Kemp backs needs-based college aid, proposes major investment in DREAMS scholarships

Gov. Brian Kemp announced his support for needs-based financial assistance for college students in Georgia at his final State of the State Address last week.

“In this era of high prices and new challenges for those graduating from high school, we also recognize the advantage need-based financial assistance can give to those who would not otherwise be able to access higher education,” Kemp said.

Georgia lawmakers were already exploring the possibility of a needs-based financial assistance program. The state Senate Committee on Higher Education Affordability released a report at the end of 2025 that called for a needs-based aid program similar to states like North Carolina and Florida to be funded by the unrestricted reserves of the Georgia Lottery.

Georgia and New Hampshire are the only two states without some sort of needs-based funding for college students, according to a report by the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute published in 2021.

“Like their peers who have the means to attend college, these students have great dreams for rewarding careers and impactful lives. But they do not always have hope that those dreams can become reality,” Kemp said in his address. “Dreams without the benefit of hope remain dreams deferred, perhaps for entire generations.”

Kemp said his amended budget proposal invests $325 million in the University System of Georgia for the DREAMS Scholarship program. Kemp said the program will complement the work of the Georgia MATCH program, which helps connect students to higher education.

“In future years this one-time endowment will create opportunities for generational economic advancement for thousands of students, and down the road it will allow them to complete college and begin meaningful careers without the burden of crippling debt,” Kemp said.