Lawmakers restore full $325 million for needs-based college aid program, with a boost from Kemp

Georgia’s first comprehensive needs-based college scholarship came closer to becoming reality Wednesday after the state House and Senate approved a budget plan that would fully fund the endeavor.  Gov. Brian Kemp proposed the DREAMS scholarship in his State of the State Address last month with a proposed price tag of $325 million. But last week, […]

Georgia’s first comprehensive needs-based college scholarship came closer to becoming reality Wednesday after the state House and Senate approved a budget plan that would fully fund the endeavor. 

Gov. Brian Kemp proposed the DREAMS scholarship in his State of the State Address last month with a proposed price tag of $325 million. But last week, the House and Senate cut $25 million and $200 million, respectively, from that fund, leaving only $100 million for the proposed scholarship program. 

Lawmakers restored the proposed funding after Kemp increased the revenue estimate Wednesday for the current budget year by $1.4 billion dollars, which includes $145 million in state lottery funds for the DREAMS scholarship program.

Georgia Lottery funds are exclusively earmarked for education, mostly for the merit-based HOPE Scholarship and Georgia Pre-K.

“This one-time allocation of reserves will not impact HOPE and pre-K in any way, and we will be revising the statutory lottery reserve to further protect those reserves,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Matt Hatchett, a Dublin Republican.

In a letter to the House and Senate budget chairmen this week, Kemp said that he remains “fully committed to funding” the program.

As proposed, $25 million would go to college students in need for the school year starting in the fall of 2026, with the remaining $300 million launching a long-term endowment to sustain the DREAMS program. The student basis of allowance would be based on the student aid index from FAFSA, and eligible students could receive up to $3,000 per academic year for up to eight semesters, according to the University System of Georgia.

To be eligible, students must be Georgia residents with unmet financial needs after all other scholarships, grants and loans are accounted for, and they must either be employed or volunteer at least part time.

The revised budget allots $180 million from state general funds and $145 million from lottery reserves, raising the endowment back to the governor’s originally proposed $325 million. The DREAMS scholarship and endowment fall under the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which also oversees HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships.

Ashley Young, a senior policy analyst at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, said having the program under the commission will allow for more transparency on how the program is being run each year.

“[DREAMS] will be centrally located and disseminated through Georgia Student Finance Commission, which will be very helpful in terms of ensuring that students that qualify for the funds at all institutions will be able to receive them,” Young said. “And that we will have transparency and important data on who receives the need-based aid.”

Supporters of the scholarship, such as Georgians for College Affordability and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, had warned that reductions to the proposal would hinder long-term efforts to improve college affordability. 

While investing in merit-based aid such as the HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships, Georgia is one of two states that does not currently offer comprehensive need-based financial aid. Merit-based scholarships can leave some students behind, said Hamida Labi, senior policy counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. 

“Black students enroll in state schools at far lower rates than their counterparts, yet have the highest rates of student loan debt,” Labi said. “Black students also receive HOPE and Zell Miller scholarships at a rate vastly lower than students from other racial backgrounds.”

Kimberly Morris, a higher education consultant, said students often look to her to answer how they can fund their college journeys.

“It breaks my heart when I can only offer them student loans,” Morris said. “Knowing that statistically, the loans can change the trajectory of their life that they haven’t even begun to live.”

Labi also said some Georgia students need as little as $3,000 a year to be able to graduate without student loans. House Bill 1413, introduced by Rep. Chuck Martin, an Alpharetta Republican and chair of the House Higher Education Committee, outlines program eligibility and formally establishes the program.

Scholarships like DREAMS can be the difference between getting a degree or dropping out, said Georgia high school graduate Kamore Campbell.

“Two of my closest friends started at Georgia Southern,” Campbell said. “Like me, they were strong, hardworking students. They both had the HOPE scholarship, and the maximum Pell grant, but the financial gap was too hard, and they never made it to their second year.”

Campbell said her best friend went to Georgia State University, and worked full-time to fund her education. Her friend took two days off of work to study and was fired from her job, rendering her unable to pay her spring education costs. The DREAM scholarship would bridge the financial gap and take the strain off of working students.

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