HB 1302: Education and Workforce Strategy Act; enact

Georgia currently splits oversight of schools, technical colleges, and job training programs among several bodies, including the Alliance of Education Agency Heads and the Office of Student Achievement. This bill reorganizes that structure. Effective July 1, 2026, the Office of Student Achievement becomes the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, keeping its old powers but gaining new duties to coordinate education and workforce agencies statewide, create a data governance board, and build a public 'navigation tool' website for students and job seekers. The Alliance of Education Agency Heads is eliminated, and its old functions move to the reorganized office. The bill also renames the High Demand Apprenticeship Program the Top State for Talent Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Program, adds a formal pre-apprenticeship track, and designates the Technical College System of Georgia as the state's official apprenticeship registration agency under federal rules, effective January 1, 2027. It also repeals a 2028 sunset date on HOPE grant access for dual enrollment students and requires a combined federal workforce and career-education plan.

• Reconstitutes the Office of Student Achievement as the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, expanding its duties to coordinate education and workforce agencies statewide.
• Repeals the Alliance of Education Agency Heads and shifts its former responsibilities to the new office and other state boards.
• Renames the High Demand Apprenticeship Program the Top State for Talent Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Program and adds a formal pre-apprenticeship category with its own definitions and funding priorities.
• Designates the Technical College System of Georgia as Georgia's official state apprenticeship agency, giving it authority to register, oversee, and deregister apprenticeship programs under federal rules.
• Removes the automatic June 30, 2028 repeal of the law letting dual enrollment students access HOPE grant funds for career and technical courses.
• Creates an Education Data Governance Board of state agency heads to coordinate education and workforce data sharing, and requires a public 'navigation tool' website listing training and credential options.

Public school students and dual enrollment participants, teachers, and school administrators; the Technical College System of Georgia, Department of Education, University System of Georgia, and Georgia Student Finance Commission; apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship sponsors and employers; and members of the now-repealed Alliance of Education Agency Heads.

The reorganization changes who runs and coordinates Georgia's education and job-training system, potentially speeding up or altering how apprenticeship programs are approved, how dual enrollment students access HOPE grant funds, and how agencies share student and workforce data across state government.

• Section 2 replaces references to the 'Office of Student Achievement' with 'Office of Education and Workforce Strategy' throughout Titles 20, 34, and 50.
• Section 4 removes the June 30, 2028 sunset date on dual enrollment students' access to HOPE grant funds for CTAE courses (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.4).
• Section 12 redefines 'apprentice' and adds 'pre-apprentice' and 'registered pre-apprenticeship program' definitions tied to federal apprenticeship regulations (O.C.G.A. § 20-4-150).
• Sections 18-19 designate the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency responsible for registering and overseeing apprenticeship programs under federal law (new Article 10, O.C.G.A. § 20-4-200 et seq.).
• Section 20 repeals and reserves Article 1 of Chapter 14, eliminating the Alliance of Education Agency Heads.
• Section 28 creates the Education Data Governance Board within the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, made up of heads of eleven state agencies, to coordinate education and workforce data systems.
• Section 39 sets the Act's effective date as July 1, 2026, except Section 19 (the state apprenticeship agency designation), which takes effect January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 474
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-18Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-18Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-16Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-12Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-015)Primary sponsor
• Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-034)
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   172 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #608

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   29 yea, 16 nay (6 not voting, 3 absent)

   Shall The Ruling Of The Chair Be Sustained: Senate Vote #734

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   29 yea, 19 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion For The Previous Question: Senate Vote #735

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   48 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #736

• workforce development
• apprenticeship programs
• education agency reorganization
• dual enrollment and HOPE scholarships
• state data governance