PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA EDUCATORS

The third day of the 2026 Legislative Session began bright and early for the PAGE Legislative Team as they attended the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues Breakfast. During this event, legislative leaders outlined their priorities including continuing efforts to improve literacy, invest in state and local infrastructure, and cut income and property tax rates. Gov. Brian Kemp will expand on his Eggs & Issues comments when he delivers his final State of the State address

On July 1, most legislation passed during the 2025 Georgia General Assembly took effect. To learn about these new laws and other important information, please review the 2025 PAGE Legislative Summary . The  PAGE 2025 Legislative Session Summary  covers education-related legislation approved by the General Assembly, provides an overview of the state’s K-12 education budget, and identifies notable bills that did not pass. All legislation became law on July 1, 2025, unless anoth

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) met virtually May 7 and 8. Executive Secretary Update GaPSC Executive Secretary...

The  PAGE 2025 Legislative Session Summary  covers education-related legislation approved by the General Assembly, provides an overview of the state’s K-12 education budget, and identifies notable bills that did not pass. All legislation will become law on July 1, 2025, unless another effective date is specified within the legislation. As 2025 is the first of Georgia’s two-year legislative biennium, bills that did not pass this session remain eligible for consideration and

The Georgia Council on Literacy met April 15 at Valdosta State University. The meeting included a panel discussion about literacy...

The House took the expected step of disagreeing with the Senate’s version of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 budget. The Senate insisted on its position. The budget will now be negotiated by a conference committee consisting of Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon), Sen. Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega), and Sen. Blake Tillery (R-Vidalia) and Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry), Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), and Rep. Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin). The conference committee will decide which budget items t

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) met virtually March 12 and 13. Important Update to Teacher Certification Beginning...

As the General Assembly completed three quarters of the legislative days remaining in the 2025 session, House and Senate floor calendars were lean, with the exception of the House's approval of the FY2026 budget, which contains welcome new funding for student services. Senate Education and House Education subcommittees are scheduled to meet tomorrow during a committee workday, so education legislation will soon continue through the legislative process. House Chamber Sena

As those working under the Gold Dome continue to recover from a lengthy Day 28/Crossover Day, the House and Senate Day 29 floor calendars were light and contained no education bills. The most notable news of the day was promising announcements from the House Appropriations Committee, which shared education priorities in the FY2026 budget. The House is expected to vote on the budget tomorrow. House Chamber Senate Chamber House Budget Writers Propose Big Investment in Public Sc

The 2025 legislature achieved a significant milestone late in the evening when the House and Senate adjourned their Crossover Day floor sessions, but before that occured, Gov. Brian Kemp signed the AFY25 budget . House Floor Session Senate Floor Session House Passes Voucehr Expansion, Tuition Assistance for Families of Fallen Educators, Personal Days Legislation, Voucher Expansion & More The House approved many of its education-related bills earlier this week, but the body pa

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) met virtually Feb. 12 and 13. Most of the meeting was devoted to updates provided...

The House and Senate agreed to the AFY 2025 budget, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk for signature. By a 32-23 vote, the Senate approved SB 74 by Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), which would subject librarians to criminal prosecution for knowingly distributing harmful materials to minors. The bill provides an affirmative defense to librarians and everyone employed in a public library who make a good-faith effort to identify all physical and electronic materials deemed harm

Today the House built on its previous literacy efforts by unanimously passing HB 307 , which moves to the Senate. Sponsored by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), the bill explicitly states that the three-cueing model of reading instruction does not constitute the primary means of instruction for literacy and is not high-quality instructional material. The legislation repeals Reading Recovery provisions, revises characteristics of dyslexia, and outlines a three-year cycle

The House and Senate each had busy floor sessions, but neither chamber voted on education-related bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2025 budget. The House Education Committee met to consider the Distraction-Free Education Act and HB 307 , which changes parts of Georgia's literacy program. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session House Education Approves Cell Phone and Literacy Bills The House Education Committee passed a substit

The 2025 legislative session is 50% complete. Though the 20th legislative day was lean on education-related floor action, multiple education bills moved through afternoon committee meetings. The PAGE legislative team was glad to see PAGE board member Amy Carter who visited the Gold Dome while her daughter paged. Check out more information about the House and Senate page programs if your child or student is interested in serving as a page. House Floor Session Senate Fl

The fourth week of the legislative session featured two key school-focused events: House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) held a press conference on upcoming House school safety legislation, and a joint meeting of the House and Senate education committees included presentations on school safety and literacy. House Floor Session Senate Floor Session Speaker Burns Announces School Safety Legislation Burns and other members of the House held a news conference to unveil a major

The State Board of Education (SBOE) met Dec. 11 and 12 to discuss and vote on a list of approved literacy screeners. The board also...

The full Georgia Council on Literacy met Aug. 26 at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. Georgia College president Kathy...

The  Georgia Council on Literacy  Birth-5 Working Group met virtually Aug. 19 to receive updates on objectives and to consider a proposed...

The  Georgia Council on Literacy  Community Working Group met virtually Aug. 12 and discussed subcommittee goals as well as the Georgia...