Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 431: Education; enrollment of foster care students within two school days of a request for enrollment by such student's parent or legal custodian; require
Last action May 11, 2026 · Effective Date
Senate Bill 431 requires Georgia public schools to enroll foster care students within three school business days of receiving a completed enrollment form, and makes several other changes to student records law and college grants for students with intellectual disabilities.
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 the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia law already sets rules for how schools handle transferring students' records and provisional enrollment, but this bill adds specific protections for foster care students. It requires a receiving school to enroll a foster care student, either permanently or provisionally, no later than three school business days after getting a completed enrollment form from the student's parent or legal custodian. If a school cannot enroll the student because it hasn't received the student's records, the school must connect the family with a regional education officer and the Department of Education's chief privacy officer, who can require the school to follow a corrective action plan. The bill also redefines terms like 'school business day' throughout Title 20, tweaks the definition of 'education record' to match federal privacy law (FERPA), removes a five-day deadline for parents requesting copies of transferred records, and adds quarterly reporting requirements on disputes and foster care enrollment delays. Separately, it expands the Inclusive Postsecondary Education grant program so students with intellectual disabilities can use grants at qualified private colleges, not just University System or Technical College System schools, and removes a 2028 sunset date on the program. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.
What the bill does
- Requires public schools to enroll a foster care student, permanently or provisionally, within three school business days of receiving a completed enrollment form from a parent or legal custodian.
- Creates a notification and escalation process, connecting families to a regional education officer and the Department of Education's chief privacy officer when a school fails to enroll a foster care student on time.
- Authorizes the Department of Education to require a corrective action plan for schools that don't comply with the foster care enrollment deadline.
- Replaces various references to 'school day' and 'business day' with a new defined term, 'school business day,' across several sections of Georgia's education code.
- Removes the current five-school-business-day deadline for parents to request copies of their child's transferred education records.
- Expands the Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) grant program to cover eligible private postsecondary institutions and removes the program's scheduled 2028 end date.
Who it affects
Foster care students and their parents or legal custodians, public school administrators and principals, local boards of education, Regional Educational Service Agency (RESA) staff, the Department of Education's chief privacy officer, and students with intellectual disabilities who use Inclusive Postsecondary Education grants at colleges and universities.
Why it matters
Foster care students often move between schools quickly and can face enrollment delays while records are transferred. The three-day enrollment deadline and complaint escalation process aim to prevent gaps in schooling. The IPSE grant expansion means more students with intellectual disabilities could use state grant money at private colleges, not just public ones.
Key provisions
- New Code Section 20-1-9 (Section 1) defines terms like 'school business day,' 'school day,' and 'local school system' used throughout Title 20.
- Section 3 adds subsection (c.1) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-670, requiring enrollment of foster care students within three school business days and setting up notification and corrective action procedures when schools fail to comply.
- Section 3 also adds subsection (g.1), requiring RESA student affairs officers to file quarterly reports on enrollment disputes and foster care contacts, with an annual summary due to legislative leaders by November 1.
- Section 5 replaces 'school day,' 'business day,' and similar terms with 'school business day' across eight different Code sections, including the Parents' Bill of Rights (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-786).
- Section 6 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-3-494 to let eligible private postsecondary institutions qualify for IPSE grants and sets grant amounts based on HOPE award levels for those private institutions.
- Section 6 also removes the requirement that IPSE grants only apply to students enrolled 'on or before July 1, 2028,' eliminating the program's sunset date.
- Section 7 states the law takes effect as soon as the Governor signs it or it otherwise becomes law.
From the bill
“no receiving school shall fail or refuse to immediately enroll a foster care student, as such term is defined in Code Section 20-2-692.2, and under no circumstances later than three school business days following the receipt of a completed enrollment registration form”
“Upon a recommendation by the Department of Education's chief privacy officer or the RESA student affairs officer provided for in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Department of Education shall be authorized to require the receiving school to comply with an appropriate corrective action plan.”
Discussed in meetings (15)
The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.
Senate Children and Families Committee, February 3, 2026
From 0:19:08 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 431 would require receiving schools to enroll foster care students within two school days, provide parents or legal custodians with specified school contact information, and allow the Department of Education to require corrective action. The sponsor said study committee testimony described enrollment delays after placement changes, lost credits and one student repeating a grade. A committee member asked whether enrolling students before records arrive could create safety risks and whether records could move faster. The sponsor said privacy restrictions complicate transfers, acknowledged not having a complete solution to the safety concern, and said broader record-transfer changes were being considered separately. The sponsor emphasized the harm of missed school for foster students. The committee unanimously voted to recommend passage. In later testimony, a Georgia Appleseed witness supported the bill and said the organization's study found more than 35 counties denying children enrollment, partly because of new record requirements under HB 268.
