Georgia Governor Nathan DealATLANTA - Gov. Nathan Deal has signed legislation to lower grade requirements for recipients of the HOPE Grant program, which helps students attending the state's technical colleges.
Deal signed the bill during an event today at the Technical College System of Georgia's annual leadership summit.
Deal says the bill works to strengthen the state's workforce, saying "we need more college or technical college degrees in order to attract and fill the jobs of tomorrow."
The bill returns the qualifying grade point average to 2 .0 after it was raised to 3.0 two years ago because of budgetary concerns. In the years since, there was a notable decline in enrollment.
The governor's office says recent growth in lottery revenues, which fund the program, will cover the additional $5 million to $8 million cost.