Georgia Code
Part 7 - Hope Scholarships and Grants
§ 20-3-519. Definitions

As used in this part, the term:
provided, however, that between July 1, 2013, and June 30, 2015, if a high school located in Georgia was accredited by one of the accrediting agencies included in this subparagraph within the previous two years, such high school shall be considered an eligible high school for purposes of this subparagraph; or
(9.1) “Factor rate” means the percentage amount established by the Georgia Student Finance Commission against which the previous year tuition is multiplied for eligible public postsecondary institutions and against which the previous year HOPE award amount is multiplied for eligible private postsecondary institutions.
(9.2) “First professional degree program” means a nonundergraduate degree program that meets the requirements established by the program regulations promulgated by the Georgia Student Finance Commission which, at a minimum, shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(12.1) “Half-time student” means a matriculated student attending a postsecondary educational institution and enrolled for six to 11 semester hours or the equivalent in any given semester or quarter.
(12.2) “HOPE award amount” means the amount of HOPE award to be made to an eligible student as follows:
(13.1) “HOPE HSE voucher” means a Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally state approved high school equivalency (HSE) voucher issued in accordance with Code Section 20-3-519.6.
(16.1) “HOPE tuition payment” means, in the case of an eligible private postsecondary institution, the amount paid for tuition based on the amount established by the General Assembly in an appropriations Act.
(19.1) “Part-time student” means a matriculated student attending a postsecondary educational institution and enrolled for less than 12 semester hours or the equivalent in any given semester or quarter and who has never been enrolled for 12 or more semester hours or the equivalent in any given semester or quarter.
(21.1) “Remedial and developmental courses” means coursework required by the postsecondary institution or chosen by the student that does not count toward program requirements for college degrees in the case of the HOPE scholarship, or, diplomas or certificates in the case of the HOPE grant.
(26.1) “Zell Miller Grant Scholar” means a student who has met the applicable eligibility requirements to receive a HOPE grant in accordance with Code Section 20-3-519.5 and earned a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 at the end of any quarter or semester in which the student has attended courses toward a diploma or certificate.
A student who loses eligibility to be a Zell Miller Scholarship Scholar for any reason may regain eligibility one time if the student requalifies at one of the checkpoints set forth in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of Code Section 20-3-519.2.
History. Code 1981, § 20-3-519 , enacted by Ga. L. 1998, p. 626, § 2; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 20; Ga. L. 2000, p. 776, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1628, § 1; Ga. L. 2001, p. 4, § 20; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1114, § 1; Ga. L. 2004, p. 922, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 2006, p. 1069, § 1/SB 561; Ga. L. 2008, p. 112, § 2/SB 480; Ga. L. 2008, p. 335, § 2/SB 435; Ga. L. 2008, p. 759, §§ 2, 4A/SB 492; Ga. L. 2009, p. 8, § 20/SB 46; Ga. L. 2011, p. 1, § 1/HB 326; Ga. L. 2012, p. 775, § 20/HB 942; Ga. L. 2013, p. 763, § 2/HB 115; Ga. L. 2014, p. 801, § 8/HB 697; Ga. L. 2015, p. 5, § 20/HB 90; Ga. L. 2016, p. 601, § 1/HB 798; Ga. L. 2016, p. 832, § 3/HB 801; Ga. L. 2021, p. 422, § 1/HB 606; Ga. L. 2022, p. 168, § 3/SB 397.
The 2014 amendment, effective July 1, 2014, added paragraph (26.1); and inserted “Scholarship” following “Zell Miller” throughout paragraph (27).
The 2015 amendment, effective March 13, 2015, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “student who” for “student that” in paragraph (26.1) and in paragraph (27), in the introductory paragraph, in the last sentence of subparagraph (B), and in the concluding paragraph.
The 2016 amendments.
The first 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2016, rewrote paragraph (27). The second 2016 amendment, effective July 1, 2020, in paragraph (9.1), substituted “against which the previous year tuition is multiplied for eligible public postsecondary institutions and against which the previous year HOPE award amount is multiplied for eligible private postsecondary institutions” for “against which the previous year HOPE award amount is multiplied”; rewrote paragraph (13); and, near the beginning of paragraph (16.1), deleted “in the case of an eligible public postsecondary institution, the amount paid for tuition only based on the standard undergraduate full-time tuition rate for 15 hours; and,” following “means,”.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, in paragraph (6), deleted “or” at the end of division (6)(A)(v), added “or” at the end of division (6)(A)(vi), and added division (6)(A)(vii).
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, substituted the present provisions of paragraph (13.1) for the former provisions, which read: “‘HOPE GED voucher’ means a Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally general educational development (GED) diploma voucher for postsecondary education awarded in accordance with Code Section 20-3-519.6.”
Code Commission notes.
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2008, “Georgia” was deleted following “A branch of the” in subparagraph (7)(B).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2011, p. 1, § 17/HB 326, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part, that the 2011 amendment shall be applicable to postsecondary students beginning in the fall of 2011.
For application of this statute in 2020 and 2021, see Executive Orders 09.30.20.02, 10.15.20.01, 10.30.20.02, 11.13.20.01, 11.30.20.02, 12.08.20.01, 12.30.20.02, 01.15.21.01, 01.29.21.02, 02.15.21.01, 02.26.21.02, 03.12.21.01, 03.31.21.03, 04.30.21.01, 05.28.21.02, 06.30.21.02, 07.22.21.02, 08.19.21.02, and 09.20.21.02.
A listing of Executive Orders issued in 2020 and 2021 can be found at https://gov.georgia.gov/executive-action/executive-orders.
Law reviews.
For article on the 2004 amendment and enactment of Code sections in this part, see 21 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 107 (2004).
For article on the 2016 amendment of this Code section, see 33 Georgia St. U.L. Rev. 183 (2016).