HB 1604: Quality Basic Education Act; require the task force reviewing the effectiveness of existing program weights to meet every two years rather than every three years

Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161) sets up a task force, appointed by the Governor, that periodically reviews how the state weights different program costs in its school funding formula and recommends changes to the General Assembly. Currently that task force meets every three years. This bill would shorten that cycle to every two years, timed to start on the first day of each two-year General Assembly term. It also adds a new requirement that the task force prepare and submit a report to the Governor by December 1 of the first year of each two-year cycle. The report must include data on how teacher certification and years of experience relate to actual teacher costs, an analysis of how certification, education level, experience, and salary correlate, and any recommended changes to the funding formula law. The changes would take effect July 1, 2027.

• Shortens the task force's review cycle from every three years to every two years, timed to the start of each General Assembly biennium.
• Adds a new requirement that the task force submit a written report to the Governor by December 1 of the first year of each two-year cycle.
• Requires the report to include data on how teacher certification and experience relate to actual teacher costs.
• Requires the report to analyze correlations among a teacher's certification, education level, years of experience, and salary.
• Requires the report to include any recommended changes to the funding formula law or related teacher salary code sections.
• Sets the changes to take effect July 1, 2027.

The task force members themselves, drawn from the General Assembly, the State Board of Education, the Governor's office, and local school systems, along with the Governor's office, which appoints the task force and receives its report. The changes indirectly affect how school funding formula decisions, including teacher pay factors, are reviewed statewide.

A more frequent review cycle and a formal, detailed report could make changes to school funding weights and teacher pay factors more visible and more regularly reconsidered by state officials, potentially speeding up how quickly funding formula adjustments reach the General Assembly for consideration.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161(f) to change the task force's meeting requirement from every three years to every two years, aligned to the start of each General Assembly biennium.
• Section 1 also updates wording describing the task force's membership from 'comprised' to 'composed' of General Assembly members or staff, State Board of Education representatives, the Governor's office, and local school system representatives.
• Section 1 adds a new reporting requirement: the task force must submit a report to the Governor by December 1 of the first year of each biennium.
• The required report must cover teacher certification and experience data as it relates to teacher costs, correlations among certification, education, experience, and salary, and recommended changes to the funding formula or teacher salary code sections (O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-874 through 20-2-930).
• Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2027.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-03-31House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-27House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-25House Hopper (House)

• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)Primary sponsor
• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)
• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)

• school funding
• education policy
• teacher pay
• Quality Basic Education Act