HB 1394: Community Affairs, Department of; ensure that Rosenwald Schools are treated as historic properties

Georgia's historic preservation grant program, run by the Department of Community Affairs, gives money to preserve certain historic properties. State law (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-58) defines what counts as a 'historic property' eligible for these grants, and currently that definition specifically calls out combat veterans' gravesites as included sites of historical significance. This bill would add Rosenwald Schools to that same list. Rosenwald Schools were schools built in the early 1900s to educate Black children in the rural South. By naming them in the statute, the bill would make clear that these schools qualify as historic properties under Georgia law, allowing them to be considered for historic preservation grant funding alongside other recognized historic sites.

• Amends the definition of 'historic property' in Georgia's historic preservation law (O.C.G.A. § 12-3-58) to explicitly include Rosenwald Schools.
• Places Rosenwald Schools in the same statutory category as combat veterans' gravesites, both named as historically significant sites under the law.
• Makes Rosenwald Schools eligible for consideration under the Department of Community Affairs' historic preservation grant program and grant fund.

This bill affects the Department of Community Affairs, which administers the historic preservation grant program, along with owners, communities, and preservation groups caring for Rosenwald Schools in Georgia who may now seek state grant funding to maintain or restore these buildings.

By formally classifying Rosenwald Schools as historic properties, the bill would open the door for these buildings, many tied to the history of Black education in the segregation-era South, to receive state preservation grant money they might not have clearly qualified for before.

• Section 1 revises paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of O.C.G.A. § 12-3-58, the section defining 'historic property' for the grant program.
• The revised definition adds 'Rosenwald Schools in this state' to the existing list that already includes combat veterans' gravesites as deemed historically significant sites.
• Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws, a standard clause with no substantive effect beyond this bill's change.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
2. 2026-02-20House Second Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-19House First Readers (House)
4. 2026-02-19House Hopper (House)

• Mack Jackson (D, HD-128)Primary sponsor
• Floyd Griffin (D, HD-149)
• David Sampson (D, HD-153)
• Regina Lewis-Ward (D, HD-115)
• Al Williams (D, HD-168)
• Patty Stinson (D, HD-150)

• historic preservation
• Rosenwald Schools
• Black history
• state grants
• Department of Community Affairs