HB 1302: Education and Workforce Strategy Act; enact

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Discussed in meetings (12)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

1. House Governmental Affairs Committee, February 23, 2026

   From 0:01:36 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1302 would improve coordination among education and workforce agencies by renaming the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement as the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Strategy and making it the lead coordinator. The sponsor described a comprehensive workforce plan, combined federal planning requirements, a career navigator tool and designation of the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency. Responding to questions, the sponsor said local school systems could recommend regional workforce needs, existing education funding would continue, and the bill would impose no financial obligation on local schools. The sponsor said adult retraining already remained available through technical colleges and Quick Start. A technical college system representative said apprenticeship oversight would help the state identify programs and regional gaps without changing existing programs’ operations. Asked about access to training outside areas with new employers, the representative said many colleges teach transferable manufacturing skills. The sponsor said about $445,000 in unspent leadership academy funds would support added coordination duties, with separate budget funding for the navigator. The transcript shows no vote before the meeting recessed to change rooms.

2. House Education Committee, February 26, 2026

   From 0:26:15 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the substitute would rename the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and make it the coordinator of education and workforce planning, without creating an agency. The sponsor described a combined state workforce plan incorporating federal workforce and career-education plans, assignment of the State Workforce Investment Board to the renamed office, and a career navigator tool. The sponsor said existing funds would support coordination. Members questioned effects on curriculum, literacy work, agency capacity and education’s broader purpose. The sponsor said existing agencies would retain program responsibilities, literacy work would continue and the added role was coordination. Members also questioned apprenticeship autonomy and reporting burdens. The sponsor said negotiated changes required compliance with federal regulations, included apprenticeship sponsors in coordination, replaced transfer language with reporting language and delayed the technical college system’s state apprenticeship designation until January 1, 2027. A technical college system representative said programs would not be taken over and state-level reporting should ease administrative burdens. One member sought more time to understand the structure; another urged moving forward because of workforce needs. A motion to table failed 7 to 9. The committee then approved the substitute after a hand count, but the approval tally was not announced.

3. House Rules Committee, March 2, 2026

   From 0:49:02 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1302 would put into law a collaborative process for developing the state's federal workforce plan and career and technical education plan. Asked about the school board association's position, the sponsor said they had not heard from the association during the earlier hearing. The sponsor cited support from the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education, Metro Atlanta Chamber and Georgia Chamber. The sponsor said the proposal would coordinate state-level workforce planning rather than change local school board responsibilities. No decision was recorded.

4. House Rules Committee, March 4, 2026

   From 1:55:25 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 1302 on the day's floor calendar under modified rules without opposition. Its provisions were not discussed.

5. House floor session, March 4, 2026 (legislative day 27, AM)

   From 2:11:51 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 1809

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1302 would rename the Governor's Office of Student Achievement as the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy and make it the lead coordinator for existing education and workforce agencies. The sponsor said the State Workforce Development Board would be assigned to that office, which would coordinate federal workforce plans and prepare a comprehensive state workforce plan. The sponsor also described a Workforce Navigator tool to help students and job seekers choose education and career paths. Asked how many education authorities existed, the sponsor stressed that the bill coordinated agencies already doing the work rather than creating another separate agency. One member said discussions with the governor's office clarified how the agencies would collaborate. Another member said concerns raised in subcommittee had been resolved before the full committee meeting. A minority report was waived without presentation. The House adopted the committee substitute and passed the bill, 172 to 2.

6. Senate Higher Education Committee, March 10, 2026

   From 0:47:24 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would rename the Governor's Office of Student Achievement as the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, preserve existing duties and add coordination of education and workforce agencies. The sponsor described a comprehensive workforce plan incorporating federal plans, quarterly agency meetings, a career-navigation tool, coordinated data reporting and removal of the inactive Alliance of Education Agency Heads. The sponsor said about $400,000 in existing funds would support the added work without creating another agency or changing federal workforce and career-education funding allocations. The sponsor said the bill would designate the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency and that House substitute language addressed registered apprenticeship programs' concerns without changing their work. In response to the chair, the sponsor confirmed that pre-apprenticeship provisions would reach younger students. A Technical College System representative confirmed that credit-transfer provisions were intended to include eligible private colleges. Committee members praised the coordination. Witnesses for the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education, Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Metro Atlanta Chamber supported the bill, citing preserved funding, workforce needs and apprenticeship opportunities. The committee recommended passage, 6-0.

7. Senate Rules Committee, March 16, 2026

   From 0:22:49 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 1302 would create a more collaborative process for developing the state's Carl Perkins and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act plans through the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy. The sponsor said it would also remove language concerning an older education alliance that had not met in recent years. The sponsor described it as the third and final part of a workforce education package arising from study committee recommendations. There were no substantive questions. The committee later unanimously included the bill on the next day's floor calendar.

8. Senate floor session, March 18, 2026 (legislative day 33)

   From 3:48:52 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

   Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor described HB 1302 as the final part of the governor's workforce development package. The sponsor said it would rename the Office of Student Achievement as the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, make it the lead coordinator across agencies, assign the State Workforce Development Board to that office, and combine federal workforce planning with state data and reports. The sponsor said the Technical College System of Georgia would become the state apprenticeship agency at the federal Department of Labor's request. Asked about staffing, the sponsor said the change would mostly repurpose existing resources. An amendment proposed raising Georgia's minimum wage from $5.15 to $15. Its presenter cited living costs, and another supporter argued that higher wages reduce poverty without reducing hiring. A further amendment proposed $7.25 instead. The sponsor challenged whether minimum wage belonged in an education and workforce-training bill. The chair ruled the first amendment unrelated to the bill's subject, and the Senate sustained that ruling 29-16, also leaving the further amendment out of order. The Senate voted 29-19 to end debate and passed the bill 48-1.

• Read aloud: House floor session, February 17, 2026 (legislative day 19), 0:59:56
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 6, 2026 (legislative day 28, part 1), 0:40:34
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 12, 2026 (legislative day 31), 0:26:07
• Read aloud: Senate floor session, March 16, 2026 (legislative day 32), 0:30:57

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