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The Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) is the state’s higher education finance agency with over 20 state and lottery funded scholarships, grants and loans. To ensure that students are prepared for post-secondary education, GSFC provides free financial aid counseling to K-12, post-secondary institutions and community organizations.
Governor Brian Kemp’s proposed FY2026 budget includes $1.56 billion (increase from FY2025 budget of $1.49 billion) for Georgia’s lottery-funded pre-kindergarten (pre-K), HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) and other financial aid programs. Approximately $1 billion is allocated for HOPE and $563 million is earmarked for pre-K education.
The education lottery reserve totaled $2.1 billion at the beginning of FY ‘24, including $1.5 billion for expenditures like the HOPE Scholarship and the HOPE Grant programs.[1] After adding the FY 2024 proceeds, the lottery reserves now stand at $2.4 billion. Lawmakers require a shortfall reserve of 50% of the prior year’s lottery proceeds to sustain the education lottery reserves for the HOPE Scholarship program. In 2024 the required shortfall reserves totaled $779 million.[2] An additional $1.6 billion remains in the unrestricted education lottery reserves.[3]
Georgia ranks third in the nation for student loan debt per borrower, forcing many Georgians to delay homeownership and retirement.[4] Georgia has the highest average of student loan debt per borrowers in the south.[5] The lack of state sponsored need-based financial aid has a direct impact on the student loan debt crisis in Georgia.
Eliminating financial barriers allows students to navigate college affordability and addresses the student loan debt crisis in Georgia. Financial aid policies like the College Completion Grant program are a step in the right direction. However, this program has a limited budget of $10 million to include all higher-ed institutions in Georgia and a lifetime award cap of $2500 per-person. This means many students are still left with a hefty balance.
In the 2025 Legislative Session, lawmakers have the power to pass comprehensive need-based financial aid to reduce student loan debt in Georgia. All Georgians deserve affordable opportunities that lead to gainful employment and the right to economic well-being.
[1] State Accounting Office. (2024). 2024 report of Georgia revenues and reserves. Retrieved December 14, 2024, from https://sao.georgia.gov/swar/grr.
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Hanson, M. (2023, May). Student loan debt by state [2023]: average + total debt. Education Data Initiative. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-state
[5] Ibid
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