Senate Rules Committee, February 5, 2026
From 0:07:48 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 431 would require foster students to be enrolled within two days of changing schools. The sponsor explained that foster students frequently change placements and schools, and said some districts delay enrollment, causing students to fall behind. The sponsor also cited problems with credits not transferring and a report of a student having to repeat a grade. No questions were asked. The committee later unanimously approved placing the bill on the next day's calendar with three other measures.
Senate floor session, February 6, 2026 (legislative day 14)
From 1:25:59 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 431 grew out of a bipartisan study committee on young people aging out of foster care. According to the sponsor, testimony showed that some foster students were not promptly enrolled after changing placements and schools, causing problems with credit transfers and, in one case, requiring a student to repeat a year. The sponsor said the bill would require enrollment within two school days and allow the Department of Education to work with noncomplying schools on corrective action plans. No senators asked questions or spoke for or against the bill. The Senate passed it 49-0.
House Education Committee, March 19, 2026
From 0:21:03 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The chair removed SB 431 from the agenda for further work and said the committee would not hear it that day. No presentation or vote followed.
House Education Committee, March 23, 2026
From 1:31:33 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee first paused SB 431 to obtain copies of the latest substitute, then returned to it after another bill. The House presenter said the proposal responds to foster students having difficulty enrolling and aligns enrollment requirements with federal guidance and school safety procedures. The presenter said foster students would be enrolled within three school business days, defined to exclude weekends and legal holidays. The presenter described limits on enrollment documents schools could request, a process for addressing enrollment failures through regional education service agencies, quarterly regional reports and an annual Department of Education report to legislative leaders and education committee chairs. The presenter also described an added provision allowing students with disabilities to use an IPSE scholarship at a Georgia private school offering the needed program and resources. One member thanked the presenters for including legislative recipients in the reporting requirements. No substantive objections were raised in the final discussion. The committee approved the substitute by voice vote.
House Rules Committee, March 27, 2026
From 0:24:42 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 431 would require prompt school enrollment for foster children changing placements, clarify definitions from earlier school safety legislation, and remove the expiration date for Inclusive Postsecondary Education grants. One member asked whether records would arrive in time for appropriate placement and raised safety concerns based on experiences in Muscogee County. The sponsor said enrollment would be followed by a provisional period, an immediate assessment and a process for resolving disagreements. The sponsor cited testimony about lost credits and a student repeating a grade because of enrollment delays. Although the member referred to a two-day deadline, the sponsor said it had been changed to three days and that the assessment included an existing trauma impact assessment. In response to another member, the sponsor agreed that the bill followed federal foster-child requirements. No further action was shown.
House floor session, March 31, 2026 (legislative day 39, part 3)
From 0:57:57 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 4147
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said a Senate study committee found that some foster children waited up to 30 days to enroll in school. The sponsor said the House substitute requires enrollment within three school business days to match federal guidance and existing state school-safety requirements. The sponsor also described a process for reporting enrollment failures and reports to legislative leaders and education committee chairs. The sponsor said another provision allows an inclusive postsecondary education grant for students with special needs to be used at private colleges. There were no questions. The House adopted the substitute and passed the bill, 168 to 0.
House Rules Committee, March 31, 2026
From 0:27:39 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the 2026 House Journal, p. 4136
Summary by Georgia Commons: The committee placed the bill on the second supplemental calendar after a motion and second. No opposition was voiced, and there was no substantive discussion.
Senate floor session, April 2, 2026 (legislative day 40, part 1)
From 6:11:53 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub)
Summary by Georgia Commons: The sponsor said SB 431 addressed prompt school enrollment for foster children transferring schools. The clerk described a requirement to enroll them within two school days of a request. The sponsor said the House added clarifications concerning school business days and related definitions, and removed the expiration date from Inclusive Postsecondary Education grants. The sponsor described both chambers' earlier support as unanimous. No questions or opposing speeches followed. The Senate accepted the House substitute 51 to 0.
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, January 29, 2026 (legislative day 9), 0:42:07
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 4, 2026 (legislative day 12), 0:25:34
- Read aloud: Senate floor session, February 5, 2026 (legislative day 13), 0:27:17
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 9, 2026 (legislative day 15), 0:29:35
- Read aloud: House floor session, February 10, 2026 (legislative day 16), 0:46:23
- Read aloud: House floor session, March 25, 2026 (legislative day 37, AM), 0:41:46
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 494
- 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 (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-32)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)
- Chuck Payne (R, SD-54)
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-51)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
- Beth Camp (R, HD-135)
Votes
- Senate voteFebruary 6, 2026
49 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 5 excused)
- House voteMarch 31, 2026
168 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 6 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2026
51 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 2 excused)
Topics
- foster care
- school enrollment
- student records privacy
- education funding
- disability services