HB 48: Quality Basic Education Act; Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program; establish

Georgia's school funding law, the Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 6), currently does not have a specific funding category for international or refugee students. This bill would add one. It defines an 'international student' as a school-age child born outside the United States who now lives in Georgia, is enrolled in a Georgia public school, and enrolled there for the first time within the past 36 months, including unaccompanied, asylum-seeking, and refugee children. The bill directs the State Board of Education to create the RISE program, subject to the General Assembly actually providing funding, to offer wraparound services such as education, housing, medical care, counseling, nutrition, and transportation to these students. It also adds RISE as a new funded program in the state's per-student funding formula, with a weight of 1.2000 and a teacher-student ratio of 1 to 7. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025, and apply starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

• Adds a new Code section (20-2-156.1) defining 'international student' for purposes of Georgia's school funding law.
• Directs the State Board of Education to create the RISE program, subject to funding approval by the General Assembly, to provide wraparound services like housing, medical care, counseling, nutrition, and transportation.
• Lets the State Board of Education set its own rules for who qualifies for the RISE program and how it operates.
• Adds RISE as a new line item in the Quality Basic Education funding formula with a 1.2000 funding weight and a 1-to-7 teacher-student ratio.
• Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2025, applying starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

Refugee, asylum-seeking, unaccompanied, and other recently arrived international students enrolled in Georgia public schools; the State Board of Education, which must design and run the new program; and local school districts, which would receive state funding tied to the new program weight.

If funded by the General Assembly, schools could receive additional state dollars for recently enrolled international and refugee students, and those students could get access to services like housing, medical care, and counseling that support staying in school, though the program only takes effect if lawmakers actually appropriate money for it.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-2-156.1, defining 'international student' as a school-age child born abroad who now lives in Georgia, is currently enrolled in a Georgia public school, and first enrolled within the past 36 months.
• Section 1 specifies the definition includes but is not limited to unaccompanied, asylum-seeking, and refugee children under federal immigration law.
• Section 1 creates the RISE program 'subject to appropriation by the General Assembly,' meaning it only operates if lawmakers provide funding, and tasks the State Board of Education with setting eligibility rules.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-161(b) to add the RISE program to the funding formula with a 1.2000 weight and a 1-to-7 teacher-student ratio, alongside existing programs like ESOL (2.6313 weight, 1-to-7 ratio).
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, applying beginning with the 2026-2027 school year and each year after.
• Section 4 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2025-01-16House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-01-15House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-14House Hopper (House)

• Viola Davis (D, HD-087)Primary sponsor
• Sandra Scott (D, HD-076)
• Kim Schofield (D, HD-063)

• education funding
• refugee students
• international students
• school funding formula
• Quality Basic Education Act