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House · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 385: Education; allow academically successful students who are concurrently seeking certain degrees to use the full number of hours of HOPE scholarship eligibility; provisions

Last action February 25, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia House bill would let high-achieving students who earn a HOPE scholarship keep receiving it past a bachelor's degree if they are also pursuing a first professional degree or move quickly into graduate school, starting with the 2027-2028 academic year.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

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 Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Under current Georgia law, a student's HOPE scholarship (the state's merit-based tuition assistance program) generally ends once the student earns a bachelor's or first professional degree. This bill changes that cutoff for two groups of academically successful students: those who are working on a bachelor's degree and a first professional degree (like law or medicine) at the same time, and those who start a graduate program within 18 months of finishing their bachelor's degree. Both groups could keep using their full remaining HOPE scholarship hours as long as they continue to meet HOPE's academic achievement standards. The bill also adds a limit for students who took advantage of Georgia's dual enrollment program (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161.3), which lets high schoolers take college courses paid for with state funds. For those students, the number of scholarship hours available for a first professional degree would be reduced by the number of dual enrollment course hours the state already paid for. The changes would take effect July 1, 2026, and apply starting with the 2027-2028 academic year.

What the bill does

  • Removes the automatic cutoff of HOPE scholarship eligibility for students earning a bachelor's degree and a first professional degree at the same time, as long as they keep meeting HOPE's academic standards.
  • Extends HOPE scholarship eligibility to students who start a graduate program within 18 months of earning their bachelor's degree, provided they keep meeting HOPE's academic standards.
  • Reduces the HOPE scholarship hours available for a first professional degree by the number of course hours a student already used through the state-funded dual enrollment program.
  • Sets the changes to take effect July 1, 2026, applying beginning with the 2027-2028 academic year.

Who it affects

Georgia college students receiving the HOPE scholarship, particularly high-achieving students pursuing combined bachelor's and first professional degrees (such as pre-law or pre-med tracks) or moving quickly into graduate school, as well as former dual enrollment participants and the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which administers the program.

Why it matters

Students who currently lose HOPE funding once they finish a bachelor's degree, even if immediately continuing into a professional or graduate program, could keep receiving scholarship money for those additional years of study, easing the financial burden of advanced degrees for academically strong students.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-3-519.2(d) to add an exception allowing continued HOPE eligibility for students concurrently pursuing a bachelor's degree and a first professional degree who keep meeting achievement standards.
  • Section 1 also extends eligibility to students who begin a graduate program within 18 months of earning their bachelor's degree, as long as they continue meeting the achievement standards.
  • Section 1 reduces the number of first professional degree HOPE hours available by the number of hours a student already received through state-funded dual enrollment courses.
  • Section 2 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying starting with the 2027-2028 academic year.
  • Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

From the bill

“Who continuously meets the achievement standards provided for in this Code section while concurrently seeking both a baccalaureate degree and a first professional degree”

Defines one group of students who would keep HOPE eligibility past a bachelor's degree.

“the number of hours for which a student is eligible to receive the HOPE scholarship for a first professional degree under division (i) of this subparagraph shall be reduced by the number of hours for which such student received credit for completing one or more postsecondary courses while participating in the dual enrollment program”

Explains how prior dual enrollment credit reduces available HOPE hours for a professional degree.

Discussed in meetings (6)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. House Higher Education Committee, February 11, 2026

    From 0:27:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 385 would let students apply unused HOPE eligibility toward graduate or professional school, with students paying the difference between undergraduate and graduate or professional tuition rates. The sponsor argued that this would encourage talented students to continue their education in Georgia and remain in the state. The sponsor cited estimated costs of about $5.8 million at 5% participation and about $28 million at 25% participation. The sponsor said a previous version passed both chambers in 2024 but was vetoed after other provisions were added, and expressed a desire to keep this proposal separate. The chair suggested the change could put remaining HOPE hours to more productive use than additional undergraduate study. The committee approved a recommendation to pass by voice vote, with no opposition heard, and sent the bill to the Rules Committee.

  2. House Rules Committee, February 17, 2026

    From 0:56:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said the bill would let students apply unused HOPE scholarship credits toward professional or graduate school, while paying the difference between undergraduate and graduate or professional tuition rates. The sponsor said an earlier version passed the House but was vetoed after the Senate added tuition assistance and foster care provisions; this version contained only the original proposal. No questions or decision followed.

  3. House Rules Committee, February 23, 2026

    From 1:31:31 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 1119

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed HB 385 on the next day's House calendar without opposition. There was no substantive discussion.

  4. House floor session, February 24, 2026 (legislative day 23)

    From 4:46:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 1169

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said HB 385 would allow students with unused HOPE scholarship eligibility to apply it toward graduate or professional study rather than only additional undergraduate study. Students would pay the difference between undergraduate and graduate or professional tuition rates. The sponsor argued this would improve affordability and encourage talented students to study and build careers in Georgia. The sponsor said an earlier version had been vetoed after the Senate added other provisions and because financial information was insufficient, but this version omitted those additions and included cost estimates. The sponsor cited estimated costs of $5.7 million at 5% participation and about $29 million at 25% participation. Two members asked supportive questions about retaining students and expanding opportunities. Another supporting speaker emphasized educational access and developing Georgia's future workforce and public servants. The House adopted the committee substitute without objection and passed the bill 160 to 2.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-02-25Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  2. 2026-02-24House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
  3. 2026-02-24House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2026-02-12House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  5. 2025-04-04House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House)
  6. 2025-02-27House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  7. 2025-02-13House Second Readers (House)
  8. 2025-02-12House First Readers (House)
Show full history (9 actions)
  1. 2025-02-11House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Scott Holcomb (D, HD-101)Primary sponsor
  • Carter Barrett (R, HD-24)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 24, 2026

    160 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 12 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #549

Topics

  • HOPE scholarship
  • college financial aid
  • higher education
  • dual enrollment
  • graduate school funding

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HB385: Education; allow academically successful students who are concurrently seeking certain degrees to use the full number of hours of HOPE scholarship eligibility; provisions | Georgia Commons