--- title: SB 154. United States Department of Education; references from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; revise or remove collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb154 cite_as: SB 154, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb154 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb154.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb154/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70246 date: 2025-05-14 status: passed 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/sb153.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb155.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 1461 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb154.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 154 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2025-05-14 last_action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 sponsors: - Bo Hatchett - Steve Gooch - John Kennedy - Randy Robertson - Jason Anavitarte - John Albers - Matt Brass - Ben Watson - Billy Hickman - Timothy Bearden - Greg Dolezal - Ricky Williams - Kay Kirkpatrick - Marty Harbin - Max Burns - Brandon Beach - Larry Walker - Bill Cowsert - Drew Echols - Frank Ginn - Chuck Hufstetler - Shawn Still - Lee Anderson - Russ Goodman - Sam Watson - Carden Summers - Chuck Payne - Mike Hodges - Blake Tillery - Brian Strickland - Ed Setzler - Clint Dixon - Matt Dubnik text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB154/2025 upstream_id: 1968085 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - education law - professional licensing - student financial aid - peace officer training - federal-state law references --- # SB 154. United States Department of Education; references from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; revise or remove ## Text 25 LC 49 2346S Senate Bill 154 By: Senators Hatchett of the 50th, Gooch of the 51st, Kennedy of the 18th, Robertson of the 29th, Anavitarte of the 31st and others AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Titles 20, 35, and 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to1 education, law enforcement officers and agencies, and professio ns and businesses,2 respectively, so as to revise or remove references to the Unite d States Department of3 Education from the Official Code of Georgia Annotated; to replace a reference to student aid4 reports with FAFSA submission summary; to provide for related matters; to provide for an5 effective date and contingent effectiveness; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 Titles 20, 35, and 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, law9 enforcement officers and agencies, and professions and business es, respectively, are10 amended by inserting ", or its successor," after "United States Department of Education" or11 "U.S. Department of Education" wherever the latter terms appear in:12 (1) Code Section 20-2-148, relating to elective course in history and literature of the Old13 and New Testaments and religious neutrality;14 (2) Code Section 20-2-286, relating to innovative assessment p ilot program, procedure,15 and reporting;16 S. B. 154 - 1 - 25 LC 49 2346S (3) Paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-3-250.5, relating to administration17 and general powers and duties;18 (4) Code section 35-8-8, relating to requirements for appointm ent or certification of19 persons as peace officers and preemployment attendance at basic training course and20 "employment related information" defined;21 (5) Code Section 43-10A-3, relating to definitions relative to licensing provisions for22 professional counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists;23 (6) Code Section 43-11-71, relating to qualifications of applicants for license and criminal24 background check relative to dental hygienists;25 (7) Code Section 43-24A-3, relating to definitions relative to massage therapy practice;26 (8) Code Section 43-30-1, relating to definitions relative to optometrists;27 (9) Code Section 43-39-22, relating to the terms of the "Psych ology Interjurisdictional28 Compact (Psypact)"; and29 (10) Code Section 43-44-31, relating to the text of compact relative to the "Audiology and30 Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact Act."31 SECTION 2.32 Titles 20 and 43 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, rel ating to education and33 professions and businesses, respectively, are amended by insert ing "or its successor" after34 "United States Department of Education" wherever the latter appears in:35 (1) Code Section 20-2-206, relating to alternative teacher cer tification program and36 creditable service;37 (2) Code Section 20-2-664, relating to role of department of education relative to student38 data privacy, accessibility, and transparency;39 (3) Code Section 20-3-250.3, relating to educational instituti ons exempted from40 application of part;41 S. B. 154 - 2 - 25 LC 49 2346S (4) Subsection (e) of Code Section 20-3-250.5, relating to adm inistration and general42 powers and duties;43 (5) Code Section 20-3-395, relating to definitions relative to direct loans to students on44 basis of need and merit;45 (6) Code Section 20-3-400.1, relating to definitions relative to Graduate on Time student46 loans;47 (7) Code Section 20-3-405.1, relating to definitions relative to education for public service48 student loans;49 (8) Code Section 43-10A-61, relating to the enactment and text of the Social Work50 Licensure Compact;51 (9) Code Section 43-21A-3, relating to definitions relative to the "Industrial Hygiene,52 Health Physics, and Safety Profession Recognition and Title Protection Act";53 (10) Code Section 43-26-3, relating to definitions relative to the "Georgia Registered54 Professional Nurse Practice Act"; and55 (11) Code