Georgia reorganizes education and workforce agencies, adds a data board, and expands apprenticeships

The act reconstitutes the office, repeals the Alliance of Education Agency Heads, and gives the new office added duties. It covers the state office, the Governor-appointed director, and the other education and workforce agencies that must cooperate with it. The director is appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate and coordinates state agencies on education, student achievement, talent development, and workforce preparedness. The office would oversee a statewide education and workforce plan, help build a combined federal workforce plan, and keep its accountability and reporting duties. It stays assigned to the Office of Planning and Budget for administrative purposes. Agencies must cooperate with the office and share data to the extent state and federal law allow. The office is reconstituted effective July 1, 2026.

New Code sections require a statewide education and workforce plan, an alignment report, and a navigation tool. It covers students, parents, counselors, educators, job seekers, and the education and labor agencies that provide data. The plan covers education and workforce programs, results for students in high-demand careers, and a collection of all state-funded credentials. The office must meet at least quarterly with participating agencies on the plan, and the plan goes to the Governor after the board approves it. Agencies must provide data and make their technology compatible with the navigation tool.

A new Code section creates the Education Data Governance Board inside the Office of Education and Workforce Strategy. It covers the office, the Department of Education, technical and university systems, the Student Finance Commission, the Department of Labor, and other listed agencies. The board does not move any agency's legal authority to another agency. It does not require release of personally identifiable information except as otherwise permitted by law, and must comply with laws such as the federal student privacy law, FERPA.

The act renames and extends the apprenticeship program, adds pre-apprenticeships, and designates the Technical College System of Georgia as the state apprenticeship agency. It covers employers and apprenticeship sponsors, apprentices and pre-apprentices at least 15 years old, the technical college system, and the U.S. Department of Labor. The program is subject to appropriations by the General Assembly. Completion awards would not exceed $5,000 per apprentice for contracts entered on or after July 1, 2024, and each sponsor could contract for up to ten apprentices a year starting in fiscal year 2025. The new state apprenticeship agency role depends on approval by the U.S. Secretary of Labor. The program's repeal date moves from July 1, 2027 to 2031. The state apprenticeship agency article takes effect January 1, 2027; the rest of the act takes effect July 1, 2026.