HB 38: Education; needs based financial aid program; revise definition of eligible student

Georgia's needs based financial aid program, created under O.C.G.A. § 20-3-360, helps economically disadvantaged college students who have a financial aid gap. To keep receiving this aid, students must meet several conditions, including completing a certain percentage of the credits required for their degree or credential. This bill changes that credit threshold. Students in four-year programs would now need to complete 70 percent of their credit requirements instead of 80 percent. The bill also adds a separate, lower threshold of 45 percent for students in two-year programs, a category that was not previously spelled out this way. Separately, the bill extends the program's automatic expiration date, which was set to repeal the program on June 30, 2025, pushing that repeal date to June 30, 2029. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Lowers the credit-completion threshold for four-year program students in the needs based financial aid program from 80 percent to 70 percent.
• Creates a separate 45 percent credit-completion threshold specifically for students in two-year programs.
• Extends the program's automatic repeal date from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2029, keeping the program legally active for four more years.
• Leaves the other eligibility requirements unchanged, including the income test, academic standards, scholarship eligibility, and the requirement to file the FAFSA.

College and technical school students in Georgia who receive or apply for needs based financial aid, particularly those in two-year programs who now have a defined, lower credit threshold, and the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which administers the program's eligibility rules.

Students close to finishing a degree but who have not hit the old 80 percent credit mark, especially those in two-year programs, could newly qualify for financial aid. Extending the repeal date to 2029 also means the aid program keeps operating for several more years instead of automatically ending in mid-2025.

• Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-3-360(1)(E) to set the credit-completion requirement at 70 percent for four-year program students, down from 80 percent.
• Section 1 adds a new 45 percent credit-completion requirement for students in two-year programs, a distinction not previously made in the statute.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-3-366 to move the program's automatic repeal date from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2029.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without signature.

1. 2025-05-12Effective Date
2. 2025-05-12Act 118
3. 2025-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-28Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-28Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2025-03-18Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2025-03-13Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Chuck Martin (R, HD-49)Primary sponsor
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-99)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-47)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-48)
• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-53)
• Max Burns (R, SD-23)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 19, 2025

   169 yea, 3 nay (5 not voting, 3 excused)

   PASSAGE: House Vote #42

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   46 yea, 5 nay (0 not voting, 5 excused)

   PASSAGE: Senate Vote #315

• financial aid
• higher education
• college affordability
• Georgia Student Finance Commission