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Proposal would create Georgia Foster Care Scholarship covering tuition and living costs
Summary
Senate Bill 85 would create the Georgia Foster Care Scholarship to fund tuition, books, room, board and related costs for students who experienced foster care; sponsors said the program complements federal and Hope scholarship resources and is aimed at smoothing the college transition.
Senator Brass described Senate Bill 85 as the Georgia Foster Care Scholarship Act, designed to provide scholarships for young people who spent time in the state foster-care system and to cover not only tuition but "other necessary costs of higher education, like books, fees, housing, and a meal plan."
"It provides a framework by which the General Assembly can fund scholarships for young people or young adults who've been in the Georgia foster care system as children," Brass said. The sponsor and several committee members emphasized the program’s goal of supporting transitional needs that go beyond tuition to improve educational persistence for a vulnerable population.
Committee members asked about eligibility timelines, academic requirements and the program’s fiscal implications. Senator Brass and staff said eligibility would generally be within three years of receiving a high-school diploma or equivalent, and the bill includes a simplified application process designed to limit paperwork burdens for eligible students. When Representative Flipp More asked if there is a GPA requirement, the sponsor said eligibility language is in the bill (section cited) and that grades were not currently a gate in the basic eligibility language; staff noted Hope scholarship rules would apply where relevant.
On appropriations, the sponsor said he had been told funding was included in budget planning, though committee members asked for specifics. Brass said roughly 7,500 people per year qualify in general for post‑foster-care services, and the scholarship would cover a subset of that population; the sponsor reported he had been told an appropriation was "in there" but did not provide final numbers at the hearing.
Members queried potential open‑ended costs and whether the state would face larger fiscal exposure if students enrolled at higher-cost private institutions. Brass said other financial aid (Pell, Hope) would be deducted and the scholarship would function to "carry them over the top" so students could stay enrolled. The bill requires eligible schools to be those eligible for the Hope Scholarship; the sponsor said the total per‑semester award "shall not exceed the cost of the eligible student's tuition, room, board, meal plan, and books."
The committee held the item as a hearing; no final vote occurred. Questions remain about precise appropriation amounts, the number of expected participants, and administrative details for the "simplified application process."
