Gov. Deal signs technical college grants bill – Atlanta Business Chronicle

Gov. Nathan Deal signed legislation Tuesday creating a new scholarship program for Georgia technical college students.

Under the Zell Miller Grant program, named after the former governor who fathered the Georgia Lottery, students who maintain at least a 3.5 grade point average will receive full tuition coverage to attend technical college.

“To fulfill the needs of our ever-growing economy, we need more of our citizens to acquire education and skills beyond high school,” Deal said. “This additional benefit will provide greater access to education, cultivating a highly skilled workforce and helping keep us the No.-1 place in the nation in which to do business.”

The original version of the bipartisan bill introduced by Georgia Reps. Stacey Evans, D-Smyrna, and Earl Ehrhart, R-Powder Springs, would have extended full tuition coverage to all technical college students earning at or above a 2.0 GPA. But the standard was raised as the legislation went through the General Assembly amid concerns over the costs of the grants.

Based on current enrollment numbers, the Zell Miller Grant will cover about 16,000 technical college students, or 20 percent of all recipients of lottery-funded HOPE grants, at a cost of about $11 million.

via Gov. Deal signs technical college grants bill – Atlanta Business Chronicle.