Day 9: House Committee Hears GPEE and Georgia Student Finance Commission Presentations

Committee work has continued to ramp up, with the House Education Committee meeting today to hear presentations on several education topics. A bill to ban student personal electronic devices during the school day in grades 9-12 has been assigned to a House Education subcommittee for a hearing. The legislation sponsored by Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners), HB 1009, is supported by PAGE.

The Chattahoochee-Flint RESA Student Advisory Committee was present at the Capitol and heard comments from legislators representing the RESA's service area.

House Floor Action

Senate Floor Action

House Education Committee Begins 2026 Work

The House Education Committee met for the first time in 2026. Committee Chair Chris Erwin (R-Homer) shared the committee’s priorities for the session: literacy, safety, and learning. At the meeting’s conclusion, Erwin announced new subcommittee names, the Policy & Innovation Subcommittee and the Curriculum & Achievement Subcommittee, though leadership and membership of the committees remain the same as in 2025. He assigned HB 383 (the Georgia High School NIL Protection Act) and HB 907 (the Completion Special Schools Act) to the Policy & Innovation Subcommittee. HB 971 (allows homeschool and private school students to enroll in college and career academies) and HB 1009 (expands the ban on most student devices in classrooms to grades 9-12) were assigned to the Curriculum & Academic Achievement Subcommittee. Hearings on the bills are expected next Monday.

Dana Rickman from the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) shared the organization’s 2026 Top Ten Issues to Watch. Members of the committee asked a variety of questions, with several asking about how to modernize the state’s education funding formula, the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula.

Chris Green, president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), provided an overview of the agency’s education initiatives, including dual enrollment, Georgia Match, REACH Scholars, and the Georgia Promise Scholarship, Georgia’s newest private school voucher program. Green also highlighted the commission’s financial literacy efforts, which are included as resources on the GAfutures.org website.

Green described the commission's work thus far on the Georgia Promise Scholarship, created by SB 233 in 2024. Participation this year reached 7,700 students. When discussing the marketplace where families can purchase resources using voucher funds, Green said that all curricula in the system have been approved in accordance with the guidelines in SB 233. He also said there is a rigorous vetting process for private schools participating in the program. In response to legislator questions, Green said there are many vendors they do not approve for placement in the marketplace. He also said the commission will soon issue a report with the information required by SB 233, after the program has been in place for one year. In response to a question about why funds for the voucher program were reduced in the AFY 26 budget, Green said the reduction was based on estimates of how many students the commission expects to participate in the program for the remainder of the fiscal year. He said the budget expenditure will return to normal levels in FY 27.

Register for PAGE Day on Capitol Hill Feb. 17

Please make your plans to join us for 2026 PAGE Day on Capitol Hill, in partnership with the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL) and the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE).

This free event will include breakfast, lunch, information sessions with key education-focused policymakers, advocacy opportunities under the Gold Dome, and a state school superintendent candidate forum.

Register and watch a brief informational video HERE.

Upcoming Schedule

Monday, Feb. 2- Legislative Day 10

Tuesday, Feb. 3 - Legislative Day 11

• 1 p.m. Senate Retirement Committee, 310 CLOB

Wednesday, Feb. 4 - Legislative Day 12

Thursday, Feb. 5 - Legislative Day 13

Friday, Feb. 6 - Legislative Day 14