Georgia CommonsSB 150: Retirement; permit public school systems to employ certain beneficiaries of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia as classroom teachers; extend the program
Last action May 5, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
A Georgia Senate bill would let public school systems keep rehiring retired teachers with 30 years of service as classroom teachers through 2030, widening the subject areas that qualify and protecting them from being let go if staffing needs change.
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 Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Since 2022, Georgia law has let public school systems bring back certain retired teachers from the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia to teach in classroom subjects with the biggest teacher shortages, called 'areas of highest need.' That program was set to expire in mid-2026. This bill extends it through June 30, 2030. The bill also changes how areas of highest need are calculated: instead of being tied to a Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA), they are now determined for each individual public school system. It adds a second path for eligible retirees to be rehired if they teach math, special education, science, career and technical education (CTAE), or reading, writing, or English language arts, with reading/writing/ELA teachers needing a dyslexia or reading endorsement. It also bars firing, forcing resignation, or not renewing a rehired retiree just because the school system's list of high-need areas later changes, and pushes the required state performance audit from 2025 to 2029. The changes only take effect July 1, 2026 if state retirement funding rules are satisfied; otherwise the law repeals itself that date.
What the bill does
- Extends the program allowing public school systems to rehire retired teachers with 30 years of service as classroom teachers from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2030.
- Changes how 'areas of highest need' are calculated, basing them on each individual public school system instead of a Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA).
- Adds a new eligibility path letting rehired retirees teach math, special education, science, CTAE, or reading/writing/English language arts (the latter requiring a dyslexia or reading endorsement).
- Prohibits firing, forcing resignation of, or declining to renew a rehired retiree solely because a school system's areas of highest need later change.
- Moves the deadline for the state auditor's required performance audit of the program from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2029.
- Makes the whole Act's effective date, July 1, 2026, contingent on the program being funded under Georgia's Public Retirement Systems Standards Law, with automatic repeal if it is not.
Who it affects
Retired teachers with 30 years of creditable service who want to return to the classroom, public school systems statewide that hire them, the Department of Education and Professional Standards Commission, which determine high-need subject areas, and the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, which receives employer contributions for these hires.
Why it matters
Retired teachers could keep working in classrooms, including in more subject areas like math and special education, for four more years, while gaining job protection if their school's shortage areas shift. Whether the extension actually takes effect depends on a separate state funding certification.
Key provisions
- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 47-3-127.1 to extend the beneficiary rehiring program from June 30, 2026 to June 30, 2030.
- Adds paragraph (a)(2) creating a new eligibility category for retirees teaching math, special education, science, CTAE, or reading/writing/ELA, with an endorsement requirement for the latter.
- Redefines 'area of highest need' in subsection (d) to be based on each public school system rather than a RESA, using a five-year survey average reviewed by the Department of Education.
- Adds subsection (e) barring termination, resignation, or nonrenewal of a rehired beneficiary due to later changes in a school system's areas of highest need.
- Moves the required state auditor performance audit deadline from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2029.
- Section 2 conditions the Act's July 1, 2026 effective date on funding certification under the Public Retirement Systems Standards Law (O.C.G.A. Ch. 47-20), with automatic repeal otherwise.
From the bill
“No change in a public school system's areas of highest need shall require the termination, resignation, or nonrenewal of any beneficiary previously hired under subsection (a) of this Code section.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 399
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
Show full history (16 actions)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- John Kennedy (R, SD-018)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 9, 2026
48 yea, 1 nay (0 not voting, 5 absent)
- House voteMarch 27, 2026
159 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 10 absent)
- Senate voteMarch 31, 2026
49 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)
Topics
- teacher retirement
- public school staffing
- teacher shortages
- education policy
- retirement benefits