# Georgia HB 217: Education; make Dual Achievement Program a permanent state-wide program Georgia HB 217, Education; make Dual Achievement Program a permanent state-wide program, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session House bill sponsored by Bethany Ballard (Republican), Chris Erwin (Republican), Soo Hong (Republican) and 2 others; status signed, last action 2025-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB217-2025-2026 - As of: 2026-10-12 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Georgia HB 217 - State: Georgia - Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session - Title: Education; make Dual Achievement Program a permanent state-wide program - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-03 - Last action: 2025-07-01, Effective Date - Sponsors: Bethany Ballard (Republican), Chris Erwin (Republican), Soo Hong (Republican), Charles Martin (Republican), Will Wade (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Higher Education, General Bill - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 3 (356 yes, 26 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 6 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Students keep technical college diploma pathway: benefit, medium. The law extends the Dual Achievement Program's repeal date from July 1, 2026, to July 1, 2031. The program can include no more than five technical college units. Students earn a Georgia high school diploma after required counseling, assessment, coursework, and a qualifying college credential. That… - Returning students can re-enroll without visits: benefit, low. The State Board of Education must adopt re-enrollment rules by March 1, 2026. Students who withdrew can re-enroll in their home school system to participate in Dual Achievement beginning July 1, 2026. They must be able to complete re-enrollment without appearing in person. The rules can allow the T… - Students gain access but lose school activities: mixed, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia public secondary students ages 16 through 20 can join while remaining enrolled in their home system. They must complete at least six of nine required ninth- and tenth-grade courses, related state tests, and an acceptable readiness score. The nine courses cover two ea… - Scholarship families face protected income checks: mixed, low. Georgia's education savings authority and its agents can send applicant names and income thresholds to the Department of Revenue for verification. The agencies must first have an executed cooperative agreement. The department can report only whether an applicant's income exceeds the threshold, not… - Small district candidates gain waiver route: mixed, low. The State Board of Education can waive the specified school board candidate eligibility restriction in small school systems. The system's current fall enrollment must be no more than 2,800 full-time equivalent students. A local board or candidate can request the waiver; the local board must provide… - School funds follow technical college students: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the State Board of Education must transfer funds for eligible Dual Achievement students to the technical college system. Payments must cover at least a proportional share of the home system's Quality Basic Education formula earnings, grants, and federal funds. The share depe… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Bethany Ballard (Republican), House - Sponsor: Chris Erwin (Republican), House - Sponsor: Soo Hong (Republican), House - Sponsor: Charles Martin (Republican), House - Sponsor: Will Wade (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-04-04 | House | Agree to Senate Amendment | pass | 143 | 22 | 4 | | 2025-03-28 | Senate | PASSAGE AS AMENDED | pass | 44 | 2 | 6 | | 2025-03-06 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 169 | 2 | 2 | ## Actions (18) - 2025-07-01: Effective Date - 2025-04-28: House Date Signed by Governor (House) - 2025-04-28: Act 18 - 2025-04-10: House Sent to Governor (House) - 2025-04-04: House Agreed Senate Amend or Sub (House) - 2025-03-28: Senate Third Read (Senate) - 2025-03-28: Senate Passed/Adopted As Amended (Senate) - 2025-03-25: Senate Read Second Time (Senate) - 2025-03-21: Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate) - 2025-03-10: Senate Read and Referred (Senate) - 2025-03-06: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2025-03-06: House Third Readers (House) - 2025-03-06: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House) - 2025-02-26: House Withdrawn, Recommitted (House) - 2025-02-21: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House) - 2025-02-05: House Second Readers (House) - 2025-02-04: House First Readers (House) - 2025-02-03: House Hopper (House) ## Bill text - HB 217/AP* (v10): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239321) ## Related bills - SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed) - SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed) - SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed) - SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed) - HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed) - HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed) ## Sources - [HB 217/AP* (v10) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/239321) ## Related - [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026) - [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026) - [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026) - [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026) - [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026) - [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026) - [Georgia bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia/bills) - [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB217-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).