HB1284: HB1284 Education; awarding of high school diplomas to high school students who are at the end of life; provide

Under current Georgia law, students generally must complete all required graduation credits before receiving a high school diploma. This bill creates an exception for high school students who have a medical diagnosis of a terminal condition and are receiving end-of-life care. A parent or guardian would submit a written request to the local school superintendent, backed by documentation from the student's medical provider confirming the end-of-life status. The local board of education would then have 14 calendar days to ask the State Board of Education to waive the usual graduation credit requirements. Once that waiver is approved, the local board must award the diploma. The bill says every effort should be made to award the diploma while the student is alive, but allows the diploma to be given posthumously if needed. The State Board of Education must adopt rules to make sure this process happens quickly.

• Requires local boards of education to issue a high school diploma to any enrolled student with a medical diagnosis of a terminal condition who is receiving end-of-life care.
• Lets a parent or guardian trigger the process by submitting a written request with medical documentation of the student's end-of-life status to the local superintendent.
• Requires the local school board to petition the State Board of Education within 14 calendar days to waive normal graduation credit requirements for that student.
• Allows the diploma to be awarded after the student's death if it could not be awarded beforehand.
• Directs the State Board of Education to adopt policies, rules, or regulations to ensure quick compliance with the new process.
• Names the law the "Gakobe Milton Act" as its official short title.

Terminally ill high school students and their parents or guardians, local school superintendents and boards of education, the State Board of Education, and the students' medical providers, who must supply documentation of the end-of-life diagnosis.

Families of dying students would no longer have to worry about their child missing required coursework to receive a diploma. The bill creates a fast, defined path (a 14 day window for the board's petition) so a diploma can be awarded while the student is alive, or afterward if needed.

• Section 1 names the law the "Gakobe Milton Act."
• Section 2 adds a new Code section, O.C.G.A. § 20-2-70.1, requiring local boards of education to issue diplomas to students with a terminal diagnosis who are in end-of-life care.
• Section 2 requires a written parental or guardian request with medical documentation before the process begins.
• Section 2 gives the local board 14 calendar days to petition the State Board of Education to waive graduation credit requirements.
• Section 2 permits the diploma to be awarded posthumously if it cannot be issued before the student's death.
• Section 2 directs the State Board of Education to adopt policies, rules, or regulations ensuring prompt compliance.
• Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-05Act 397
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-27Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)Primary sponsor
• Jon Burns (R, HD-159)
• Butch Parrish (R, HD-158)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)
• Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   172 yea, 0 nay (3 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #606

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   48 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 6 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #854

• high school diplomas
• terminally ill students
• education policy
• school boards
• end-of-life care