---
title: 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
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb385
cite_as: HB 385, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb385
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb385.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb385/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70185
date: 2026-02-25
status: engrossed
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/hb384.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb386.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 613
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb385.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 385
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-24
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Scott Holcomb
- Carter Barrett
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB385/2025
upstream_id: 1965785
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- HOPE scholarship
- college financial aid
- higher education
- dual enrollment
- graduate school funding
---
# 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
## Text
House Bill 385 (COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE)
By: Representatives Holcomb of the 101st and Barrett of the 24th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 20-3-519.2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
eligibility requirements for a HOPE scholarship and award amount, so as to allow
academically successful students who are concurrently seeking a baccalaureate degree and
a first professional degree to use the full number of hours of HOPE scholarship eligibility;
to allow academically successful students who commence a graduate program at an eligible
postsecondary institution within 18 months of earning a baccalaureate degree to use the full
number of hours of HOPE scholarship eligibility; to provide for exceptions based on
previous participation in the dual enrollment program; to provide for an effective date and
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 20-3-519.2 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to eligibility
requirements for a HOPE scholarship and award amount, is amended by revising
subsection (d) as follows:
"(d) A student may receive the HOPE scholarship until the first of these events:
(1)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, the The student has
earned a baccalaureate or first professional degree.
(B)(i) Subject to division (ii) of this subparagraph, the provisions of subparagraph
(A) of this paragraph shall not apply to any student:
(I) Who continuously meets the achievement standards provided for in this Code
section while concurrently seeking both a baccalaureate degree and a first
professional degree; or
(II) Who continuously met the achievement standards provided for in this Code
section while earning a baccalaureate degree and who, within 18 months of earning
such degree, commences a graduate program at an eligible postsecondary
institution, provided that he or she continuously meets such achievement standards.
(ii) Notwithstanding any provision of Code Section 20-2-161.3 to the contrary, 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
provided for in Code Section 20-2-161.3 if the cost of such postsecondary courses
was paid for using state funds pursuant to such program;
(2) The student has attempted at any postsecondary institution a total of 190 quarter
hours or 127 semester hours; or
(3) For those students receiving a HOPE scholarship for the first time between July 1,
2011, and June 30, 2019, seven years from a student's graduation from high school or the
equivalent thereof as determined by the Georgia Student Finance Commission in its rules
and regulations; provided, however, that, for a student who serves in the military during
such seven-year period, any such active duty military service shall not count against the
seven-year period nor constitute a failure to be enrolled. For those students receiving a
HOPE scholarship for the first time on or after July 1, 2019, ten years from a student's
graduation from high school or the equivalent thereof as determined by the Georgia
Student Finance Commission in its rules and regulations; provided, however, that, for a
student who serves in the military during such ten-year period, any such active duty
military service shall not count against the ten-year period nor constitute a failure to be
enrolled. Any full-time or part-time student receiving a HOPE scholarship and enrolled
in an eligible postsecondary institution after June 30, 2019, shall remain eligible for a
HOPE scholarship pursuant to this paragraph, provided that such student meets all other
eligibility requirements, including, but not limited to, those set forth in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of this subsection. Students with a disability, as defined in the federal Americans with
Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. Section 12102, which prevents or substantially inhibits
full-time academic study, may apply to the Georgia Student Finance Commission for a
limited waiver from the applicable year limit set forth in this paragraph and request
additional time to complete the first to occur of the events set forth in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of this subsection. Such application for a limited waiver shall be considered and
determined by the Georgia Student Finance Commission in accordance with its rules and
regulations."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, and shall apply beginning with the
2027-2028 academic year.
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.
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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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.
## Status
- Status: Engrossed (2026-02-24)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-25)
- Sponsors: Scott Holcomb, Carter Barrett
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70185
> The history, votes, and amendments (613 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb385.md?full=1