HB1302: HB1302 Education and Workforce Strategy Act; enact

Georgia currently splits oversight of schools, colleges, and job training among several bodies, including the Office of Student Achievement and the Alliance of Education Agency Heads. This bill, called the Education and Workforce Strategy Act, reorganizes that system. Effective July 1, 2026, it reconstitutes the Office of Student Achievement as the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy, giving its director broader authority to coordinate education and workforce agencies statewide, and it repeals the Alliance of Education Agency Heads entirely, shifting many of its duties to the new office. The bill also renames the High Demand Apprenticeship Program the Top State for Talent Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Program, designates the Technical College System of Georgia as the state's official apprenticeship registration agency under federal rules, and requires a combined federal workforce plan (a Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Plan and Perkins State Plan) prepared jointly by the Department of Education and the Technical College System. It creates a new Education Data Governance Board to coordinate data sharing among education and workforce agencies, and repeals a 2028 sunset date on dual enrollment students' access to HOPE grant funds. Most provisions take effect July 1, 2026, except the apprenticeship agency section, effective January 1, 2027.

• Reconstitutes the Office of Student Achievement as the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy starting July 1, 2026, with an expanded coordinating role over education and workforce agencies.
• Repeals the Alliance of Education Agency Heads (Section 20) and shifts its responsibilities, such as overseeing school audits and data standards, to the new office.
• Renames the High Demand Apprenticeship Program the Top State for Talent Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Program and rewrites its definitions to include pre-apprentices as young as 15 in school-based work programs.
• Designates the Technical College System of Georgia as Georgia's official state apprenticeship agency, giving it authority to register, oversee, and deregister apprenticeship programs under federal rules.
• Creates an Education Data Governance Board made up of leaders from agencies like the Department of Education, university and technical college systems, and the Department of Labor to coordinate shared education data systems.
• Repeals the scheduled 2028 expiration of a law letting dual enrollment students access HOPE grant funds regardless of credit hour caps.

Dual enrollment high school students using HOPE grant funds, apprentices and pre-apprentices in registered training programs, employer and apprenticeship sponsors, the Technical College System of Georgia, the Department of Education, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, and the State Workforce Development Board.

The reshuffling changes who sets policy and collects data on Georgia's schools, colleges, and job training programs, potentially altering how quickly programs are approved, funded, or evaluated. Apprenticeship sponsors and dual enrollment students would deal with a restructured office and a redesignated apprenticeship agency instead of the current bodies.

• Section 2 replaces references to the Office of Student Achievement with the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy throughout Titles 20, 34, and 50, except for the creation clause itself.
• Section 4 repeals the June 30, 2028 sunset date on dual enrollment students' access to HOPE grant funds for eligible career and technical education courses.
• Section 5 and Section 10 require the Department of Education and Technical College System of Georgia to jointly prepare a combined federal workforce and career-technical education plan.
• Sections 12 through 19 rewrite apprenticeship program definitions and rename the High Demand Apprenticeship Program, and Section 19 designates the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency, effective January 1, 2027.
• Section 20 repeals the Alliance of Education Agency Heads, and Section 22 formally reconstitutes the Office of Student Achievement as the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy effective July 1, 2026.
• Section 28 creates the Education Data Governance Board within the new office to coordinate cross-agency education and workforce data systems.
• Section 39 sets the general effective date as July 1, 2026, with the apprenticeship agency provisions in Section 19 effective January 1, 2027.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 474
3. 2026-05-11House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-18Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-18Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-16Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-12Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)

• Matthew Gambill (R, HD-015)Primary sponsor
• Devan Seabaugh (R, HD-034)
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2026

   172 yea, 2 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #608

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   29 yea, 16 nay (6 not voting, 3 absent)

   Shall The Ruling Of The Chair Be Sustained: Senate Vote #734

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   29 yea, 19 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion For The Previous Question: Senate Vote #735

4. PassedSenate voteMarch 18, 2026

   48 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #736

• workforce development
• apprenticeship programs
• education agencies
• HOPE scholarship and dual enrollment
• state government reorganization