---
title: SR 553. Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements; create
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/sr553
cite_as: SR 553, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr553
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr553.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr553/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72056
date: 2026-03-31
status: passed
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: 497
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr553.md?full=1
bill_number: SR 553
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: Senate
bill_type: resolution
status_date: 2026-03-31
last_action: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute
sponsors:
  - Sonya Halpern
  - Harold Jones
  - Clint Dixon
  - RaShaun Kemp
  - Elena Parent
text_version: Enrolled
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR553/2025
upstream_id: 2020163
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
  - charter schools
  - school funding
  - education policy
  - legislative study committees
  - school construction
---

# SR 553. Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements; create

## Text

Senate Resolution 553
By: Senators Halpern of the 39th, Jones II of the 22nd, Dixon of the 45th, Kemp of the 38th
and Parent of the 44th
ADOPTED SENATE
A RESOLUTION
Creating the Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements;
and for other purposes.
WHEREAS, locally approved charter schools are an integral part of Georgia's public
education system, providing diverse educational opportunities to students across this state;
and
WHEREAS, access to adequate facilities and capital improvements is essential to ensuring
that locally approved charter schools can provide high-quality learning environments; and
WHEREAS, traditional public schools have access to various funding sources, including
state and local capital outlay funds, bond financing, and the Educational Special Purpose
Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST), while locally approved charter schools face challenges
in securing comparable funding for capital improvements; and
WHEREAS, disparities in capital funding place undue financial burdens on locally approved
charter schools, which often must rely on operating budgets, philanthropic contributions, or
private financing to secure and maintain appropriate school facilities; and
WHEREAS, the lack of dedicated capital funding for locally approved charter schools
hinders their ability to make long-term investments in infrastructure, address facility needs,
and ensure equity in educational environments; and
WHEREAS, it is in the best interest of the State of Georgia to evaluate the current funding
mechanisms for locally approved charter school capital improvements and explore policy
solutions to address current disparities.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE:
(1) Creation of Senate study committee. There is created the Senate Study Committee
on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements.
(2) Members and officers. The committee shall be composed of five members of the
Senate. Three members shall be appointed by the President of the Senate and two
members shall be appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate. The President of the
Senate shall designate a member of the committee as chairperson of the committee.
(3) Powers and duties. The committee shall undertake a study of the conditions, needs,
issues, and problems mentioned above or related thereto and recommend any action or
legislation which the committee deems necessary or appropriate, including but not limited
to the following:
(A) Reviewing current funding mechanisms for capital improvements in Georgia's
public schools and assessing their impact on charter schools;
(B) Examining disparities in capital funding between charter schools and traditional
public schools;
(C) Analyzing the challenges charter schools face in accessing state and local capital
funding, including E-SPLOST, bond financing, and capital outlay grants;
(D) Gathering testimony from charter school leaders, education stakeholders, and
financial experts to assess the impact of funding limitations; and
(E) Exploring potential policy solutions, including legislative and regulatory actions,
to ensure equitable access to capital improvement funding for charter schools.
(4) Meetings. The chairperson shall call all meetings of the committee; provided,
however, that the chairperson shall call no more than four meetings of the committee.
The committee may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may
deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers,
perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this resolution.
(5) Allowances and funding. The members of the committee shall receive the
allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated. The allowances authorized by this resolution shall not be received by any
member of the committee for more than five days unless additional days are authorized.
Funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this resolution shall come from funds
appropriated to the Senate.
(6) Report.
(A) In the event the committee adopts any specific findings or recommendations that
include suggestions for proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file a report of the
same prior to the date of abolishment specified in this resolution, subject to
subparagraph (C) of this paragraph.
(B) In the event the committee adopts a report that does not include suggestions for
proposed legislation, the chairperson shall file the report, subject to subparagraph (C)
of this paragraph.
(C) No report shall be filed unless the same has been approved prior to the date of
abolishment specified in this resolution by majority vote of a quorum of the committee.
A report so approved shall be signed by the chairperson of the committee and filed with
the Secretary of the Senate.
(D) In the absence of an approved report, the chairperson may file with the Secretary
of the Senate a copy of the minutes of the meetings of the committee in lieu thereof.
(7) Abolishment. The committee shall stand abolished on December 1, 2026.

## Summaries written by Georgia Commons

The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary.

A Senate resolution creates a five-member Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements to examine how Georgia funds school building and facility upgrades for locally approved charter schools.

### Plain-language summary

Georgia's traditional public schools can tap several funding sources for buildings and facility upgrades, including state and local capital outlay funds, bond financing, and the Educational Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (E-SPLOST). Locally approved charter schools generally lack comparable access and often rely on operating budgets, donations, or private financing instead.
This resolution sets up a temporary Senate committee of five senators, three picked by the Senate President and two by the Minority Leader, with a chairperson named by the President. The committee can hold up to four meetings, gather testimony from charter school leaders and financial experts, and study funding disparities. It can recommend legislation in a report filed with the Secretary of the Senate. Members get standard legislative allowances funded through the Senate's budget. The committee is abolished automatically on December 1, 2026.

### What it does

- Creates the Senate Study Committee on Funding for Charter School Capital Improvements, made up of five state senators.
- Directs the committee to review current capital funding mechanisms and compare access between charter schools and traditional public schools.
- Authorizes the committee to gather testimony from charter school leaders, education stakeholders, and financial experts.
- Limits the chairperson to calling no more than four committee meetings.
- Allows the committee to recommend legislation or other action in a report filed with the Secretary of the Senate before the committee ends.
- Sets the committee to automatically dissolve on December 1, 2026.

### Who it affects

Georgia's locally approved charter schools and their leaders, traditional public school districts that use funding tools like E-SPLOST and bond financing, state senators appointed to the committee, and education and financial stakeholders who may be asked to testify.

### Why it matters

The study could lead to legislation changing how charter schools pay for buildings and repairs, which currently rely more heavily on operating budgets and private funds than traditional public schools do. Any concrete funding change would require separate future legislation, since this resolution only creates a study process.

### Key provisions

- Paragraph (2) sets committee membership at five senators, three appointed by the Senate President and two by the Minority Leader, with the President naming the chairperson.
- Paragraph (3) lists study duties, including comparing charter and traditional public school capital funding and examining E-SPLOST, bond financing, and capital outlay grants.
- Paragraph (4) caps the chairperson at calling no more than four meetings.
- Paragraph (5) provides member allowances under O.C.G.A. § 28-1-8, capped at five days unless additional days are authorized, funded from Senate appropriations.
- Paragraph (6) requires any adopted findings or legislative recommendations to be filed as a report with the Secretary of the Senate, approved by majority vote of a quorum.
- Paragraph (7) abolishes the committee on December 1, 2026.

## Status

- Status: Passed (2026-03-31)
- Last action: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (2026-03-31)
- Sponsors: Sonya Halpern, Harold Jones, Clint Dixon, RaShaun Kemp, Elena Parent
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72056

> The history, votes, and amendments (497 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr553.md?full=1