HB 694: State Board of Education; establish five-year school pilot program to increase graduation rates and postsecondary education

Currently, Georgia law has a reserved code section with no substantive requirements for school counseling grants. This bill fills that section by creating a State Board of Education pilot program to fund additional school counselors and postsecondary preparation services in public secondary schools. Subject to the General Assembly actually approving the money, the program would provide up to $3 million per school year for up to five school years, starting in 2027-2028. Local school districts would apply, describing their counselor ratios, partnerships with colleges and nonprofits, early warning systems for at-risk students, and plans to keep funding services after the grant ends. The State Board would prioritize districts with high dropout rates or high shares of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Districts must report on hiring, services, and graduation and postsecondary outcomes. The program is set to automatically repeal on July 1, 2033, and the bill would take effect July 1, 2025.

• Creates a State Board of Education pilot program funding school counseling and postsecondary preparation services in public secondary schools for up to five school years.
• Sets aside up to $3 million per school year, starting in the 2027-2028 school year, contingent on the General Assembly appropriating the money.
• Requires local school districts to apply, detailing counselor ratios, partnerships, early warning systems, and plans to sustain services after grant funding ends.
• Directs the State Board to prioritize districts with above-average dropout rates or shares of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
• Requires the Department of Education to create an application process by January 1, 2026 and collect applications by November 1, 2026, with annual reporting starting October 1, 2028.
• Automatically repeals the entire program on July 1, 2033.

Local school districts and their governing boards, public secondary schools and their students, school counselors certified by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the State Board of Education, and the Department of Education, which will design and monitor the application and reporting process.

If funded, districts serving students with higher dropout risk or poverty rates could get state money to hire more counselors and build partnerships with colleges and nonprofits, potentially改变 day-to-day counseling capacity in participating schools and shaping how graduation and postsecondary outcomes are tracked over time.

• Section 1 rewrites the previously reserved O.C.G.A. § 20-2-640 to define terms like 'local education agency,' 'participating school,' and 'school counselor.'
• Subsection (c) caps funding at $3 million per school year for up to five years, starting 2027-2028, subject to legislative appropriation.
• Subsection (d) lists ten required elements of a district's application, including counselor ratios, partnerships, early warning systems, and matching fund plans.
• Subsection (e) directs the State Board to prioritize districts with above-average dropout rates or free/reduced meal eligibility.
• Subsection (f) requires annual reporting on counselors hired, services provided, dropout and graduation rates, and postsecondary enrollment outcomes.
• Subsection (g) lets the State Board waive other state rules and regulations as needed to run the pilot program.
• Subsection (i) sets a January 1, 2026 deadline to develop the application process and a November 1, 2026 deadline for districts to apply.
• Subsection (j) automatically repeals the entire program on July 1, 2033; Section 2 sets the Act's effective date as July 1, 2025.

1. 2025-03-04House Second Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
2. 2025-03-03House First Readers (Cámara de Representantes)
3. 2025-02-28House Hopper (Cámara de Representantes)

• Karen Lupton (D, HD-083)Patrocinador principal
• Marvin Lim (D, HD-098)
• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)

• school counseling
• graduation rates
• education funding
• postsecondary preparation
• Georgia public schools