Senate committee advances bill to expand Georgia Promise scholarship eligibility to foster parents’ biological and adopted children

Senate members advanced Senate Bill 152 on a committee substitute after a roughly 30-minute discussion that centered on expanding eligibility for the Georgia Promise Scholarship to biological and adopted children of families who have served as foster parents within the last 10 years.

The bill’s sponsor, Senator Dolezal, told the committee SB 152 "rewards those families who have taken care of the most vulnerable children, in the state of Georgia" by creating "preferred positioning in the Georgia Promise Scholarship program." He said the measure exempts certain existing eligibility conditions—such as residency in a bottom-25% attendance zone for some applicants—but retains requirements that recipients be Georgia residents for at least one year and meet legal-status rules tied to the HOPE scholarship. The legislation also bars simultaneous receipt of other state-funded scholarships such as the Georgia special…