--- title: HB 38. Education; needs based financial aid program; revise definition of eligible student collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb38 cite_as: HB 38, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69334 date: 2025-05-12 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/hb37.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb39.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 944 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 38 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-12 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-12 sponsors: - Charles Martin - Matt Reeves - Jan Jones - Scott Hilton - Deborah Silcox - Max Burns text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB38/2025 upstream_id: 1919254 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - financial aid - college affordability - education funding - Georgia colleges --- # HB 38. Education; needs based financial aid program; revise definition of eligible student ## Text 25 LC 61 0053/AP House Bill 38 (AS PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE) By: Representatives Martin of the 49th, Reeves of the 99th, Jones of the 47th, Hilton of the 48th, and Silcox of the 53rd A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Subpart 2A of Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of the Official Code of1 Georgia Annotated, relating to the needs based financial aid pr ogram, so as to revise the2 definition of "eligible student"; to extend an automatic repeal er; to provide for related3 matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:5 SECTION 1.6 Subpart 2A of Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 20 of t he Official Code of Georgia7 Annotated, relating to the needs based financial aid program, i s amended by revising8 paragraph (1) of Code Section 20-3-360, relating to definitions, as follows:9 "(1) 'Eligible student' means a person:10 (A) Whose family income is considered economically disadvantaged, based on criteria11 established by the commission, or who has a financial aid gap;12 (B) Who meets any academic or other standards established by the commission;13 (C) Who is eligible for a scholarship or grant pursuant to Code Section 20-3-519.1;14 (D) Who has completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); and15 (E) Who has completed:16 H. B. 38 - 1 - 25 LC 61 0053/AP (i) Seventy 80 percent of the credit requirements toward the credential of his or her17 program of study, if such program is a four-year program; or18 (ii) Forty-five percent of the credit requirements toward the credential of his or her19 program of study, if such program is a two-year program."20 SECTION 2.21 Said subpart is further amended by revising Code Section 20-3-366, relating to repealer, as22 follows:23 "20-3-366.24 This subpart shall stand repealed by operation of law on June 30, 2025 2029."25 SECTION 3.26 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law27 without such approval.28 SECTION 4.29 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.30 H. B. 38 - 2 - ## 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. A Georgia House bill raises the share of coursework a student must complete to qualify for the state's needs based financial aid program and pushes back the program's expiration date to 2029. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's needs based financial aid program (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-360) helps economically disadvantaged college students who have a financial aid gap. To qualify, a student must meet several conditions, including having completed a certain share of the credits required for their credential. This bill raises that threshold for students in four-year programs from 70 percent to 80 percent of required credits before they can be considered an eligible student; the 45 percent threshold for two-year program students stays the same. The bill also extends the program's automatic repeal date, which was set for June 30, 2025, to June 30, 2029, keeping the program in place for several more years. The changes take effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without his signature. ### What it does - Raises the share of program credits a four-year program student must have completed to qualify for needs based aid, from 70 percent to 80 percent. - Leaves the 45 percent completed-credit threshold unchanged for students in two-year programs. - Extends the automatic repeal date of the needs based financial aid program (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-366) from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2029. - Keeps in place the other existing eligibility requirements, such as economic disadvantage, FAFSA completion, and academic standards set by the commission. ### Who it affects College students in Georgia who rely on the state's needs based financial aid program, particularly those in four-year degree programs who are closer to completing their credentials, as well as the state commission that administers the program and sets its eligibility standards. ### Why it matters Students in four-year programs would need to complete more of their coursework, 80 percent instead of 70 percent, before they can draw on this aid, which could shift when in their studies this help becomes available. Extending the repeal date to 2029 keeps the program operating for several more years instead of ending in 2025. ### Key provisions - Section 1 revises paragraph (1) of O.C.G.A. § 20-3-360, changing the four-year program credit-completion threshold for 'eligible student' from 70 percent to 80 percent. - Section 1 leaves the two-year program threshold at 45 percent of required credits. - Section 2 revises 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 of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without his signature. - Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-12) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-12 (2025-05-12) - Sponsors: Charles Martin, Matt Reeves, Jan Jones, Scott Hilton, Deborah Silcox, Max Burns - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69334 > The history, votes, and amendments (944 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb38.md?full=1