HB1308: HB1308 Education; local and state charter schools have the right to lease, utilize, or buy unused facilities of a local board of education; provide

Georgia law already lets charter schools negotiate to use empty school buildings owned by local school boards. This bill strengthens that right. It defines 'unused facilities' as property that has not been used for two school years and is not part of the district's five-year facilities plan with at least 60 percent of the space used for direct student instruction. The bill requires local boards to make unused facilities available to charter schools and gives charter schools or people petitioning to open one both a 'right of first offer' and a 'right of first refusal' on such buildings. That right can be exercised at any time, is subject to good faith negotiations, and ends if the local board votes to reopen a school there or if a charter petition is denied by every possible authorizer, in which case the charter school must be compensated. The bill also updates general language in the school property code (O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-520), replacing references to 'county boards' with 'local boards of education' and raising the required public bidding threshold for school construction contracts to $250,000.

• Requires local boards of education to make their unused school facilities available to local and state charter schools.
• Gives charter schools and charter school petitioners both a right of first offer and a right of first refusal to lease, use, or buy an unused facility.
• Sets conditions under which that right ends, including if the local board votes to reopen a school there, and requires the board to compensate the charter school in that case.
• Lets charter school petitioners keep the right pending their petition, but ends it automatically if every possible authorizer denies the petition, triggering compensation.
• Updates the definition of 'unused facilities' to mean property unused for two school years and not part of the district's five-year facilities plan.
• Replaces outdated references to 'county boards' with 'local boards of education' and raises the threshold for publicly advertised school construction contracts.

Local boards of education across Georgia, existing local and state charter schools, groups petitioning to open new charter schools, the Office of Charter School Compliance, and school districts managing vacant or underused buildings.

Charter schools often struggle to find affordable facilities. By forcing local boards to offer unused buildings and giving charter schools first-refusal rights, the bill could change which groups get access to vacant school property and how disputes over that property get resolved.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-520 to replace 'county board' language with 'local board of education' and requires public advertising and competitive bidding for school construction contracts over $250,000.
• Section 2 revises the definition of 'unused facilities' in O.C.G.A. Section 20-2-2068.2 to mean property unused for two school years and not slated for at least 60 percent direct student instruction use in the district's five-year plan.
• Section 2 requires local boards to make unused facilities available to local and state charter schools and to negotiate terms in good faith.
• Section 2 lets charter schools petition the Office of Charter School Compliance if negotiations fail or if there is a dispute over whether a facility qualifies as unused.
• Section 2 gives charter schools and petitioners a right of first offer and first refusal on unused facilities, exercisable at any time subject to negotiated terms.
• Section 2 ends that right if the local board votes to reopen a school at the site (covering at least 90 percent of the same attendance zone) or if a charter petition is denied by all authorizers, with compensation owed to the charter school in either case.
• Section 3 repeals any conflicting laws.

1. 2026-02-18House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-17House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-12House Hopper (House)

• Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)Primary sponsor
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)

• charter schools
• public school facilities
• education policy
• school construction contracts