SB295: SB295 State Board of Education; local school systems to maintain and publish a registry of all contracts worth more than $10,000.00; require

Georgia school systems currently are not required to publish a searchable list of their contracts with vendors. This bill would change that by adding a new section to the Quality Basic Education Act. Starting August 1, 2026, each local school system would have to maintain and post a contract registry on its public website for any contract, agreement, or financial obligation over $10,000 that is paid for in whole or in part with state funds. The Department of Education must create a standard template for these registries by January 1, 2026, covering details like the vendor's name, contract dates, payment terms, total amount, funding source, whether the contract was competitively bid, and whether any contracting individuals previously worked for the school system. Registries must be updated at least quarterly, and new contracts must be added within 60 days. Local boards must adopt implementation policies by July 1, 2026, and cannot get waivers from this requirement even if they are strategic waiver or charter systems.

• Requires every local school system to publish a searchable online registry of contracts over $10,000 paid with state funds, starting August 1, 2026.
• Directs the Department of Education to create a standard template for these registries by January 1, 2026.
• Lists 12 required pieces of information for each contract entry, including vendor names, payment terms, funding sources, and whether competitive bidding was used.
• Requires registries to be updated at least four times a year and within 60 days of any new qualifying contract.
• Requires local boards of education to adopt implementation policies by July 1, 2026 and makes noncompliance subject to existing enforcement rules.
• Bars strategic waiver school systems and charter systems from getting a waiver out of this requirement.

Local school systems and their boards of education across Georgia, which must build and maintain the registries; the Department of Education, which must create the template; and vendors, contractors, and individuals who do business with school systems, whose contract details and past employment ties would become public.

Parents, taxpayers, and watchdog groups would gain an easy way to see how school systems spend state money, who receives contracts, and whether those contracts were competitively bid or involve former employees or lobbyists. School systems would face new recordkeeping and reporting work with enforcement consequences for noncompliance.

• Adds new O.C.G.A. § 20-2-245 requiring local school systems to keep a public, searchable contract registry for state-funded contracts over $10,000.00.
• Sets an August 1, 2026 deadline for systems to have the registry operational and a January 1, 2026 deadline for the Department of Education to issue a template.
• Subsection (b) lists 12 categories of required information, including contracting entity names, payment terms, funding source, and prior employment ties of contractors.
• Subsection (c) requires updates at least quarterly (August 1, November 1, February 1, May 1) and within 60 days of a new qualifying contract.
• Subsection (d) requires local boards of education to adopt implementation policies by July 1, 2026.
• Subsection (e) ties noncompliance to enforcement under existing O.C.G.A. § 20-2-243.
• Subsection (f) prohibits waivers from this requirement for strategic waiver school systems and charter systems.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
2. 2025-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
3. 2025-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
4. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
5. 2025-02-27Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)Primary sponsor
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• Chuck Hufstetler (R, SD-052)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
• Ben Watson (R, SD-001)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

• school district contracts
• government transparency
• education funding
• public records
• school board policy