---
title: SB 150. Retirement; permit public school systems to employ certain beneficiaries of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia as classroom teachers; extend the program
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb150
cite_as: SB 150, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb150
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb150.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb150/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70242
date: 2026-05-05
status: passed
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: 1235
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb150.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 150
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-05-05
last_action: Effective Date 2026-07-01
sponsors:
- Billy Hickman
- Jason Anavitarte
- Steve Gooch
- John Kennedy
- Chuck Payne
- Kay Kirkpatrick
- Shawn Still
- Bethany Ballard
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB150/2025
upstream_id: 1968097
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- teacher retirement
- public school staffing
- teacher shortages
- education policy
- retirement benefits
---
# SB 150. Retirement; permit public school systems to employ certain beneficiaries of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia as classroom teachers; extend the program
## Text
Senate Bill 150
By: Senators Hickman of the 4th, Anavitarte of the 31st, Gooch of the 51st, Kennedy of the
18th, Payne of the 54th and others
AS PASSED
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to retirement allowances, disability benefits, and spouses' benefits, so as to remove
the requirement that certain subject areas be designated as an area of highest need for certain
beneficiaries of the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia to be hired to work in such
areas; to provide for the extension of provisions to 2030; to provide for areas of highest need
to be determined for a public school system rather than a RESA; to prohibit termination of
employment based on a change in a public school system's areas of highest need; to provide
for related matters; to provide conditions for an effective date and automatic repeal; to repeal
conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 of Chapter 3 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
retirement allowances, disability benefits, and spouses' benefits, is amended by revising Code
Section 47-3-127.1, relating to full-time employment of beneficiaries permitted under limited
conditions, required employer contributions, and areas of highest need, as follows:
"47-3-127.1.
(a) From July 1, 2022, until June 30, 2026 2030, notwithstanding the provisions of Code
Section 47-3-127, to the extent and under the conditions provided for in this Code section,
a public school system may employ:
(1) A a beneficiary who has obtained 30 years of creditable service in this retirement
system in a full-time capacity as a certified teacher of pre-kindergarten through grade 12
who has as his or her primary responsibility the academic instruction of students in a
classroom in an area of highest need determined for the RESA to which such public
school system is assigned, provided that at least one year has expired from the effective
date of such beneficiary's retirement and he or she was not restored to service as a teacher
pursuant to Code Section 47-3-127 during such period of time.; or
(2) A beneficiary who has obtained 30 years of creditable service in this retirement
system in a full-time capacity as a certified teacher of pre-kindergarten through grade 12
who has as his or her primary responsibility the academic instruction and support of
students in the area of mathematics, special education, science, CTAE, reading, writing,
or English language arts, provided that such beneficiary in the area of reading, writing,
or English language arts holds a current dyslexia or reading endorsement approved by the
Professional Standards Commission, provided that at least one year has expired from the
effective date of such beneficiary's retirement and he or she was not restored to service
as a teacher pursuant to Code Section 47-3-127 during such period of time.
(b)(1) An individual employed as described in subsection (a) of this Code section shall
remain a beneficiary and shall continue to receive his or her retirement allowance and any
postretirement benefit adjustments for which he or she is eligible; provided, however, that
such service shall not constitute creditable service and shall not entitle such beneficiary
to a recomputation of retirement benefits upon cessation of such service.
(2) It shall be the duty of each beneficiary to notify an employer of his or her status as
a beneficiary prior to accepting employment with such employer.
(c)(1) Within 30 days of employing a beneficiary pursuant to this Code section, such
employer shall notify the board of trustees of such beneficiary's name, the amount of his
or her earnable compensation, a description of any other forms of remuneration to be
made, the number of hours to be worked, job responsibilities, and other such information
as the board of trustees may prescribe.
(2) An employer that employs a beneficiary pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code
section shall pay to the retirement system an amount equal to the product of:
(A) The combination of the rate required by this chapter for employer contributions
and employee contributions; and
(B) The earnable compensation of such beneficiary.
(3) A beneficiary shall not receive creditable service from or access to contributions
made as a result of payments required by paragraph (2) of this subsection, and he or she
shall be considered by the retirement system solely as a beneficiary.
(4) If an employer that is obligated to make contributions or reimbursements to the
retirement system pursuant to this Code section fails to make such contributions, any
unpaid amounts shall be deducted from any funds payable to such employer by the state,
including without limitation the Department of Education and the Board of Regents of
the University System of Georgia, and shall be paid to the retirement system.
(d)(1) As used in this Code section, 'area of highest need' means one of the three content
areas for which there are the greatest percentages of unfilled positions for classroom
teachers in a RESA public school system.
(2) The areas of highest need shall be determined for each RESA public school system
annually by the Department of Education after consultation with the Professional
Standards Commission. Such determinations shall be based upon a five-year average
review of a survey reported by local school systems to the Department of Education. The
areas of highest need for each RESA public school system shall be reported to the
retirement system on an annual basis beginning July 1, 2022, and ending
July 1, 2025 2029.
(e) 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.
(e)(f) Prior to July 1, 2025 2029, the state auditor shall conduct and publish a performance
audit concerning the provisions of this Code section to include a determination of the value
and necessity of the full-time employment of beneficiaries as permitted by this Code
section, as well as the effects of such employment on the local school systems, the
Teachers Retirement System of Georgia, and the teacher workforce as a whole for this
state.
(f)(g) The provisions of this Code section shall not become part of the employment
contract and shall be subject to future legislation."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2026, only if it is determined to have been
concurrently funded as provided in Chapter 20 of Title 47 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, the "Public Retirement Systems Standards Law"; otherwise, this Act shall not
become effective and shall be automatically repealed in its entirety on July 1, 2026, as
required by subsection (a) of Code Section 47-20-50.
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 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.
### Plain-language summary
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 it 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. ยง 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.
## Status
- Status: Passed (2026-05-05)
- Last action: Effective Date 2026-07-01 (2026-05-05)
- Sponsors: Billy Hickman, Jason Anavitarte, Steve Gooch, John Kennedy, Chuck Payne, Kay Kirkpatrick, Shawn Still, Bethany Ballard
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70242
> The history, votes, and amendments (1,235 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb150.md?full=1