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

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.

• 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.

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.

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.

• 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.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-05-11
2. 2026-05-11Act 494
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-03-31House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-03-31House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-25House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Kay Kirkpatrick (R, SD-032)Primary sponsor
• Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
• Elena Parent (D, SD-044)
• Beth Camp (R, HD-135)

1. PassedSenate voteFebruary 6, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #525

2. PassedHouse voteMarch 31, 2026

   168 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #825

3. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   51 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #944

• foster care
• school enrollment
• student records privacy
• education funding
• disability services