Georgia CommonsHB 18: Dual Enrollment Act; residency requirement for eligible students; provide
Last action January 15, 2025 · House Second Readers
House Bill 18 would require students taking part in Georgia's Dual Enrollment program to be legal residents of the state and to remain Georgia residents for as long as they participate.
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
Georgia's Dual Enrollment Act lets qualifying high school students take college courses, sometimes with the state paying tuition costs, while also earning high school credit. Currently the law defines an 'eligible high school student' mainly by grade level and coursework, without a stated residency rule. This bill amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3 to add a new condition: a student must meet residency requirements to be classified as a legal resident of Georgia, based on rules set by the postsecondary commission, and must remain a Georgia resident for the whole time they are in the program. The existing grade-level and course requirements in paragraph (9) stay in place alongside this new residency condition. The change would take effect July 1, 2025, and would apply to school years starting on or after that date.
What the bill does
- Adds a residency requirement to the definition of 'eligible high school student' under the Dual Enrollment Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3).
- Requires students to meet Georgia legal residency rules set by the postsecondary education commission in order to qualify for dual enrollment.
- Requires participating students to remain Georgia residents for the entire time they take part in the program.
- Keeps the existing grade-level and coursework eligibility rules (11th/12th grade, or 10th grade under specific conditions) unchanged.
- Sets the change to take effect July 1, 2025, applying to school years beginning on or after that date.
Who it affects
High school students who want to take part in Georgia's Dual Enrollment program, their families, high schools, and the technical colleges and universities that offer dual credit courses funded through the program.
Why it matters
Students who are not Georgia residents, or who move out of state while enrolled, would lose eligibility for dual enrollment funding and coursework under this program. Schools and colleges administering the program would need to verify and track students' residency status going forward.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises paragraph (9) of subsection (b) in O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3, adding language requiring students to meet residency requirements for Georgia legal residency as set by commission regulations.
- Section 1 also requires that a student remain a Georgia resident throughout their participation in the dual enrollment program.
- Section 1 preserves the existing subparagraphs (A) and (B) defining which grade levels and course types qualify a student.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying to school years starting on or after that date.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
From the bill
“'Eligible high school student' means a student who meets residency requirements to be classified as a legal resident of Georgia as established pursuant to regulations of the commission, who remains a resident of the state while participating in the program”
Status timeline
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- House Hopper (House)
Sponsors
- Steven Sainz (R, HD-180)
- Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
- Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)
- Rick Jasperse (R, HD-011)
- Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)
Topics
- dual enrollment
- education funding
- residency requirements
- high school students
- college courses