---
title: HB 48. Quality Basic Education Act; Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program; establish
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb48
cite_as: HB 48, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb48
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb48.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb48/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69345
date: 2025-01-16
status: introduced
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb48.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 48
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-14
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Viola Davis
- Sandra Scott
- Kim Schofield
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB48/2025
upstream_id: 1919100
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- education funding
- refugee students
- international students
- school funding formula
- Quality Basic Education Act
---
# HB 48. Quality Basic Education Act; Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program; establish
## Text
House Bill 48
By: Representatives Davis of the 87th, Scott of the 76th, and Schofield of the 63rd
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the
"Quality Basic Education Act," so as to establish the Refugee and International Students
Equalization (RISE) program to provide for funding and wraparound services for eligible
students; to provide for the definition of "international student"; to establish a program
weight and teacher-student ratio for the RISE program in the QBE funding formula; to
provide for related matters; to provide for an effective date and applicability; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, the "Quality
Basic Education Act," is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-156.1.
(a)(1) As used in this Code section, the term 'international student' means any school-age
child, regardless of his or her citizenship or immigration status, who:
(A) Was born outside of the United States;
(B) Currently resides in this state;
(C) Is currently enrolled in a public school in this state; and
(D) Within the previous 36 months, enrolled for the first time in a public school in this
state.
(2) Such term shall include, but shall not be limited to, unaccompanied alien, asylum
seeking, and refugee children, as defined under federal immigration law, who meet the
criteria set forth in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1) of this subsection.
(b) The State Board of Education shall create a program for international students, subject
to appropriation by the General Assembly. The purpose of such program is to provide
wraparound services, including education, housing, medical, counseling, nutrition, and
transportation services, directly to international students to support such students'
elementary and secondary education. The State Board of Education shall prescribe such
rules and regulations regarding eligibility criteria and standards as may be needed to carry
out the provisions of this Code section. This program may also be referred to as the
Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program."
SECTION 2.
Said article is further amended in Code Section 20-2-161, relating to the Quality Basic
Education Formula, by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) As the cost of instructional programs varies depending upon the teacher-student ratios
and specific services typically required to address the special needs of students enrolled,
state authorized instructional programs shall have the following program weights and
teacher-student ratios:
(1) Kindergarten program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.6901
weight and
1 to 15
ratio
(2) Kindergarten early intervention program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.0951
weight and
1 to 11
ratio
(3) Primary grades program (1-3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3029
weight and
1 to 17
ratio
(4) Primary grades early intervention program (1-3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8388
weight and
1 to 11
ratio
(5) Upper elementary grades program (4-5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0417
weight and
1 to 23
ratio
(6) Upper elementary grades early intervention program (4-5) . . . . . . . . . 1.8340
weight and
1 to 11
ratio
(7) Middle school program (6-8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1439
weight and
1 to 20
ratio
(8) High school general education program (9-12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0000
weight and
1 to 23
ratio
(9) Career, technical, and agricultural education
laboratory program (9-12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.1762
weight and
1 to 20
ratio
(10) Program for persons with disabilities:
Category I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4763
weight and
1 to 8
ratio
(11) Program for persons with disabilities:
Category II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.9213
weight and
1 to 6.5
ratio
(12) Program for persons with disabilities:
Category III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7151
weight and
1 to 5
ratio
(13) Program for persons with disabilities:
Category IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.0106
weight and
1 to 3
ratio
(14) Program for persons with disabilities:
Category V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5307
weight and
1 to 8
ratio
(15) Program for intellectually gifted students:
Category VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.7340
weight and
1 to 12
ratio
(16) Remedial education program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3698
weight and
1 to 15
ratio
(17) Alternative education program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5026
weight and
1 to 15
ratio
(18) English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) program . . . . . . . . . 2.6313
weight and
1 to 7
ratio
(19) Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program . . . 1.2000
weight and
1 to 7
ratio"
SECTION 3.
This Act shall become effective July 1, 2025, and shall be applicable beginning in
the 2026-2027 school year and each school year thereafter.
SECTION 4.
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.
House Bill 48 would create a new Refugee and International Students Equalization (RISE) program in Georgia's public school funding formula, adding state funding and support services for recently arrived international and refugee students.
### Plain-language summary
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.
### What it does
- 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.
### Who it affects
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.
### Why it matters
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.
### Key provisions
- 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.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-14)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-16)
- Sponsors: Viola Davis, Sandra Scott, Kim Schofield
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69345
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb48.md?full=1