---
title: SB 475. Charter School Funding; local boards of education to treat local charter schools no less favorably than other local schools; expenditure of the proceeds of a special purpose local option sales tax; require
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sb475
cite_as: SB 475, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb475
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb475.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb475/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72969
date: 2026-04-02
status: engrossed
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: 895
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb475.md?full=1
bill_number: SB 475
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-03-06
last_action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted
sponsors:
  - RaShaun Kemp
  - Clint Dixon
  - Chuck Payne
  - Sonya Halpern
  - Jaha Howard
  - Ed Harbison
  - Emanuel Jones
  - Michael Rhett
  - Chuck Hufstetler
  - Carmen Rice
text_version: Comm Sub
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB475/2025
upstream_id: 2111500
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - charter schools
  - school funding
  - SPLOST
  - local school boards
  - school district consolidation
---

# SB 475. Charter School Funding; local boards of education to treat local charter schools no less favorably than other local schools; expenditure of the proceeds of a special purpose local option sales tax; require

## Text

The House Committee on Education offers the following substitute to SB 475:
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 provide that a petition signed by 10 percent of
the qualified voters in an independent school system shall be required in order to hold an
election to determine whether to annul the special law of the independent school system so
that it becomes a part of the respective county school system or systems in which the territory
of the independent school system is located; to repeal outdated terms and provisions; to make
conforming changes; to require local boards of education to treat local charter schools no less
favorably than other local schools with respect to the expenditure of the proceeds of a special
purpose local option sales tax for education; to provide for an effective date; to provide for
related matters; 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 Article 8, relating to consolidation of independent and
county school systems, by revising Code Section 20-2-370, relating to referendum on repeal
of special school law and consolidation of systems, as follows:
"20-2-370.
Whenever the <del>citizens of a municipality or</del> <ins>qualified voters of the territory included in an
</ins> independent school <ins>system</ins> <del>district authorized by law to establish and maintain a system
of schools by local taxation in whole or in part are operating a system of public schools
independent of the county school system and</del> wish to annul <del>their special school</del> <ins>the local
</ins> law <ins>establishing such independent school system</ins> and become a part of <del>the</del> <ins>each respective
</ins> county school system <ins>in which such territory is located,</ins> they shall present and file with the
governing authority of the city <ins>in which such independent school system is located</ins> a
petition signed by <del>one-fourth</del> <ins>10 percent</ins> of the qualified voters of <del>their</del> <ins>the</ins> territory
<ins>included in the independent school system;</ins> and <del>the</del> <ins>such</ins> governing authority shall then
submit the question at an election to be held in accordance with Chapter 2 of Title 21. A
majority of those voting shall be necessary to carry the election. Only qualified voters
residing within the <del>municipality or district</del> <ins>territory included in the independent school
system</ins> for six months prior to the election shall vote. An election shall not be held for the
same purpose more often than every 12 months."
SECTION 2.
Said chapter is further amended in said article by revising Code Section 20-2-371, relating
to proceedings when vote favors repeal and consolidation, as follows:
"20-2-371.
When the results of an election held under Code Section 20-2-370 are declared and
published in favor of repealing such independent school system, making the territory
included in the <ins>independent school</ins> system thereby to become a part of <del>the</del> <ins>each respective
</ins> county school system <ins>in which such territory is located,</ins> such independent <del>or local</del> school
system shall continue to function under its local laws, organizations, and regulations until
<del>the</del> <ins>each respective</ins> county board of education shall arrange for the operation by them of
such <del>school or schools within the local</del> <ins>independent school</ins> system as a part of <del>their public
</del> <ins>each respective county</ins> school system <ins>in which such territory is located."
</ins> SECTION 3.
Said chapter is further amended in said article by revising Code Section 20-2-372, relating
to effect of repeal and consolidation, as follows:
"20-2-372.
Where any <del>local or</del> independent <ins>school</ins> system is repealed by and in the manner provided
<ins>for</ins> in Code Sections 20-2-370 and 20-2-371, the territory formerly included in such
independent <ins>school</ins> system shall become and constitute a <del>school district</del> <ins>part</ins> of <del>the</del> <ins>each
</ins> county <ins>school system</ins> in which <del>it</del> <ins>such territory</ins> is located and shall enjoy the same
privileges and shall be governed by the same laws as <del>other school districts in</del> the <ins>existing
parts of such</ins> county <ins>school system or systems,</ins> <del>including the authority to levy local taxes
for school purposes; provided, however, that the rate for such taxation shall not exceed the
rate allowed by law to other similar school districts."
</del> SECTION 4.
Said chapter is further amended in Article 31, the "Charter Schools Act of 1998," by adding
a new subsection to Code Section 20-2-2068.1, relating to charter school funding, to read as
follows:
<ins>"(c.4) A local board of education shall treat a local charter school no less favorably than
other local schools within the applicable local school system with respect to the
expenditure of the proceeds of a sales tax for educational purposes authorized by
Article VIII, Section VI, Paragraph IV of the Constitution of Georgia; provided, however,
that a local school system shall have no obligation to expend proceeds of such sales tax for
the purchase or improvement of property or facilities owned by any entity other than the
local school system or a local charter school."
</ins>
SECTION 5.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 6.
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 signature threshold needed to hold a vote on dissolving an independent school system, and would require local school boards to spend special sales tax money on charter schools on the same terms as other public schools.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia law lets voters in an independent school system (a city or district system separate from the county system) petition for an election to fold that system into the county system. Currently that petition needs signatures from one-fourth of qualified voters in the area. This bill lowers that threshold to 10 percent and rewrites the related code sections with updated, gender-neutral and consistent language describing how such a system becomes part of the county system or systems where its territory sits.

