HB 1293: Education; updated eligibility requirements for the Dual Achievement Program; provide

Georgia's Dual Achievement Program lets students who withdrew from high school enroll at a technical college to earn both a high school diploma and a college credential. Until now it operated as a time-limited pilot with an automatic repeal date of July 1, 2031, funded by splitting Quality Basic Education (QBE) money between the student's home school and the technical college through a participation agreement. This bill removes the pilot label and the repeal date, making the program permanent. It sets new eligibility rules that phase in by July 1, 2028: eventually students must be 18 to under 23, withdrawn from public school without a diploma, meet admission requirements, and take part in required wraparound support services such as tutoring and case management. A narrower exception lets 16 and 17 year olds in areas without an operating 'completion special school' still qualify. Enrolled students count toward their home school only for administrative and accountability purposes, not for shared QBE funding, and the old participation agreements and QBE funding-sharing provisions are repealed. A new funding formula, developed by the state board and the Office of Planning and Budget starting in fiscal year 2028, replaces the old funding method. The law takes effect once the Governor signs it.

• Removes the program's 'pilot' status and its automatic repeal date of July 1, 2031, making the Dual Achievement Program permanent.
• Sets new eligibility requirements phased in by July 1, 2028, generally requiring students to be 18 to under 23, withdrawn from public school, and without a diploma already.
• Adds an exception letting 16 and 17 year olds in areas without an operating 'completion special school' remain eligible under certain conditions.
• Requires participating students to take part in wraparound support services like academic advising, tutoring, and case management as a condition of enrollment.
• Repeals the old system of participation agreements and shared QBE (Quality Basic Education) funding between a student's home school and the technical college.
• Directs the state technical college board and the Office of Planning and Budget to create a new funding formula for the program starting in fiscal year 2028.

Students age 16 to 22 who have withdrawn from a Georgia public high school without a diploma, their parents or guardians, local school systems that must handle their administrative enrollment, the Technical College System of Georgia, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Juvenile Justice and Department of Corrections, which help oversee eligibility.

Students who left high school would have a clearer, permanent path to earn both a diploma and a technical college credential instead of relying on a temporary pilot. Schools and the technical college system would follow new age and enrollment rules and a new funding process instead of splitting per-student state education dollars as before.

• Section 1 amends Code Section 20-4-140 to add definitions for 'completion special school,' 'completion special school attendance zone,' and 'wraparound services.'
• Code Section 20-4-141 removes 'pilot' language throughout and eliminates the five-unit, ten-year pilot limit on which technical colleges can participate.
• New subsection (g) sets eligibility on and after July 1, 2028: age 18 to under 23, withdrawn from public school, no diploma yet, meeting admission requirements, and participating in wraparound services.
• New subsection (h) creates an exception allowing 16 and 17 year olds in a completion special school attendance zone without an operating school to remain eligible.
• The bill repeals Code Section 20-4-141.1, eliminating participation agreements and the requirement that resident school systems share QBE formula earnings with the technical college system.
• Code Section 20-4-142 is rewritten to replace the program's July 1, 2031 automatic repeal with a requirement to build a funding formula, starting fiscal year 2028, based on enrollment, credit hours, wraparound services, and student outcomes.
• The State Board of Education must adopt re-enrollment rules by July 1, 2026 so withdrawn students can rejoin their resident school for administrative and accountability purposes only.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-05-05
2. 2026-05-05Act 389
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-19Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-19Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-16Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)Primary sponsor
• Charles Martin (R, HD-049)
• Robert Dickey (R, HD-134)
• Kasey Carpenter (R, HD-004)
• Tim Fleming (R, HD-114)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   166 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #651

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 19, 2026

   53 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #747

• high school dropouts
• technical college
• dual enrollment programs
• Georgia education funding
• school accountability