HB1366: HB1366 Georgia Teacher Retention Scholarship Act; enact

Georgia currently has scholarship programs like HOPE and Zell Miller for college students, but no program specifically tied to how long a student's parent has worked as a public school teacher. This bill would add a new scholarship program, the Georgia Teacher Retention Scholarship, to the part of state law governing the Georgia Student Finance Authority (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 3, Article 7). To qualify, a student would need to be the natural or adopted child of a Georgia public school teacher with at least ten years of teaching experience, meet existing HOPE-style eligibility rules, be enrolled as an undergraduate at a University System of Georgia school or Technical College System of Georgia school, not already hold a bachelor's or first professional degree, and not have used up more than 190 quarter hours or 127 semester hours of college credit. The scholarship would cover up to the full cost of tuition, but only if the General Assembly actually sets aside money for it each year. It would take effect July 1, 2026, starting with the 2026-2027 academic year.

• Creates a new Georgia Teacher Retention Scholarship for children of Georgia public school teachers who have taught for at least ten years.
• Sets the scholarship amount at up to the full cost of tuition at a University System of Georgia or Technical College System of Georgia school.
• Makes payment of the scholarship depend entirely on the General Assembly appropriating (setting aside) money for it in the state budget each year.
• Requires eligible students to meet existing HOPE-style academic and enrollment standards, including a cap on credit hours already attempted and no prior bachelor's or professional degree.
• Directs the Georgia Student Finance Authority to create application forms and rules for awarding and renewing the scholarship.
• Sets the law to take effect July 1, 2026, applying starting with the 2026-2027 academic year.

Children of Georgia public school teachers who have taught for ten or more years, current and future undergraduate students at University System of Georgia and Technical College System of Georgia schools, the Georgia Student Finance Authority, which would run the program, and the General Assembly, which would need to fund it each year.

If funded, the scholarship could reduce college costs for families of long-serving Georgia public school teachers, potentially making teaching careers more attractive to retain. But because payment depends on yearly state funding decisions, whether any student actually receives money depends on future budget votes, not just eligibility.

• Section 2 adds a new subpart (Code Section 20-3-467) to the Georgia Student Finance Authority law, defining terms like 'public school teacher,' 'eligible postsecondary institution,' and 'first professional degree' by reference to existing HOPE scholarship definitions.
• Subsection (b) authorizes the authority to award scholarships up to the amount of a student's tuition, but only if the General Assembly appropriates funds for the program in that year's budget.
• Subsection (c) lists five eligibility requirements, including being the child of a teacher with ten or more years of service and meeting existing HOPE-style academic and enrollment standards.
• Subsection (c)(5) bars eligibility for students who have already attempted 190 or more quarter hours or 127 or more semester hours of college credit.
• Subsection (d) requires eligible students to apply in writing using forms set by the authority, and requires renewal applicants to show they completed the prior term's work satisfactorily.
• Subsection (e) gives the Georgia Student Finance Authority authority to write rules and procedures for administering the scholarship.
• Section 3 sets the effective date as July 1, 2026, applying starting with the 2026-2027 academic year.
• Section 1 gives the bill its short title, the 'Georgia Teacher Retention Scholarship Act.'

1. 2026-02-20House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-19House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-18House Hopper (House)

• Doreen Carter (D, HD-093)Primary sponsor
• Michael Smith (D, HD-041)
• Samuel Park (D, HD-107)
• Stacey Evans (D, HD-057)
• Lydia Glaize (D, HD-067)
• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)

• teacher retention
• college scholarships
• education funding
• Georgia Student Finance Authority
• tuition assistance