Georgia’s House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday that would pay full tuition for the state’s highest achieving technical college students.

House Bill 697, sponsored by Rep. Stacey Evans, D-Smyrna, would create a Zell Miller Grant Scholar designation for tech students earning at least a 3.5 grade-point average.

The legislation is part of Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to expand the HOPE grant program, but it differs from Evans’ initial proposal that would have paid full tuition for all HOPE grant recipients, which requires at least a 2.0 GPA.

The grant expansion is expected to cover about 20 percent of students, or 16,000, currently enrolled in the state’s technical college system.

About the Author

Keep Reading

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., speaks alongside then former president and presidential hopeful Donald Trump at a campaign event in Rome, Georgia, on March 9, 2024. (Elijah Nouvelage/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Featured

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC