--- title: HB 18. Dual Enrollment Act; residency requirement for eligible students; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb18 cite_as: HB 18, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb18 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb18.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb18/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69298 date: 2025-01-15 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb17.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb19.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb18.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 18 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-01-13 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Steven Sainz - Jesse Petrea - Gary Richardson - Rick Jasperse - Joseph Gullett text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB18/2025 upstream_id: 1916758 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - dual enrollment - education funding - residency requirements - high school students - college courses --- # HB 18. Dual Enrollment Act; residency requirement for eligible students; provide ## Text House Bill 18 By: Representatives Sainz of the 180th, Petrea of the 166th, Richardson of the 125th, Jasperse of the 11th, and Gullett of the 19th A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Code Section 20-2-161.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Dual Enrollment Act, purpose, dual credit courses, eligibility for participation, and eligibility for payment, so as to provide for a residency requirement for eligible students; to provide for an effective date and for applicability; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. Code Section 20-2-161.3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the Dual Enrollment Act, purpose, dual credit courses, eligibility for participation, and eligibility for payment, is amended by revising paragraph (9) of subsection (b) as follows: "(9) '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, and who is: (A) Entering or enrolled in eleventh or twelfth grade at an eligible high school taking any eligible dual credit course at any eligible postsecondary institution; or (B) Entering or enrolled in tenth grade at an eligible high school when such student: (i) Is enrolled in an eligible CTAE course at an institution within the Technical College System of Georgia; (ii) Has obtained prior to the beginning of the term of dual enrollment coursework an SAT or ACT test score that would meet the assessment requirements of a Zell Miller Scholar pursuant to division (27)(A)(i) of Code Section 20-3-519 and is taking eligible core courses at any eligible postsecondary institution; or (iii) Was enrolled as a ninth grader in one or more dual credit courses at an eligible postsecondary institution for which payment was made under this part on or before June 30, 2020." SECTION 2. This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025, and shall apply to all school years beginning on or after July 1, 2025. SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. 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. ### Plain-language summary 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 it 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. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2025-01-13) - Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-15) - Sponsors: Steven Sainz, Jesse Petrea, Gary Richardson, Rick Jasperse, Joseph Gullett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69298 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb18.md?full=1