Enrollment has nearly doubled in a recent four-year stretch, from about 27,000 students in fiscal year 2016 to nearly 52,000 students in fiscal year 2019, state records show. Georgia’s fiscal year begins July 1 and ends June 30.

“We put guard rails on the program to save it for generations to come,” said Sen. Brian Strickland, R-McDonough.

The bill’s critics questioned whether a thorough analysis was done to determine program costs. They also raised concerns that it would discourage some lower-income students from seeking a college degree since they may have to pay for some dual enrollment courses.

“I’m not satisfied if we did our job (researching the bill),” said Sen. Elena Parent, D-Atlanta.

The bill will now go to the state’s House of Representatives for a vote.

Clarification: This story has been updated to include that the legislation has credit hour restrictions for some students currently in the dual enrollment program.