Section 43-26-32, relating to definitions relative to licensed practical nurses.56 SECTION 3.57 Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to education, is amended in58 Code Section 20-3-660, relating to tuition waiver program for qualifying foster and adopted59 individuals, by revising subsection (d) as follows:60 "(d) For each student who meets the requirements provided for i n subsection (c) of this61 Code section, such student's public postsecondary educational institution shall waive tuition62 and all fees as necessary to cover all assessed costs of attendance, as defined in 20 U.S.C.63 Section 1087ll, that are not covere d by all available federal a nd nonfederal student aid64 sources identified in the student's Student Aid Report from the United States Department65 of Education Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submission su mmary,66 S. B. 154 - 3 - 25 LC 49 2346S excepting student loans and any work-study program provided for in 42 U.S.C.67 2751-2756b."68 SECTION 4.69 This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law70 without such approval; provided, however, that Sections 1 and 2 of this Act shall only71 become effective upon an act of Congress repealing the establishment of the United States72 Department of Education or otherwise abolishing the United States Department of Education.73 SECTION 5.74 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.75 S. B. 154 - 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 154 updates dozens of Georgia laws that reference the U.S. Department of Education, adding "or its successor" language and swapping an outdated financial aid document reference, but most of the changes only kick in if Congress abolishes the federal department. ### Plain-language summary Many Georgia laws in the areas of education, law enforcement training, and professional licensing mention the United States Department of Education by name, for example in laws about teacher certification, nursing licenses, counselor licensing, and student loan programs. This bill adds the phrase "or its successor" (and in some cases ", or its successor,") after those references in about twenty different Georgia Code sections, so the laws keep working even if that federal agency is renamed or replaced. The bill also updates a foster care tuition waiver law (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-660) by replacing an outdated reference to a student's "Student Aid Report" with the newer "FAFSA submission summary," matching current federal financial aid terminology. Most of the bill takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature, but the sections adding "or its successor" language only become active if Congress actually abolishes the U.S. Department of Education. ### What it does - Inserts ", or its successor," or "or its successor" after references to the U.S. Department of Education in roughly twenty Georgia Code sections covering education, law enforcement training, and professional licensing. - Updates the foster and adopted youth tuition waiver law (O.C.G.A. § 20-3-660) to reference the FAFSA submission summary instead of the outdated Student Aid Report term. - Makes the sections adding successor-agency language (Sections 1 and 2) take effect only if Congress passes a law abolishing the U.S. Department of Education. - Makes the FAFSA terminology update (Section 3) and the repeal of conflicting laws effective immediately upon the Governor's signature. ### Who it affects The bill mainly affects state agencies and professionals whose licensing laws reference the U.S. Department of Education, including counselors, social workers, dental hygienists, massage therapists, optometrists, nurses, and industrial hygienists, as well as teachers, peace officer trainees, and foster or adopted students using the tuition waiver program. ### Why it matters If Congress ever abolishes the U.S. Department of Education, Georgia's licensing and education laws would automatically continue to function by pointing to whatever agency takes its place, avoiding gaps in professional licensing and student aid rules. The FAFSA terminology fix takes effect now regardless of that contingency. ### Key provisions - Section 1 adds ", or its successor," after U.S. Department of Education references in ten Code sections, including laws on peace officer certification and licensing for counselors, dental hygienists, and massage therapists. - Section 2 adds "or its successor" after similar references in eleven more Code sections covering teacher certification, student loan programs, and nursing and industrial hygiene licensing. - Section 3 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-3-660(d) to reference the "FAFSA submission summary" instead of the "Student Aid Report" for the foster and adopted youth tuition waiver program. - Section 4 makes the Act effective upon the Governor's signature, but limits Sections 1 and 2 to taking effect only if Congress abolishes the U.S. Department of Education. - Section 5 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2025-05-14) - Last action: Effective Date 2025-05-14 (2025-05-14) - Sponsors: Bo Hatchett, Steve Gooch, John Kennedy, Randy Robertson, Jason Anavitarte, John Albers, Matt Brass, Ben Watson, Billy Hickman, Timothy Bearden, Greg Dolezal, Ricky Williams, Kay Kirkpatrick, Marty Harbin, Max Burns, Brandon Beach, Larry Walker, Bill Cowsert, Drew Echols, Frank Ginn, Chuck Hufstetler, Shawn Still, Lee Anderson, Russ Goodman, Sam Watson, Carden Summers, Chuck Payne, Mike Hodges, Blake Tillery, Brian Strickland, Ed Setzler, Clint Dixon, Matt Dubnik - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70246 > The history, votes, and amendments (1,461 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb154.md?full=1