Deal signs bill incentivizing dual credit classes

ATLANTA (AP) Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a bill to give high school students an incentive to take dual credit courses and earn college credit.

Deal signed House Bill 131 at Georgia Gwinnett College Friday. He says by year 2020, 60 percent of job openings in the state will require postsecondary education and Georgia needs to increase the percentage of people holding those degrees to create a highly skilled workforce.

Under the law, the classes will add bonus points to a student's GPA. The classes will also count toward the ``rigorous coursework'' the HOPE scholarship program now requires.