--- title: HB 1038. Georgia Promise Scholarship Act; repeal Article 2 of Chapter 2B; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1038 cite_as: HB 1038, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1038 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1038.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1038/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72368 date: 2026-01-29 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1037.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1039.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 132 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1038.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1038 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-01-27 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Floyd Griffin - Carolyn Hugley - Tanya Miller - Viola Davis - Bryce Berry - Spencer Frye text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1038/2025 upstream_id: 2095304 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Georgia Promise Scholarship - school vouchers - private school tuition - ballot referendum - education funding --- # HB 1038. Georgia Promise Scholarship Act; repeal Article 2 of Chapter 2B; provide ## Text House Bill 1038 By: Representatives Griffin of the 149th, Hugley of the 141st, Miller of the 62nd, Davis of the 87th, Berry of the 56th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, so as to provide for the repeal of Article 2 of Chapter 2B, the "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act"; to provide for the holding of an advisory referendum election to determine whether the qualified electors of the State of Georgia desire the repeal of the "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act"; to provide for legislative control and review with respect to providing for the appropriation and use of state funds for education to be used for qualified education expenses; to provide for related matters; to provide for severability; to provide for effective dates and applicability; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, is amended by repealing Article 2 of Chapter 2B, the "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act." SECTION 2. (a) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to issue the call for an advisory referendum election to determine whether the qualified electors of the State of Georgia desire that the "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act," provided for in Article 2 of Chapter 2B of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, be repealed. The Secretary of State shall conduct the advisory referendum election in 2026 on the date of the November election, as such term is defined in Code Section 21-2-2. The Secretary of State shall issue the call and conduct such advisory referendum election as provided by general law. (b) The ballot at the advisory referendum election provided under this section shall have written or printed thereon the following: "( ) YES Should the General Assembly repeal the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, ( ) NO which, during the 2025-2026 school year, provided up to $6,500.00 in state funds to students to be used for qualified education expenses, including private school tuition? Vote 'YES' if you favor repealing the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act." All persons desiring to vote in favor of the proposition shall vote "Yes." All persons desiring to vote against the proposition shall vote "No." (c) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to tabulate and certify the results of the advisory referendum election and report said results to the Governor and the General Assembly immediately following such certification. The expense of such election shall be borne by the State of Georgia. SECTION 3. The provisions of Sections 1 and 2 of this Act may operate according to their terms without further action by the General Assembly. The General Assembly shall retain the authority to deal with the subject matter of this Act, including, but not limited to, providing for the appropriation and use of state funds for education to be used for qualified education expenses, by further legislative Act; and the General Assembly intends that the subject matter of this Act may be subject to further legislative review at the 2027 regular session of the General Assembly or thereafter as deemed appropriate by the General Assembly. SECTION 4. In the event any section or subsection of this Act shall be declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall in no manner affect the other sections or subsections of this Act, which shall remain in full force and effect as if the section or subsection so declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional were not originally a part hereof. The General Assembly declares that it would have passed the remaining provisions of this Act if it had known that such provision or provisions hereof would be declared or adjudged invalid or unconstitutional. SECTION 5. Section 1 of this Act shall become effective June 30, 2027, and shall apply to all school years beginning with the 2027-2028 school year. All other sections of this Act shall become effective upon the approval of this Act by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval. SECTION 6. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would repeal the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, which gives students up to $6,500 in state funds for private school tuition and other education costs, and would ask voters in a 2026 advisory referendum whether they want it repealed. ### Plain-language summary The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act currently allows eligible students to receive up to $6,500.00 in state funds to pay for qualified education expenses, including private school tuition. This bill would repeal that program, found in Article 2 of Chapter 2B of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, but the repeal would not take effect until June 30, 2027, applying starting with the 2027-2028 school year. Before that repeal takes effect, the bill directs the Secretary of State to hold a nonbinding advisory referendum on the November 2026 election ballot, asking voters whether the General Assembly should repeal the program. The results would be reported to the Governor and General Assembly. The bill also states the General Assembly keeps full authority to revisit funding for qualified education expenses through future legislation, including possible review during the 2027 session. Other sections of the bill, aside from the repeal itself, take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or becoming law without it. ### What it does - Repeals Article 2 of Chapter 2B of Title 20, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, effective June 30, 2027, applying starting with the 2027-2028 school year. - Requires the Secretary of State to call and conduct a nonbinding advisory referendum in November 2026 asking voters whether the scholarship program should be repealed. - Specifies the exact ballot language voters would see, referencing the program's up to $6,500.00 award for qualified education expenses including private school tuition. - Requires the Secretary of State to tabulate, certify, and report the referendum results to the Governor and General Assembly. - Preserves the General Assembly's authority to pass further legislation on state funding for qualified education expenses, with review contemplated at the 2027 session. - Makes the referendum and other administrative provisions effective immediately upon the Governor's signature, while delaying the actual repeal until 2027. ### Who it affects Students and families currently eligible for or receiving Georgia Promise Scholarship funds, private schools that accept the scholarship for tuition, the Secretary of State's office, which must run the referendum, and the General Assembly and Governor, who would receive and act on the results. ### Why it matters If enacted, the scholarship program would stop covering the 2027-2028 school year, ending a funding option families currently use for private school tuition and other education costs. The advisory referendum would let voters weigh in, though the General Assembly is not bound by the result. ### Key provisions - Section 1 repeals Article 2 of Chapter 2B of Title 20, which contains the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act. - Section 2 requires the Secretary of State to hold an advisory referendum during the November 2026 election, sets the exact ballot wording, and requires certification of results to the Governor and General Assembly, with the state bearing election costs. - Section 3 states the General Assembly retains authority over qualified education expense funding and anticipates further legislative review at the 2027 session or later. - Section 4 is a severability clause protecting the rest of the Act if any part is found unconstitutional. - Section 5 sets the repeal's effective date as June 30, 2027, applying to the 2027-2028 school year onward, while all other sections take effect upon the Governor's approval or becoming law without it. - Section 6 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-01-27) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-29) - Sponsors: Floyd Griffin, Carolyn Hugley, Tanya Miller, Viola Davis, Bryce Berry, Spencer Frye - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72368 > The history, votes, and amendments (132 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1038.md?full=1