--- title: SB 152. "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act"; the biological or adopted children of individuals who are foster parents and who meet certain conditions shall qualify for promise scholarship accounts; provide collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb152 cite_as: SB 152, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb152 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb152.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb152/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70245 date: 2025-04-04 status: engrossed corpus_version: bills-2026-08-28 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/sb151.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb153.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 866 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb152.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 152 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-02-28 last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted sponsors: - Greg Dolezal - John Kennedy - Steve Gooch - Randy Robertson - Matt Brass - John Albers - Ben Watson - Kay Kirkpatrick - Bill Cowsert - Jason Anavitarte - Marty Harbin - Shawn Still - Ed Setzler - Clint Dixon - Brandon Beach - Rick Townsend text_version: Comm Sub has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB152/2025 upstream_id: 1968091 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Promise Scholarship - foster care - education savings accounts - school choice - student eligibility --- # SB 152. "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act"; the biological or adopted children of individuals who are foster parents and who meet certain conditions shall qualify for promise scholarship accounts; provide ## Text 25 LC 49 2402S The House Committee on Education offers the following substitute to SB 152: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Chapter 2B of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 promise scholarship accounts, so as to provide that the biologi cal or adopted children of2 individuals who are foster parents and who meet certain conditions shall qualify for promise3 scholarship accounts; to provide for such conditions; to provide for definitions; to provide4 for the education savings authority to make limited disclosures to the Department of Revenue5 for purposes of verifying income as compared to income threshol ds; to clarify and revise6 student qualifications for promise scholarship accounts; to pro vide for related matters; to7 provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 SECTION 1.10 Chapter 2B of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotate d, relating to promise11 scholarship accounts, is amended in Code Section 20-2B-5, relat ing to powers of the12 education savings authority, by revising subsection (b) and by adding two new subsections13 to read as follows:14 S. B. 152 (SUB) - 1 - 25 LC 49 2402S "(b) Pursuant Except as provided in subsection (d) of this Code section, pursuant to Code15 Section 50-18-70, the education savings authority shall not dis close and shall keep16 confidential, in each case unless identifying information has been redacted:17 (1) Records that include information identifying a student or former student by name,18 address except for ZIP Code, telephone number, or emergency contact; and19 (2) Records that reveal an individual's social security number, mother's birth name, credit20 card information, debit card information, bank account informat ion, account number,21 utility account number, password used to access his or her acco unt, financial data or22 information, insurance or medical information in all records, unlisted telephone number23 if so designated in a public record, personal email address or cellular telephone number,24 or month and day of birth."25 "(d) As necessary to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the education savings authority26 or its duly authorized agents may submit to the state revenue commissioner the names of27 applicants for promise scholarship accounts or account funds or other benefits or payments28 provided under this chapter, as well as the relevant income threshold specified therein. If29 the education savings authority elects to contract with the state revenue commissioner for30 such purposes, the state revenue commissioner and his or her ag ents or employees shall31 notify the education savings authority whether each submitted applicant's income exceeds32 the relevant income threshold provided. The education savings authority shall pay the state33 revenue commissioner for all costs incurred by the Department of Revenue pursuant to this34 subsection. No information shall be provided by the Department of Revenue to the35 education savings authority without an executed cooperative agreement between the two36 entities. Any tax information secured from the federal government by the Department of37 Revenue pursuant to express provisions of Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code may38 not be disclosed by the Department of Revenue pursuant to this subsection. Any person39 receiving any tax information under the authority of this subse ction is subject to the40 S. B. 152 (SUB) - 2 - 25 LC 49 2402S provisions of Code Section 48-7-60 and to all penalties provide d under Code41 Section 48-7-61 for unlawful divulging of confidential tax information.42 (e) As necessary to enforce the provisions of the chapter, the education savings authority43 or its duly authorized agents may submit to the Department of Human Services the names44 of foster parents provided by applicants seeking promise scholarships accounts pursuant45 to Code Section 20-2B-22.1. The Department of Human Services s hall, upon receipt of46 such names, provide verification to the education savings authority or its duly authorized47 agents as to whether such individuals are fos ter parents as such term is defined in Code48 Section 20-2B-22.1."49 SECTION 2.50 Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2B-22, relating to participating student51 qualifications, continued eligibility of participating students to receive funds subject to52 conditions, requirements for parents of participating students, and forfeiture of account funds,53 by revising paragraph (3) and subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subsection (a) as follows:54 "(3) The student resides in the attendance zone of Based on his or her primary residence,55 the student is currently enrolled in, or will be eligible to be enrolled for the following56 school year in, a public school that is included on the list of public schools provided for57 in Code Section 20-2B-29 or a qualified kindergarten program of such school;"58 "(B) In the event that the amount of