Eligible Clayton County sophomores and juniors likely will receive their HOPE scholarships even if the school district loses accreditation.

Gov. Sonny Perdue will review a bill that allows students who graduate from unaccredited schools to still get their scholarship money.

Senate Bill 480, which passed the Senate and House last week, is for students who graduate from schools that had been accredited within the past seven years. If signed by the governor, the law would be valid until Dec. 31, 2010, which would include current sophomores and juniors.

The law could help hundreds of Clayton students who depend on HOPE money, district spokesman Charles White said.

"I think it helps from a standpoint because it protects their [students'] right to seek their opportunity to qualify for scholarships regardless of the circumstances of the accreditation issue," White said.

The Clayton school board is now drafting a resolution to send to legislators, thanking them for the legislation.

HOPE scholarships are necessary for Richard Penny, whose twin sons are in 11th grade at Jonesboro High School.

"It would help our family," said Penny, a father of three.

The bill likely will help Kaleb Penny, an honors student who wants to study photography at the Art Institute of Atlanta. His twin bother, Joshua, however, is hoping for a future at Brown University in Rhode Island. Georgia Tech is the backup for Joshua, an honors student and president of the Clayton Student Coalition. The HOPE scholarship would not be available for students who enter schools outside Georgia.

"We are still very, very concerned they would graduate from an unaccredited school," Richard Penny said Wednesday. "It's nice, but not good enough. We don't know how it will affect college admissions."

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools gave Clayton County until Sept. 1 to meet nine mandates or lose accreditation. A loss of accreditation used to mean no HOPE scholarships. However, it still makes it difficult for students to get into some colleges and obtain some scholarships.

Perdue has until May 14 to sign the bill into law, said Marshall Guest, a spokesman for the governor.

Staff reporter Aaron Gould Sheinin contributed to this article.