---
title: SB 438. Education; the beginning age for compulsory school attendance from six years to five years; reduce
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb438
cite_as: SB 438, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb438
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb438.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb438/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72584
date: 2026-02-02
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/sb438.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 438
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-01-29
last_action: Senate Read and Referred
sponsors:
- Chuck Payne
- Billy Hickman
- Chuck Hufstetler
- Max Burns
- Shawn Still
- Marty Harbin
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB438/2025
upstream_id: 2102364
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- compulsory school attendance
- kindergarten
- education funding
- public schools
- Georgia education law
---
# SB 438. Education; the beginning age for compulsory school attendance from six years to five years; reduce
## Text
Senate Bill 438
By: Senators Payne of the 54th, Hickman of the 4th, Hufstetler of the 52nd, Burns of the
23rd, Still of the 48th and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
elementary and secondary education, so as to reduce the beginning age for compulsory
school attendance from six years to five years; to provide for all children to attend a full-day
kindergarten program for one school year prior to enrolling in first grade; to provide for
applicability of compulsory school attendance laws and rules; to provide for related matters;
to provide for contingent effectiveness; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and
secondary education, is amended in Code Section 20-2-150, relating to eligibility for
enrollment for educational programs, by revising subsection (c) as follows:
"(c) All children enrolled for 20 school days or more in the public schools of this state
prior to their seventh fifth birthday shall become subject to all of the provisions of this
article, the provisions of Code Sections 20-2-690 through 20-2-701, and the rules and
regulations of the State Board of Education relating to compulsory school attendance even
though they have not attained seven five years of age."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-151, relating to general and career
education programs, by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (b) as follows:
"(1)(A) All local school systems may shall offer a full-day kindergarten program. For
purposes of this subsection, the term 'full-day kindergarten program' means a student
is provided classroom instruction for a minimum of four and one-half hours daily for
a 180 day school year, or the equivalent thereof as determined in accordance with State
Board of Education guidelines.
(B) Except as otherwise provided by law, all children shall attend a full-day
kindergarten program for one school year prior to enrolling in first grade. The purposes
of such It is the policy of this state that the purposes of the kindergarten program shall
be to provide all children with an equal opportunity to become prepared for a successful
first grade experience and to acquire the foundation for academic progress throughout
the students' educational careers. To be eligible for enrollment in a state supported
kindergarten program, a child must attain the age of five by September 1, except as
otherwise provided by subsection (b) of Code Section 20-2-150;"
SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended in Code Section 20-2-690.1, relating to compulsory
education for children between ages six and 16 and voluntary withdrawal, by revising
subsection (b) as follows:
"(b) Each child in this state shall be required to attend a public school, a private school, or
a home study program between his or her sixth fifth and sixteenth birthdays. Such
compulsory attendance shall not apply to any child who has successfully completed all
requirements for a high school diploma or state approved high school equivalency (HSE)
diploma."
SECTION 4.
This Act shall become effective only upon the effective date of a specific appropriation of
funds for purposes of this Act, as expressed in a line item making specific reference to such
Act in a General Appropriations Act enacted by the General Assembly.
SECTION 5.
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 lower the compulsory school attendance age from six to five and require all local school systems to offer full-day kindergarten, which children would have to attend before first grade. The change would only take effect once the legislature specifically funds it.
### Plain-language summary
Under current Georgia law, children must attend school starting at age six, and school districts may, but are not required to, offer full-day kindergarten. This bill lowers the compulsory attendance age to five and changes local kindergarten programs from optional to mandatory, meaning every local school system would have to offer a full-day kindergarten program.
The bill also requires that, except as otherwise provided by law, all children attend a full-day kindergarten program for one school year before enrolling in first grade. It updates related sections of Georgia's education code (O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-150, 20-2-151, and 20-2-690.1) to reflect the new age threshold for compulsory attendance and enrollment eligibility.
The bill would not take effect automatically. It only becomes law once the General Assembly passes a specific budget line item funding it in a General Appropriations Act.
### What it does
- Lowers the age at which school attendance becomes legally required from six to five years old.
- Changes local school systems' kindergarten offerings from optional ("may offer") to mandatory ("shall offer") a full-day kindergarten program.
- Requires all children, with limited exceptions, to attend a full-day kindergarten program for one school year before enrolling in first grade.
- Updates the enrollment eligibility rule so children enrolled 20 or more days before their fifth birthday, instead of seventh, become subject to compulsory attendance rules.
- Ties the entire law's effectiveness to a future state budget appropriation specifically funding it, so it does not take effect on its own.
### Who it affects
Families with five-year-old children, local school systems that must now offer full-day kindergarten, public school administrators managing enrollment and compulsory attendance enforcement, and state budget writers who would need to appropriate funding before the law applies.
### Why it matters
If funded, families would need to enroll children in school a year earlier than current law requires, and every district would have to provide full-day kindergarten rather than half-day or no kindergarten. Districts without full-day programs would need to create them, affecting staffing and space.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-150 so children enrolled before their fifth birthday, instead of seventh, become subject to compulsory attendance rules.
- Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-151 to change kindergarten offerings from permissive to mandatory and requires all children to attend a full year of full-day kindergarten before first grade.
- Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-690.1 to lower the compulsory attendance starting age from six to five.
- Section 4 makes the entire Act contingent on the General Assembly passing a specific budget appropriation naming this Act before it takes effect.
- Section 5 repeals conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-01-29)
- Last action: Senate Read and Referred (2026-02-02)
- Sponsors: Chuck Payne, Billy Hickman, Chuck Hufstetler, Max Burns, Shawn Still, Marty Harbin
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72584
> The history, votes, and amendments (95 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb438.md?full=1