Georgia CommonsHB 1308: Education; local and state charter schools have the right to lease, utilize, or buy unused facilities of a local board of education; provide
Last action February 18, 2026 · House Second Readers
A Georgia House bill would give local and state charter schools the right to lease, use, or buy unused school buildings owned by local school boards, with new rules for negotiating terms and settling disputes.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Introduced version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Current Georgia law already requires local school boards to make unused facilities available to local charter schools, but the definition of 'unused' is narrow and disputes over access have no clear resolution process. This bill broadens that definition, extends the right to state charter schools and charter school petitioners, and creates a formal right of first offer and right of first refusal on unused buildings. The bill also updates general school property law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-520) by replacing references to 'county boards' with 'local boards of education' and modernizing terms like 'schoolhouse' to 'school building.' It adds a new dispute resolution role for the Office of Charter School Compliance, sets conditions under which a charter school's rights to a facility can terminate, and requires compensation to the charter school if that happens. It also requires competitive bidding on school construction contracts over $250,000.
What the bill does
- Expands the definition of 'unused facilities' to include buildings not used for at least 60 percent direct student instruction within the previous two school years.
- Extends the existing right to use unused local school facilities from local charter schools to state charter schools and charter school petitioners as well.
- Creates a right of first offer and right of first refusal for charter schools and petitioners seeking to lease, use, or buy an unused facility, subject to good faith negotiation.
- Gives the Office of Charter School Compliance authority to determine whether negotiations occurred in good faith and to help resolve disputes over facility use.
- Allows charter schools to appeal a local board's denial of facility use to the Office of Charter School Compliance, in addition to existing hearing and appeal rights.
- Requires local boards to compensate a charter school or petitioner if the school's right to a facility ends because the board reopens or opens a new school there or a petition is denied.
Who it affects
Local boards of education, which control school property and negotiate facility agreements; local and state charter schools and people petitioning to start one; the Office of Charter School Compliance, which gains new dispute resolution duties; and school districts managing construction contracts over $250,000.
Why it matters
Charter schools and organizers seeking to open one would gain a stronger legal claim on empty school buildings, including a formal right to buy or lease them first, while local school boards would face new negotiation, disclosure, and compensation obligations tied to any decision affecting those buildings.
Key provisions
- Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-520 to replace 'county board' language with 'local board of education' and modernize terms, and requires competitive public bidding for school construction contracts over $250,000.
- Section 2 revises the definition of 'unused facilities' in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2068.2 to cover buildings not used, or not used for at least 60 percent direct instruction, within the prior two school years.
- Section 2 extends facility access rights from local charter schools to state charter schools and charter school petitioners.
- Section 2 creates a petition process allowing a charter school to ask the Office of Charter School Compliance to determine whether a local board negotiated in good faith over an unused facility.
- Section 2 establishes a right of first offer and right of first refusal for charter schools or petitioners on unused facilities, subject to good faith negotiation and compliance with charter petition rules.
- Section 2 sets conditions ending a charter school's facility rights, such as a local board voting to reopen a school there, and requires compensation to the charter school when rights terminate.
- Section 2 allows charter schools to appeal a local board's denial of facility use to the Office of Charter School Compliance without giving up existing hearing and appeal rights under O.C.G.A. § 20-2-1160.
- Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.
From the bill
“Each local board of education shall make its unused facilities available to local charter schools and state charter schools.”
“Include both the right of first offer and the right of first refusal;”
“A local charter school may not be charged a rental or leasing fee for the existing facility or for property normally used by the public school which became the local charter school.”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)
- Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
- Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
- Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
- Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
Topics
- charter schools
- school facilities
- education policy
- school construction contracts
- local school boards