---
title: SB 381. Quality Basic Education Act; grants to eligible local units of administration for students living in poverty; provide
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb381
cite_as: SB 381, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72153
date: 2026-01-13
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 95
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 381
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-12
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- RaShaun Kemp
- Jaha Howard
- Harold Jones
- Kim Jackson
- Elena Parent
- Sonya Halpern
- Nabilah Islam Parkes
- Josh McLaurin
- Sally Harrell
- Kenya Wicks
- Gail Davenport
- Randal Mangham
- Sheikh Rahman
- Ed Harbison
- Freddie Sims
- Derek Mallow
- Tonya Anderson
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB381/2025
upstream_id: 2071930
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- school funding
- education poverty programs
- Quality Basic Education Act
- homeless students
- foster care students
---
# SB 381. Quality Basic Education Act; grants to eligible local units of administration for students living in poverty; provide
## Text
Senate Bill 381
By: Senators Kemp of the 38th, Howard of the 35th, Jones II of the 22nd, Jackson of the
41st, Parent of the 44th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the "Quality Basic Education Act," so as to provide for grants to eligible local
units of administration for students living in poverty; to provide for definitions; to provide
for the calculation of grant amounts; to provide that a minimum required portion of grant
funds be used by local units of administration for direct program expenditures for the benefit
of students living in poverty; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
"Quality Basic Education Act," is amended in Part 5, relating to program weights and
funding requirements, by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-193.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Student in foster care' means a student enrolled in a public school who is placed in
a foster family home, child care institution, or another substitute care setting approved
by the Department of Human Services or Division of Family and Children Services.
(2) 'Student living in poverty' means a student enrolled in a public school who meets one
or more of the following criteria:
(A) Lives in a family unit directly certified to be receiving Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits;
(B) Lives in a family unit directly certified to be receiving Temporary Assistance for
Needy Families (TANF) benefits;
(C) Is a student in foster care; or
(D) Is a student without stable housing.
(3) 'Student without stable housing' means a student enrolled in a public school who
meets the definition of the term 'homeless children and youths' under the federal
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. Section 11301, et seq.,
in force and effect as of January 1, 2026.
(b) The State Board of Education shall provide grants to eligible local units of
administration for the purpose of supplementing services and instruction to students living
in poverty, subject to appropriations by the General Assembly. Such grants shall be
provided beyond those funds to which local units of administration otherwise are entitled
to by the provisions of this article and other statutes. The State Board of Education shall
establish the manner by which a local unit of administration shall demonstrate that it is
eligible to receive a grant under this Code section.
(c) The Department of Education shall calculate the grant amount for each eligible local
unit of administration to be used under this Code section by multiplying the total number
of students living in poverty who are enrolled in such eligible local unit of administration
as of the date of the initial enrollment count each year as set forth in Code Section 20-2-160
by an amount equal to 25 percent of the base amount calculated as set forth in Code Section
20-2-161. At least 90 percent of the grant funds received by an eligible local unit of
administration under this Code section shall be used for direct program expenditures for
the benefit of students living in poverty for which the grant is provided under this Code
section. Any portion of that 90 percent not so expended shall be returned to the State
Board of Education."
SECTION 2.
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 create state grants for public school districts based on how many students they enroll who are living in poverty, funded through the Quality Basic Education formula.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's school funding law, the Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 6), currently does not include a specific funding stream tied to student poverty. This bill adds a new section allowing the State Board of Education to give grants to local school districts (called local units of administration) to help pay for extra services and instruction for students living in poverty.
The bill defines 'student living in poverty' to include students whose families get SNAP or TANF benefits, students in foster care, and students without stable housing (using the federal definition of homeless children and youth). The Department of Education would calculate each district's grant by counting its poverty-affected students and multiplying that number by 25 percent of the base per-student funding amount used elsewhere in the school funding formula. At least 90 percent of the grant money would have to go directly to programs for those students, with unspent required funds returned to the state. The grants depend on the General Assembly actually appropriating money for them.
### What it does
- Creates a new grant program letting the State Board of Education fund districts for enrolling students living in poverty, subject to the legislature appropriating money.
- Defines which students count as 'living in poverty,' including those in families receiving SNAP or TANF benefits, students in foster care, and students without stable housing.
- Sets the grant formula as the number of poverty-affected students times 25 percent of the base per-student funding amount used in current school funding law.
- Requires districts to spend at least 90 percent of grant funds directly on programs for students living in poverty, with leftover required funds sent back to the state.
- Directs the State Board of Education to decide how districts must prove they qualify for a grant.
### Who it affects
Public school districts across Georgia (local units of administration), the State Board of Education and Department of Education, and students who are in foster care, without stable housing, or whose families receive SNAP or TANF benefits.
### Why it matters
If funded by the legislature, districts with more students living in poverty could receive extra state money earmarked for services like tutoring or support programs for those students, though the amount depends on future budget decisions rather than being guaranteed by this bill alone.
### Key provisions
- New Code Section 20-2-193(a) defines 'student in foster care,' 'student living in poverty,' and 'student without stable housing,' the last tied to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act definition as of January 1, 2026.
- Subsection (b) authorizes the State Board of Education to award grants to eligible districts for students living in poverty, contingent on state appropriations, and lets the Board set eligibility rules.
- Subsection (c) sets the grant formula: number of poverty-affected students enrolled at the annual count date multiplied by 25 percent of the base funding amount in Code Section 20-2-161.
- Subsection (c) requires at least 90 percent of grant funds go to direct program expenditures for students living in poverty, with unspent required amounts returned to the State Board of Education.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-12)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-01-13)
- Sponsors: RaShaun Kemp, Jaha Howard, Harold Jones, Kim Jackson, Elena Parent, Sonya Halpern, Nabilah Islam Parkes, Josh McLaurin, Sally Harrell, Kenya Wicks, Gail Davenport, Randal Mangham, Sheikh Rahman, Ed Harbison, Freddie Sims, Derek Mallow, Tonya Anderson
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72153
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb381.md?full=1