HB917: HB917 Education; open enrollment processes for students to transfer between local school systems and between schools within local school systems; provide

Georgia already lets some students transfer between school systems or between schools in the same system, but the rules vary widely and are often left to local discretion. HB 917 would require every local school system to adopt a formal open enrollment policy for both cross-district and within-district transfers, covering how students apply, how capacity is measured, and how denials can be appealed to the State Board of Education. The bill bans discrimination based on things like race, disability, or address in transfer decisions, requires lottery systems when demand exceeds space, and generally prohibits charging tuition for cross-district transfers except for fully virtual instruction. It also requires districts to publish enrollment vacancies monthly and report transfer data annually to the State School Superintendent. The bill also revises how the state calculates 'equalization grants,' which help balance school funding between wealthier and poorer districts. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Requires every local school system to adopt a formal open enrollment process allowing students to transfer to schools in other districts or other schools within their own district.
• Bans discrimination in transfer decisions based on residential address, ability, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, or socioeconomic status.
• Requires districts to use a lottery system when more students apply for transfer than there is space available, except for existing schools of choice with their own lottery policies.
• Sets a 45 day deadline for districts to approve or deny transfer applications and creates a formal appeals process to the State Board of Education for denials.
• Generally prohibits charging tuition for cross-district transfers, but allows tuition for students who receive fully virtual instruction, capped at two-thirds of certain per-student revenue.
• Revises the formula the State Board of Education uses to calculate 'equalization grants' (state payments that help offset differences in local property tax wealth between districts).

Public school students and their parents seeking to transfer schools, local school systems and boards of education that must build and publish enrollment policies, the State Board of Education and State School Superintendent who oversee appeals and data reporting, and school employees whose children may enroll in the school where they work.

Families would gain a more predictable, statewide process for requesting school transfers, with clearer deadlines, an appeals option, and limits on tuition charges. Districts would face new administrative duties, including monthly vacancy postings, lottery procedures, and annual public reporting of transfer data.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-165 to change how the State Board of Education calculates equalization grants for districts, including special rules for systems that send or receive students under contract.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-293 to require every local school system to adopt an open enrollment policy for cross-district transfers, including nondiscrimination rules, transportation information, and bilingual posting requirements.
• Section 2 caps tuition for virtual-only transferred students at two-thirds of a district's total revenue per full-time equivalent student minus federal and state revenue, effective July 1, 2026.
• Section 2 sets a 45 calendar day window for districts to decide on transfer applications and creates a formal appeal process to the State Board of Education for denials.
• Section 3 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2131 to require districts to measure school capacity only by grade level, not by specialized program, and to use lotteries when transfer demand exceeds space.
• Section 3 exempts charter schools and newly opened schools (for four years) from the within-district transfer requirements.
• Sections 2 and 3 require districts to report transfer numbers, approvals, and denial reasons annually to the State School Superintendent, who must publish the data online.
• Section 4 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-02House Hopper (House)

• Todd Jones (R, HD-025)Primary sponsor
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)

• school choice
• open enrollment
• public school transfers
• school funding
• education policy