funds appropriated for the program exceeds the59 amount of funds necessary to include all students who meet the family income60 requirement provided for in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph and the student:61 (i) Is already a participating student; or and62 (ii) Timely submitted an application for an account to the education savings authority63 by either of the two quarterly application deadlines immediately preceding July 1 as64 provided for in paragraph (9) of this subsection,65 S. B. 152 (SUB) - 3 - 25 LC 49 2402S the student's family income exceeds 400 percent of the federal poverty level as defined66 annually by the federal Office of Management and Budget; provided, however, that from67 among students provided for in this subparagraph, students who previously participated68 in the program shall be prioritized;"69 SECTION 3.70 Said chapter is further amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:71 "20-2B-22.1.72 (a) As used in this Code section, the term:73 (1) 'Biological or adopted child' means a child who is the bio logical issue of an74 individual or who has been adopted by an individual pursuant to a decree of adoption by75 a court of this state or by a court of any other jurisdiction.76 (2) 'Foster parent' means an individual who maintains an approved and open foster care77 home which is utilized by a child-placing agency pursuant to Ch apter 5 of Title 49 or78 approved and directly supervised by the Department of Human Services.79 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of Code Section 20-2B-22 to the contrary, each student80 who has reached the age of four years but has not reached the age of 20 years, who is the81 biological or adopted child of an individual who is a foster pa rent, and who meets the82 requirements of paragraphs (1), (4), (6), (7), (8), and (9) of subsection (a) of Code Section83 20-2B-22 shall qualify for a promise scholarship account under this article."84 SECTION 4.85 This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2025.86 SECTION 5.87 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.88 S. B. 152 (SUB) - 4 - ## 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. Senate Bill 152 would let the biological or adopted children of foster parents qualify for Georgia's Promise Scholarship education savings accounts without meeting the program's usual school-residency rules, and would let the state share limited applicant data to verify eligibility. ### Plain-language summary Georgia's Promise Scholarship Act (O.C.G.A. Chapter 2B of Title 20) lets eligible students use state funds for private school or other education expenses through an education savings account. This bill adds a new path to qualify: a child between ages 4 and 20 who is the biological or adopted child of a foster parent would qualify for an account as long as they meet several of the program's other existing requirements, even if they don't meet the usual school-attendance condition tied to where they live. The bill also lets the education savings authority share applicant names with the Department of Revenue to check family income against the program's income limits, and with the Department of Human Services to confirm someone is actually a foster parent. It also rewrites the rule about which school a student must attend or plan to attend, tying it to primary residence rather than a fixed attendance zone, and makes small wording changes to how the program prioritizes students when funding runs short. The changes would take effect July 1, 2025. ### What it does - Creates a new qualification path (O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-22.1) letting the biological or adopted children of foster parents get a promise scholarship account if they meet most, but not all, of the program's usual requirements. - Defines 'foster parent' and 'biological or adopted child' for purposes of this new qualification path. - Allows the education savings authority to send applicant names to the Department of Revenue to verify family income against the program's income thresholds, under a cooperative agreement. - Allows the education savings authority to send foster parents' names to the Department of Human Services to confirm foster parent status. - Rewrites the school-enrollment qualification so it is based on a student's primary residence and current or upcoming enrollment, rather than residing in a fixed school attendance zone. - Revises the rule on prioritizing already-participating students when program funding is limited relative to demand. ### Who it affects Foster parents and their biological or adopted children who want to apply for promise scholarship accounts, the state's education savings authority, the Department of Revenue, the Department of Human Services, and families already applying for or participating in the Promise Scholarship program. ### Why it matters Children of foster parents who don't otherwise meet the program's school-residency rules could still get access to state-funded education savings accounts. Families' income and foster status would be checked by two state agencies, adding a verification step tied to eligibility for these accounts. ### Key provisions - Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-5 to let the education savings authority share applicant names with the Department of Revenue to verify income against the program's income limits, under a cooperative agreement, with tax-confidentiality penalties still applying. - Section 1 also allows the authority to share foster parents' names with the Department of Human Services, which must confirm whether they qualify as foster parents. - Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-22 to base school-enrollment eligibility on a student's primary residence rather than a fixed attendance zone. - Section 2 also revises the prioritization rule for students whose family income exceeds 400 percent of the federal poverty level when program funds are limited. - Section 3 creates new O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-22.1, defining 'foster parent' and 'biological or adopted child' and creating the new scholarship qualification path for those children, ages 4 to 20. - Section 4 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025. ## Status - Status: Engrossed (2025-02-28) - Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2025-04-04) - Sponsors: Greg Dolezal, John Kennedy, Steve Gooch, Randy Robertson, Matt Brass, John Albers, Ben Watson, Kay Kirkpatrick, Bill Cowsert, Jason Anavitarte, Marty Harbin, Shawn Still, Ed Setzler, Clint Dixon, Brandon Beach, Rick Townsend - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70245 > The history, votes, and amendments (866 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb152.md?full=1