Georgia General Assembly Passes Two Bills Aimed at Improving Georgia's Reading Rates

This is a post originally published in 2023. Since then, new literacy legislation has been passed in 2026 to update and consolidate earlier literacy and dyslexia bills in Georgia, including SB48 (dyslexia screening bill which passed in 2018) and HB538 (2023). The Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 (House Bill 1193) was signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp on May 5, 2026, to overhaul early reading instruction and address statewide learning gap. One key provision of the new bill included $70 million in increased funding to develop a new literacy coaching program, training and positions.

The Georgia Early Literacy Act (House Bill 538), sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard, R-Warner Robins, a former teacher, aims to improve the quality of early reading instruction.   

The legislation would require schools to screen students from kindergarten to third grade on their reading proficiency three times a year. Students who are identified as falling behind in reading would receive an individual reading improvement plan within 30 days of being identified followed by intensive reading intervention until they catch up.

School systems would also be required to amp up training of teachers in “the science of reading” – a method of teaching reading that draws on evidence from psychology and neuroscience and includes phonics instruction.   

“The Georgia Early Literacy Act is a giant step forward in literacy education and will be life changing for our state’s children,” Ballard said. “Today is the day we will make sure all Georgia’s children learn to read.”

The bill would also require the state Board of Education to develop a list of high-quality, evidence-backed reading instructional and screening tools for school districts and boost literacy training for future teachers.