SB556: SB556 HOPE Scholarship; the inclusion of advanced placement and international baccalaureate fine arts courses in the calculation of grade point averages; provide

This wide-ranging bill touches several parts of Georgia law affecting higher education. It creates the Dedicating Resources to Educationally Advance More Students (DREAMS) scholarship, funded through a new endowment, for undergraduates with financial need left over after other aid, capped at $3,000 per year and eight semesters. It also changes how the Georgia Student Finance Commission calculates grade point averages for HOPE scholarship eligibility by including advanced fine arts courses (those with standardized outside grading), though this will not apply retroactively to students who already graduated before July 1, 2026. The bill also requires University System of Georgia institutions and Technical College System units to keep supplies of opioid antagonists (drugs like naloxone that reverse overdoses) near defibrillators, allows staff to carry and use them with legal immunity, and creates a repayable scholarship for medical students who agree to practice in Georgia for four years. It raises the cap on Georgia's 529 college savings accounts to $550,000, adds a state income tax deduction for contributions to other states' 529 plans, and adjusts the lottery reserve funding formula. Most provisions take effect July 1, 2026.

• Creates the DREAMS scholarship and a state endowment fund to help undergraduates with unmet financial need pay for college, capped at $3,000 per year for up to eight semesters.
• Requires the Georgia Student Finance Commission to include advanced fine arts course grades when calculating grade point averages for HOPE scholarship eligibility, but excludes students who graduated before July 1, 2026.
• Requires University System of Georgia campuses and Technical College System units to stock opioid antagonists (overdose-reversal medication) near defibrillators and lets trained personnel administer them with legal immunity from civil liability or professional discipline.
• Establishes a new scholarship for medical students at University System of Georgia medical schools, requiring recipients to practice medicine in Georgia for at least four years or repay the funds.
• Raises the maximum balance allowed in a Georgia Higher Education Savings Plan (529) account from $235,000 to $550,000 and adds a state income tax deduction for contributions to other qualifying 529 plans.
• Revises the formula for how much of Georgia's lottery reserve fund must be set aside and how excess reserve money gets appropriated for education programs.

College and technical college students seeking financial aid, high school students whose grade point averages determine HOPE scholarship eligibility, medical students willing to practice in Georgia after graduation, University System and Technical College staff and campuses, families saving through 529 accounts, and the Georgia Student Finance Authority and Commission that administer these programs.

Students with financial gaps beyond current aid could receive up to $3,000 a year toward college costs, and students taking advanced fine arts classes would see those grades count toward HOPE eligibility going forward. Overdose-reversal medication would become more available on Georgia campuses, and families could save more in tax-advantaged college accounts.

• Sections 1-1 through 1-1 (new Code Sections 20-3-367 through 20-3-367.3) create the DREAMS scholarship, its $3,000 annual cap, eight-semester limit, and a three-account endowment fund with investment and emergency stabilization rules.
• Section 2-1 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-157 to add advanced fine arts courses to HOPE grade point average calculations, but bars applying this to students who graduated before July 1, 2026.
• Sections 3-1 and 3-2 require University System and Technical College campuses to maintain opioid antagonist supplies near defibrillators and grant immunity to staff who administer or choose not to administer them, except for willful misconduct.
• Section 3-3 amends O.C.G.A. § 31-2A-20 to clarify that university and technical college buildings are treated separately from other government buildings for opioid antagonist accessibility rules.
• Section 4-1 creates a new medical school scholarship requiring recipients to practice medicine in Georgia for at least four years after graduation or repay the award.
• Section 5-1 raises the maximum Georgia 529 savings account balance from $235,000 to $550,000.
• Section 5-2 adds a state income tax deduction, capped at $2,000 per beneficiary (or $4,000 for joint filers), for contributions to qualifying out-of-state 529 tuition programs from 2026 through 2030.
• Section 7-1 revises the lottery shortfall reserve formula, starting in Fiscal Year 2025, for how excess reserve funds get appropriated to educational programs.

1. 2026-05-11Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-11Act 468
3. 2026-05-11Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
4. 2026-04-10Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
5. 2026-04-02Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
6. 2026-04-02House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
7. 2026-04-02House Third Readers (House)
8. 2026-03-27House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)

• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)Primary sponsor
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
• Freddie Sims (D, SD-012)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)

1. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

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

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #669

2. PassedHouse voteApril 2, 2026

   167 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #842

3. FailedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   25 yea, 25 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute As Amended: Senate Vote #958

4. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   36 yea, 17 nay (0 not voting, 1 absent)

   Agree To House Substitute: Senate Vote #959

• HOPE scholarship
• college financial aid
• opioid overdose prevention
• 529 college savings plans
• medical school scholarships