--- title: Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. VII, Para. I. Educational assistance programs authorized. collection: code id: ga-const:art-viii-sec-vii-para-i cite_as: Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. VII, Para. I canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/art-viii-sec-vii-para-i md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/art-viii-sec-vii-para-i.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/art-viii-sec-vii-para-i/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/document/docs/default-source/joint-features-document-library/2ga-const-(v2)-2016-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=f5de823e_0#page=1302 date: 2016 status: active corpus_version: 2025-supplement-89aa39ab3c68 license: CC0-1.0 publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/index.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/art-viii-sec-vi-para-iv.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/constitution/ga/art-viii-sec-vii-para-ii.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/code/index.md version: the only printed version in_force: true current_through: Including Acts of the 2025 Regular Session of the General Assembly heading_path: CONSTITUTION OF THE / EDUCATION / EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE --- # Ga. Const. Art. VIII, Sec. VII, Para. I. Educational assistance programs authorized. A constitution provision shown as in force is in force as printed in the volume. A court decision can make a printed provision unenforceable without changing the volume, and the volume does not record that. (a) Pursuant to laws now or hereafter enacted by the General Assembly, public funds may be expended for any of the following purposes: (1) To provide grants, scholarships, loans, or other assistance to students and to parents of students for educational purposes. (2) To provide for a program of guaranteed loans to students and to parents of students for educational purposes and to pay interest, interest subsidies, and fees to lenders on such loans. The General Assembly is authorized to provide such tax exemptions to lenders as shall be deemed advisable in connection with such program. (3) To match funds now or hereafter available for student assistance pursuant to any federal law. (4) To provide grants, scholarships, loans, or other assistance to public employees for educational purposes. (5) To provide for the purchase of loans made to students for educational purposes who have completed a program of study in a field in which critical shortages exist and for cancellation of repayment of such loans, interest, and charges thereon. (b) Contributions made in support of any educational assistance program now or hereafter established under provisions of this section may be deductible for state income tax purposes as now or hereafter provided by law. (c) The General Assembly shall be authorized by general law to provide for an education trust fund to assist students and parents of students in financing postsecondary education and to provide for contracts between the fund and purchasers for the advance payment of tuition by each purchaser for a qualified beneficiary to attend a state institution of higher education. Such general law shall provide for such terms, conditions, and limitations as the General Assembly shall deem necessary for the implementation of this subparagraph. Notwithstanding any provision of this Constitution to the contrary, the General Assembly shall be authorized to provide for the guarantee of such contracts with state revenues. (Ga. Const. 1983, Art. 8, § 7, Para. 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 2433, § 1/HR 763.) ## Cross References Free attendance at state universities for citizens age 62 and older, § 20-3-31.1. Programs for scholarships, loans, and grants for postsecondary education, § 20-3-230 et seq. Tuition equalization grants for persons attending private colleges and universities, § 20-3-410 et seq. Board of Regents’ medical scholarship program, § 20-3-510. ## Editor's Notes Constitutional amendment (Ga. L. 1990, p. 2433, § 1) which added subparagraph (c) was approved by a majority of the qualified voters voting at the general election held on November 6, 1990. ## 1976 Constitution. Art. VIII, Sec. IV, Para. III; Art. X, Sec. II, Paras. I, II, VI-VIII, X, XI, XIII-XV. ## Fiscal Resources of Georgia Agricul-Constitutional Prohibition on Grathe General Assembly Has First Approzens of Georgia. Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation is authorized to establish and administer a program of guaranteed educational loans to eligible parents, but guarantee of and payment of interest on loans to parents who are not Georgia citizens must be by private, not state appropriated, funds. 1980 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 80-153. tively be considered beyond the scope of the ordinary training agencies may provide employees in state government, although, in certain narrow circumstances, agencies may train employees in college courses which provide job-specific instruction. 1998 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 98-16. A state department or agency may implement a doctoral-level training program for employees, provided that it does so using regularly appropriated funds to obtain federal matching funds. 1973 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 73-154. gram prerequisite to grants to ## College Courses Should presump-Federal Education Assistance Proboard’s Employees. This paragraph would not authorize legislation, let alone board of education regulations, which would permit grants to the state board’s employees independently of a federal education assistance program. 1963-65 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 758 (see Ga. Const. 1983,Art. VIII, Sec. VII, Para. I). ## Delinquent State Teachers’ Scholarships. Constitutional provisions require that any money which is collected by the State Board of Education from delinquent state teachers’ scholarships must be paid into the general fund of the state treasury and cannot be used in making future scholarship commitments by the State Board of Education. 1971 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 71-126. ## Grants to Extant Teachers Prohibited. The phrase ‘‘interested in becoming teachers’’ would not be construed by the courts as authorizing grants to persons who already are teachers. 1963-65 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 758 (decided under Ga. Const. 1945, Art. VII, Sec. I, Para. II). Funds used to pay scholarships may be paid directly to colleges where students are attending; the board of education has authority to prescribe the terms and the conditions of the scholarships granted and this is an entirely reasonable and proper regulation to require for the receipt of scholarship aid. 1958-59 Op. Att’y Gen. p. 142. Condition for Board of Regents’ ## Scholarships. Current statutory law relating to Board of Regents’ ‘‘scholarships’’ requires that the award of such scholarships continue to be conditioned upon the current ‘‘service of Georgia’’ requirement. 1986 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 86-25. Compliance with Fair and Open ## Grants Act in Administering Scholarships. It was not the intent of the General Assembly that the Georgia Student Finance Commission comply with the Fair and Open Grants Act, O.C.G.A. § 28-5-120 et seq., in administering the HOPE Scholarship, Hope Grant, and other state scholarship and grant programs. 2002 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 2002-2. ## Alr. Student’s right to compel school officials to issue degree, diploma, or the like, 11 ALR4th 1182. Validity of, and sufficiency of compliance with, state standards for approval of private school to receive public placements of students or reimbursement for their educational costs, 48 ALR4th 1231. Validity of public school funding systems, 110 ALR5th 293.