The bill also adds a new rule to the Charter Schools Act of 1998: local school boards must spend proceeds from a special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST), a local sales tax voters approve for school construction and improvements, on local charter schools no less favorably than on other local public schools. School systems are not required to spend that money on buildings owned by anyone other than the school system or a charter school. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

### What it does

- Lowers the petition threshold to trigger a vote on dissolving an independent school system from one-fourth of qualified voters to 10 percent.
- Rewrites O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-370, 20-2-371, and 20-2-372 to clarify that a dissolved independent school system joins the county school system covering its territory, removing outdated references to municipalities and local taxation.
- Adds a new subsection (c.4) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2068.1 requiring local school boards to treat charter schools no less favorably than other local schools when spending SPLOST education sales tax proceeds.
- Exempts school systems from having to spend SPLOST money on facilities owned by entities other than the school system or a local charter school.
- Sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law without signature.

### Who it affects

Voters and residents of Georgia's independent school systems (mostly city school systems), county boards of education that would absorb dissolved systems, and local charter schools and the local school boards that oversee SPLOST spending decisions.

### Why it matters

Communities seeking to merge an independent school system into the county system would need far fewer signatures to force a vote, making dissolution easier to pursue. Charter schools would gain a stronger claim to a share of local sales tax construction money, changing how school boards allocate those funds.

### Key provisions

- Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-370 to cut the petition requirement for a dissolution election from 25 percent to 10 percent of qualified voters in the independent school system's territory.
- Sections 2 and 3 update O.C.G.A. §§ 20-2-371 and 20-2-372 to describe consolidation in terms of the county school system covering the independent system's territory, removing outdated references to separate local taxation rates.
- Section 4 adds subsection (c.4) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-2068.1, requiring local boards to spend SPLOST education sales tax proceeds on charter schools no less favorably than on other local schools.
- Section 4 also states school systems need not spend SPLOST proceeds on property owned by outside entities, only the school system or a local charter school.
- Section 5 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval or the date the bill becomes law without signature.
- Section 6 repeals conflicting laws.

## Status

- Status: Engrossed (2026-03-06)
- Last action: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (2026-04-02)
- Sponsors: RaShaun Kemp, Clint Dixon, Chuck Payne, Sonya Halpern, Jaha Howard, Ed Harbison, Emanuel Jones, Michael Rhett, Chuck Hufstetler, Carmen Rice
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72969

> The history, votes, and amendments (895 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb475.md?full=1