Gov. Sonny Perdue's proposal to tie HOPE scholarship eligibility to SAT scores faces its first public debate today before a state panel that appears skeptical of the idea.

The question of whether students should be required to attain a minimum SAT score -- along with the current B average -- to earn a HOPE is scheduled to be discussed by a state commission studying ways to preserve the scholarship program.

Perdue has said the change would help boost the state's 50th-place ranking in SAT scores. But even some of Perdue's fellow Republicans on the HOPE Scholarship Joint Study Commission have questions about the concept, which could keep thousands of B-average students from getting the award.

"I think most people [on the commission] are concerned about it," said Sen. Brian Kemp (R-Athens), a member of the commission. "I have some concerns about how it's going to affect the program and the people it would knock off [HOPE rolls].

"Whatever comes out of the commission, it needs to be unanimous," Kemp said.

Some Democratic legislators on the 20-member commission have voiced opposition, arguing that the plan would hurt African-American students, whose average SAT scores are well below the state average of 984 out of a possible 1,600.

"To jump into this right now would be a big mistake," said Rep. Gerald Greene (D-Cuthbert), a member of the commission and a longtime teacher. "If I'm a betting man, I'd bet [commission members] wouldn't buy into this."

Two parents on the commission have raised concerns. And Henry Hector, a commission member and president of the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges, said the SAT was never designed for awarding scholarships like HOPE.

House Higher Education Chairwoman Louise McBee (D-Athens), co-chairman of the commission, said she had mixed feelings about the proposal. Although she supports Perdue's push to raise SAT scores, she said, "I don't want to hurt a lot of students in terms of their opportunities to go on to college.

"I can't tell you the number of people who called me, of parents who say their daughter or son was not able to score high on the SAT but graduated magna cum laude [from college]."

Currently under HOPE, all students with a B average or higher receive full tuition to a public college and money for books and fees. Technical school students also are eligible, and students at Georgia private colleges can receive a $3,000 annual grant.

The HOPE commission was formed to recommend ways to guide the program through rough financial waters ahead. In a few years, the cost of HOPE and of pre-kindergarten classes is expected to exceed the lottery revenues that pay for the programs by more than $200 million annually. That's due largely to rapid growth in the number of students earning HOPE and the rising cost of tuition.

Last month, Perdue called on the commission to consider setting a minimum SAT score as a HOPE requirement, in part to give high school students a greater incentive to perform well on the test. He did not suggest a minimum test score. However, state figures suggest that if a 1,000 SAT score had been included in HOPE requirements in fall 2000, about two-thirds of African-American college freshmen who earned the scholarship and a third of whites would not have been eligible.

Major changes in HOPE might require approval by the General Assembly. Adding the SAT to HOPE requirements would meet stiff opposition, not only from the Legislative Black Caucus, but also from rural lawmakers who dominate the state House.

College Board figures show that the average SAT score for the class of 2003 in rural Georgia schools was 45 points below the state average.

"We in rural areas can't compete with the Cherokee counties, the Gwinnett counties," said Rep. Hinson Mosley (D-Jesup).

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor, a Democrat, said figures show that adding a 1000 SAT minimum would disqualify three-fourths of rural Georgia HOPE recipients from going to two-year colleges. "To me, this raises a red flag," he said.