---
title: HB 1259. Education; prohibit virtual instruction to out-of-system students if the local school system has a College and Career Ready Performance Index below the state average
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1259
cite_as: HB 1259, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1259
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1259.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1259/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73029
date: 2026-03-31
status: engrossed
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: 687
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1259.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1259
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-25
last_action: Senate Tabled
sponsors:
- Matt Dubnik
- Chris Erwin
- James Hatchett
- Todd Jones
- Billy Hickman
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1259/2025
upstream_id: 2112299
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- virtual schools
- education funding
- school performance standards
- equalization funds
- out-of-district enrollment
---
# HB 1259. Education; prohibit virtual instruction to out-of-system students if the local school system has a College and Career Ready Performance Index below the state average
## Text
The Senate Committee on Education and Youth offered the following
substitute to HB 1259:
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to financing relative to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to
prohibit virtual instruction to out-of-system students if the local school system has a College
and Career Ready Performance Index average below 65 for the previous two school years;
to prohibit out-of-system students from being counted toward equalization funds received
by a local school system; to require local school systems that enroll out-of-system students
to compile a list of such out-of-system students; to provide for an effective date; to provide
for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 4 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to financing relative to the "Quality Basic Education Act," is amended by revising
Code Section 20-2-167.2 as follows:
"20-2-167.2.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Out-of-system student' means a student who is enrolled in a local school system and
receives virtual instruction from a virtual school within the such local school system, but
who resides in another local school system.
(2) 'Virtual instruction' means online instruction for grades kindergarten through 12.
Such term shall not include virtual instruction received through the Georgia Virtual
School established pursuant to Code Section 20-2-319.1 or the clearing-house established
pursuant to Code Section 20-2-319.3, or through a state charter school which provides
virtual instruction.
(3) 'Virtual school' means a school within a local school system which provides virtual
instruction.
(b) A local school system that provides virtual instruction through a virtual school whose
total student enrollment is composed of more than 5 percent out-of-system students shall:
(1) Ensure that 90 percent of funds earned pursuant to this article for out-of-system
students are expended for costs for virtual instruction for such out-of-system students and
shall return any excess funds to the state treasury which are not expended for such
purposes; and
(2) Include in the virtual school and local school system's College and Career Ready
Performance Index data academic achievement results for out-of-system students; and
(3) Not provide virtual instruction to out-of-system students in the current academic year
if the local school system or its virtual school has failed to maintain an average of 65 or
above on the College and Career Ready Performance Index over the previous two school
years.
(c) Each local school system that enrolls any out-of-system students shall compile a
complete list of such out-of-system students as of October 1 and March 1 of each year. No
local school system shall include any such out-of-system student in any count for purposes
related to qualifying for equalization funds pursuant to Code Section 20-2-165.
(c)(d) This Code section shall not be subject to waiver pursuant to Code Section 20-2-82
for a strategic waivers school system, Code Section 20-2-2063.2 for a charter system, Code
Section 20-2-2065 for a charter school, or Code Section 20-2-244."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2027.
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.
HB 1259 would bar local school systems in Georgia from providing virtual instruction to out-of-district students if the district's academic performance score has averaged below 65 for two straight years, and would stop counting those virtual students toward state equalization funding.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently lets local school systems enroll students who live in other districts (called out-of-system students) in virtual schools. HB 1259 changes the rules for those arrangements. It amends Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-167.2) to block a local school system or its virtual school from offering virtual instruction to out-of-system students in any year following two straight school years where its College and Career Ready Performance Index (the state's school rating score) averaged below 65.
The bill also says out-of-system students can no longer be counted when a district calculates its eligibility for equalization funds, a form of state aid meant to help lower-wealth districts. Districts that enroll out-of-system students must compile a full list of them twice a year, on October 1 and March 1. The changes would take effect July 1, 2027.
### What it does
- Bars a local school system or its virtual school from enrolling out-of-system students in virtual instruction if its College and Career Ready Performance Index averaged below 65 over the previous two school years.
- Prohibits counting out-of-system students toward a district's eligibility for equalization funds under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-165.
- Requires any local school system enrolling out-of-system students to compile a complete list of them as of October 1 and March 1 each year.
- Keeps existing requirements that districts with over 5 percent out-of-system enrollment spend 90 percent of related funds on those students' virtual instruction and include their results in performance data.
- Exempts this Code section from waivers otherwise available to strategic waivers school systems, charter systems, charter schools, and certain other flexibility programs.
- Sets the effective date as July 1, 2027.
### Who it affects
Local school districts that run virtual schools enrolling students from other districts, the out-of-system students and families who rely on those virtual programs, and districts that receive equalization funding, since those funds would be calculated without counting out-of-system virtual students.
### Why it matters
Students living in lower-performing districts could lose access to virtual schooling options offered by other districts once those districts' performance scores fall below the threshold for two years. Districts would also see their equalization funding calculated differently, which could shift the state aid some school systems receive.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-167.2, adding a new rule barring virtual instruction to out-of-system students when a district's Performance Index has averaged below 65 for the prior two school years.
- Section 1 also adds a requirement that districts enrolling out-of-system students compile a list of them twice yearly, on October 1 and March 1.
- Section 1 excludes out-of-system students from counting toward equalization funds under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-165.
- Section 1 keeps the existing rule that districts with more than 5 percent out-of-system enrollment must spend 90 percent of related funds on those students' virtual instruction.
- Section 1 exempts this Code section from several existing waiver programs for strategic waivers systems, charter systems, charter schools, and flexibility contracts.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2027.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-25)
- Last action: Senate Tabled (2026-03-31)
- Sponsors: Matt Dubnik, Chris Erwin, James Hatchett, Todd Jones, Billy Hickman
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73029
> The history, votes, and amendments (687 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1259.md?full=1