---
title: HB 1256. Georgia Appreciation for Educators Act; enact
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1256
cite_as: HB 1256, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1256
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1256.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1256/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73026
date: 2026-02-11
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1256.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1256
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-09
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Bryce Berry
- Tangie Herring
- Mekyah McQueen
- Samuel Park
- Rhonda Burnough
- El-Mahdi Holly
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1256/2025
upstream_id: 2112324
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- teacher pay
- student loans
- education funding
- teacher retention
---
# HB 1256. Georgia Appreciation for Educators Act; enact
## Text
House Bill 1256
By: Representatives Berry of the 56th, Herring of the 145th, McQueen of the 61st, Park of the
107th, Burnough of the 77th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to the Georgia Student Finance Authority, so as to provide for student
loan repayment for public school teachers who graduated from an eligible postsecondary
educational institution in Georgia and who have taught for at least five years in a public
school in this state; to provide for definitions; to provide for eligibility; to provide for student
loan repayment agreements and conditions; to provide for maximum student loan repayment
amounts; to provide for rules and regulations; to provide for an appropriations contingency;
to provide for related matters; to provide a short title; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Appreciation for Educators Act."
SECTION 2.
Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the Georgia Student Finance Authority, is amended by adding a new subpart to
read as follows:
"Subpart 7D
20-3-467.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Eligible applicant' means a person who:
(A) Is a legal resident of the State of Georgia;
(B) Graduated from an eligible postsecondary institution; and
(C) Is currently employed as a teacher in a public school in this state and has been so
employed for at least five years.
(2) 'Eligible postsecondary institution' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code
Section 20-3-519.
(3) 'Recipient' means an eligible applicant who applied for and was approved by the
authority for student loan repayment under this Code section.
(4) 'Student loan' means debt incurred by a recipient that is:
(A) Evidenced by a promissory note which required the funds received to be used to
pay for the cost of attendance for a course of study of the recipient;
(B) Not in default at the time of application for repayment under this Code section; and
(C) Not subject to an existing service obligation or to repayment through another
student loan repayment or loan forgiveness program or to repayment as a condition of
employment.
(5) 'Teacher' shall have the same meaning as set forth in Code Section 20-2-942.
(b) The authority is authorized to approve the applications of eligible applicants in
accordance with rules and regulations established by the authority governing the student
loan repayment process.
(c) The authority is authorized to provide for the repayment of student loans held by a
recipient in consideration of the recipient performing services in the form of teaching in a
public school in this state for not less than five years.
(d)(1) Each recipient, before being granted any student loan repayment, shall enter into
a student loan repayment agreement with the authority agreeing to the terms and
conditions upon which the student loan repayment is granted, including such terms and
conditions set forth in this Code section.
(2) The authority shall have the power to terminate a student loan repayment agreement
at any time for any cause deemed sufficient by the authority, provided that such power
shall not be arbitrarily or unreasonably exercised.
(e) Each student loan repayment agreement entered into with the authority pursuant to this
Code section shall be signed by the director of the authority and by the recipient and shall:
(1) Provide for repayment of the recipient's student loans in a total amount as the
authority shall determine based on available appropriations, but not exceeding the total
student loan debt of the recipient, to be paid out over a term of not more than five years
in installments made on an annual basis;
(2) Provide that any payment made by the authority under a student loan repayment
agreement shall be made in consideration of services rendered by the recipient as a
teacher in a public school in this state; and
(3) Require that the recipient remain a legal resident of this state as established by rules
and regulations of the authority and be employed as a teacher in a public school in this
state at all times during the term of the agreement.
(f) The authority shall adopt such rules and regulations as are reasonable and necessary to
implement the provisions of this Code section.
(g) Student loan repayment for recipients having entered into a student loan repayment
agreement with the authority pursuant to this Code section shall be contingent upon the
appropriation of funds by the General Assembly for the purposes of this Code section in
annual appropriations Acts of the General Assembly."
SECTION 3.
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.
House Bill 1256 would create a state program to repay student loans for Georgia public school teachers who trained at a Georgia postsecondary school and have taught for at least five years.
### Plain-language summary
Currently Georgia has no dedicated student loan repayment program specifically for veteran public school teachers. This bill, called the Georgia Appreciation for Educators Act, would create one through the Georgia Student Finance Authority. Teachers who are Georgia residents, graduated from an eligible Georgia postsecondary institution, and have worked as a public school teacher in the state for at least five years could apply.
Approved teachers, called recipients, would sign a student loan repayment agreement with the authority. The authority would pay off student loan debt over up to five years in annual installments, but only loans that are not in default and not already covered by another repayment or forgiveness program. Recipients must keep teaching in a Georgia public school and remain state residents while the agreement runs. The authority would set the rules, and the whole program only works if the General Assembly actually appropriates money for it each year.
### What it does
- Creates a new student loan repayment program at the Georgia Student Finance Authority for public school teachers with at least five years of experience.
- Limits eligibility to Georgia residents who graduated from an eligible Georgia postsecondary institution and currently teach in a Georgia public school.
- Requires recipients to sign a repayment agreement lasting up to five years, paid in annual installments, tied to continued teaching service.
- Excludes loans that are in default or already being repaid through another loan forgiveness or repayment program.
- Allows the authority to terminate an agreement for sufficient cause, as long as that power is not used arbitrarily.
- Makes the entire program contingent on the General Assembly appropriating funding each year in the state budget.
### Who it affects
Public school teachers in Georgia who graduated from eligible Georgia postsecondary institutions and have taught at least five years, the Georgia Student Finance Authority, which would run the program, and the General Assembly, which must fund it annually for it to operate.
### Why it matters
If funded, eligible teachers could see part or all of their student loan debt paid off over five years, potentially easing a financial burden tied to entering or staying in the teaching profession in Georgia. Because funding depends on yearly state budget decisions, the benefit is not guaranteed even if the bill becomes law.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 gives the bill its short title, the 'Georgia Appreciation for Educators Act.'
- New Code Section 20-3-467(a) defines 'eligible applicant,' 'eligible postsecondary institution,' 'recipient,' 'student loan,' and 'teacher.'
- Subsection (c) allows the authority to repay loans in exchange for at least five years of teaching service in a Georgia public school.
- Subsection (e) caps repayment agreements at five years, paid in annual installments, up to the recipient's total loan debt, contingent on available funding.
- Subsection (e)(3) requires recipients to remain Georgia residents and stay employed as teachers for the full term of the agreement.
- Subsection (g) makes the whole repayment program contingent on annual appropriations from the General Assembly.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-09)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-11)
- Sponsors: Bryce Berry, Tangie Herring, Mekyah McQueen, Samuel Park, Rhonda Burnough, El-Mahdi Holly
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73026
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1256.md?full=1