---
title: HB 59. Education; state funding for one school counselor for every 250 full-time equivalent students; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb59
cite_as: HB 59, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb59
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb59.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb59/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69371
date: 2025-01-17
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.
up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md
previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb58.md
next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb60.md
index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md
omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb59.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 59
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-01-15
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Lydia Glaize
- Stacey Evans
- Carl Gilliard
- Miriam Paris
- Robert Dawson
- Karen Lupton
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB59/2025
upstream_id: 1922196
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school counselors
- education funding
- K-12 schools
- student mental health support
---
# HB 59. Education; state funding for one school counselor for every 250 full-time equivalent students; provide
## Text
House Bill 59
By: Representatives Glaize of the 67th, Evans of the 57th, Gilliard of the 162nd, Paris of the
142nd, and Dawson of the 65th
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Code Section 20-2-182 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
program weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits, maximum class size,
reporting requirements, and application to specific school years, so as to provide for state
funding for one school counselor for every 250 full-time equivalent students; to provide for
related matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Code Section 20-2-182 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to program
weights to reflect funds for payment of salaries and benefits, maximum class size, reporting
requirements, and application to specific school years, is amended by revising subsection (c)
as follows:
"(c) The program weights for the kindergarten, kindergarten early intervention, primary,
primary grades early intervention, upper elementary, upper elementary grades early
intervention, middle school, and alternative education programs and the program weights
for the high school programs authorized pursuant to paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of
Code Section 20-2-151, when multiplied by the base amount, shall reflect sufficient funds
to pay the beginning salaries for at least one school counselor for every 450 250 full-time
equivalent students. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2015 and thereafter, the program weights
for the English for speakers of other languages program and the programs for persons with
disabilities shall also earn school counselor funding. Further, beginning in Fiscal Year
2016 and thereafter, the program weights for the program for intellectually gifted students
and the remedial education program shall also earn school counselor funding. The duties
and responsibilities for such school counselors shall be established by the state board to
require a minimum of five of the six full-time equivalent program count segments of the
counselor's time to be spent counseling or advising students or parents."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
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.
House Bill 59 would require Georgia's school funding formula to pay for one school counselor for every 250 students, replacing the current ratio of one counselor for every 450 students.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's school funding law (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-182) currently sets aside state money in the school funding formula to pay for one school counselor for every 450 full-time equivalent students. House Bill 59 would lower that ratio so the state funds one counselor for every 250 students instead, nearly doubling the counselor staffing level the formula supports.
The bill only changes the student-to-counselor ratio used to calculate program weights, the multipliers applied to the base per-student funding amount for programs like kindergarten, elementary grades, middle school, and alternative education. It leaves in place existing rules requiring counselors to spend most of their time directly counseling or advising students and parents. The change would take effect immediately once the Governor signs it or it becomes law without a signature.
### What it does
- Lowers the state's funded school counselor ratio from one counselor per 450 full-time equivalent students to one counselor per 250 students.
- Applies the new ratio to the program weights covering kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and alternative education programs, among others.
- Leaves unchanged the existing rule that counselors must spend at least five of six program count segments counseling or advising students or parents.
- Takes effect as soon as the Governor signs the bill or it becomes law without a signature.
### Who it affects
Georgia's K-12 public school students and parents, school counselors, local school districts that plan counselor staffing and budgets, and the state Department of Education and General Assembly, which set the per-student funding formula each budget cycle.
### Why it matters
A lower funded ratio means the state formula would support hiring roughly twice as many counselors per student than current law, which could mean more counseling staff available for students in schools that rely on the state formula to set staffing, though districts still control actual hiring decisions.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 revises subsection (c) of O.C.G.A. § 20-2-182 to change the counselor funding ratio from one per 450 students to one per 250 students.
- Section 1 keeps the requirement that program weights for English language learner programs, disability programs, gifted programs, and remedial education also earn school counselor funding.
- Section 1 keeps the state board's authority to require counselors to spend at least five of six time segments directly counseling or advising students or parents.
- Section 2 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.
- Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-01-15)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2025-01-17)
- Sponsors: Lydia Glaize, Stacey Evans, Carl Gilliard, Miriam Paris, Robert Dawson, Karen Lupton
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/69371
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb59.md?full=1