASS
Rep. Blackmon specifically mentioned the study of equalization and local fair share in his remarks.
The House met and considered the following:
SB515 (Hickman – R) revises grants for educational programs and provisions relative to the teacher recruitment and retention tax credit program, increasing participating teachers from Georgia educator preparation programs from 1,000 to 1,200 in the highest need areas annually while reducing new participant credits from $3,000 to $2,500 for those who begin the program after January 1, 2027. GaDOE will establish criteria for 100 schools to participate. PASSED BY SUBSTITUTE 158-9 TO SENATE FOR AGREEMENT
SB552 (Watson – R) “True Patriotism and Universal Access (TPUSA) Act establishes equal access rights for students to engage in political activities and expression in Georgia public schools and requires schools with limited open forums to provide the same opportunities for partisan and nonpartisan political groups as other noncurricular student organizations. Schools will still have the authority to maintain order regarding school attendance. PASSED BY SUBSTITUTE 95-68 TO SENATE FOR AGREEMENT
SB431 (Kirkpatrick – R) requires enrollment of foster care students no later than three school days of a request for enrollment by such student’s parent or legal custodian. School districts are prohibited from enrolling in virtual instruction while waiting for records.PASSED 168-0 TO SENATE FOR AGREEMENT
HB328 (Carpenter – R) The House amended the Senate substitute to contain:Increases in the aggregate limit for contributions to student scholarship organizations from $120M to $140M. The bill also now includes language from HB1220, which would waive public school attendance requirements for military students and students with disabilities to obtain a scholarship. The bill also now contains Peach Tax Credit provisions and increases the cap from $15 to $25 Million. Finally, the bill now contains language from HB1259, which prohibits virtual instruction to out-of-system students if the local school system has a College and Career Ready Performance Index below a specified average. PASSED HOUSE BY SUBSTITUTE 99-67 AS AMENDED TO SENATE FOR AGREEMENT
The following bill was agreed upon and will be transmitted to the Governor for signature:
HB1193 (Erwin – R) Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 HOUSE AGREED TO SENATE SUBSTITUTE 168-0
The Senate met and considered the following:
HB1193 (Erwin – R) Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026: funds literacy coaches in every K-3 elementary school through non-QBE grants, provides high quality instructional materials (HQIM) as recommended by a Literacy Task Force, streamlines guidelines for grade placement (kindergarten as a requirement and grade retention policies), requires schools to offer full day kindergarten, requires schools to adopt a unified literacy plans, engages higher education institutions and the Georgia Professional Standards Commission that prepare and certify educators, and creates a public awareness campaign. PASSED 49-0 AS AMENDED BY SUBSTITUTE
HB1116 (Blackmon – R) Homeownership Opportunity and Market Equalization Act of 2026: includes language that mandates the floating homestead exemption, permits exemptions to be factored into the local digest for school funding formulas (local fair share calculations), caps increase at 3% or CPI, whichever is greater, with exceptions for growth and emergencies, and requires a referendum to surpass those caps. The bill allows school districts to raise reserve funding from 15% to 25%. It also adds the authority for cities and counties to use an LHOST for property tax relief purposes. PASSED BY SUBSTITUTE 31-19, sent back to the HOUSE for agreement.
The following resolutions were adopted on the Senate Study Committee Consent Calendar:
SR545 (Kemp – D) Creates the Senate Paid Student Teaching Study Committee
SR553 (Halpern – Creates the Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements
SR789 (James – D) Creates the Senate Study Committee on the Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
SR952 (Davenport – D) Creates the Senate Rosenwald Schools Study Committee
The following bills were agreed upon and will be transmitted to the Governor for signature:
SB150 (Hickman – R) Return to Work AGREED 49-0
GSSA and partner advocacy groups have requested the expedited signature of this bill by the Governor.
SB369 (Jones – R)”Charter Schools Act of 1998″ Establishes definitions and rules for Completion Charter Schools: establishes a new definition for dropout recovery charter schools in the Georgia code, allows these schools to apply for local approval, and requires the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) to separately report on the performance of these schools.
The bill now contains additional language:
- HB1257, which revises provisions for incentive grants for local board approval of charters
- HB1206, which requires local boards to consider the total costs of purchasing electronic devices
- HB1218, which allows virtual students in grades 6-12 to participate in extracurricular activities
AGREED 49-0
SB552 (Watson – R) TPUSA Act AGREED 42-7
SB589 (Brass – R) allows children who turn four or five by August 1 to enroll in Georgia’s Pre-K Program at their parents’ request. Now includes language which requires public schools issuing student ID badges for grades 6-12 to include 9-8-8 crisis hotline information on the badges to promote mental health awareness among middle and high school students, and language which allows students to be enrolled in either kindergarten or first grade at parents’ request. AGREED 49-0
April 2: Legislative Day 40, Sine Die
