Senate study committee weighs creating state need-based aid program using lottery reserves

A Senate study committee on postsecondary affordability heard Monday about proposals to create a state-run need-based grant program funded from the state's education lottery reserves, and officials described how such aid would narrow gaps in enrollment, persistence and student debt.

Chair Senator Nan Orrock opened the session at Georgia College and State University and framed the discussion around widening access and affordability. “We have learned that in Georgia ... we’re spending only 1% of that financial aid on needs based assistance,” Orrock said, summarizing earlier committee findings about Georgia’s low share of need-based spending.

The committee’s main policy presentation came from Ashley Young, senior education policy analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI). Young recommended a comprehensive, annually renewable need-based grant administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission and paid from education lottery reserves. GBPI’s proposal would cost approximately $124,000,000 per year and could support an estimated 98,019 students with the highest financial need, Young said. Under GBPI’s design, awards would be disbursed per…