HB 1257 Georgia House · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Education; incentive grants for local boards of education to approve charter school petitions; revise provisions

Summary

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to elementary and secondary education, so as to revise provisions for incentive grants for local boards of education to approve charter school petitions; to revise provisions for the Office of Charter School Compliance; to revise provisions relative to charter petitions by existing charter schools; to revise provisions relative to state charter school records; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 9, 2026 Last action Mar 6, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

LC 49 2593/a → LC 49 2710S/hs · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill was amended by the House Committee on Education to replace the original version with a substitute that modifies the bill's purpose and scope. The substitute removes the original introductory language about promoting charter school petitions and instead focuses on revising specific sections of Georgia's charter school code, particularly around compliance requirements and organizational structure.

Scope change

The bill's scope was narrowed from a broad charter school promotion act to a more focused revision of specific code sections, particularly shifting emphasis from petition approval processes to compliance and operational requirements.

SCOPE

Removed original bill title and sponsor information identifying Representatives Rice, Hilton, Donatucci, and Ballard as authors of HB 1257.

Changed the bill's stated purpose from promoting charter school petition approval to revising specific code sections about charter school compliance and operations.

DEFINITION

Added a new provision requiring charter schools to be organized as nonprofit corporations, with exceptions for local schools, school systems, or public entities.

REQUIREMENT

Reorganized the Office of Charter School Compliance section, moving from subsection (a) of one code section to paragraph (4) of subsection (b) of a different code section.

Removed detailed requirements for local board evaluation guidelines, including criteria for academic/operational/financial plans, best practices, public hearing procedures, and standardized evaluation rubrics.

TECHNICAL

Changed bill designation from 'H. B. 1257' to 'H. B. 1257 (SUB)' indicating this is a substitute version, and updated legislative code numbers from LC 49 2593 to LC 49 2710S.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Mar 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute

lower

Feb 9, 2026

Introduced

House Hopper

lower

4 primary · 0 co-sponsors