Day 23: Literacy Act, Cell-Phone Ban, and Several PAGE Priority Educator Workforce Bills Approved by the House
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The House had an agenda packed with education bills; thus, several House members referred to today as "Education Day." The House voting calendar included PAGE-supported legislation banning student use of personal devices in grades 9-12, a grant program for student teachers, and the House’s return-to-work (RtW) legislation. The House also approved the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026.
The Senate passed one education bill, and multiple school-related bills were considered in afternoon committee meetings.
Literacy Act of 2026, Student Teacher Grants, RtW, and Other Education Bills Approved by House
All bills slated for consideration today on the House floor today related to education. First up was HB 1193, the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026, by Rep. Chris Erwin (R-Homer). When presenting the bill, Erwin said improving literacy requires support from everyone in the state, not just educators.
During floor debate, when asked about the bill's applicability to older students, Erwin reported that there will be further steps to expand this program into upper grades after students in K-3 improve their literacy. Rep. Derrick Jackson (D-Tyrone) asked whether the bill is an unfunded mandate, and Erwin said the state will continue to fund high-quality instructional materials and plans to add funding for school-based literacy coaches to the Quality Basic Education (QBE) funding formula. Rep. Phil Olaleye (D-Atlanta) and Rep. Lydia Glaize (D-Fairburn), both members of the House Education Committee, spoke in favor of the bill, as did Rep. Floyd Griffin (D-Milledgeville).
Rep. Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville), chair of the Education Appropriations Subcommittee, expressed support for the Literacy Act and thanked education state agencies for collaborating on it.
HB 1193 was approved by a vote of 170-2. House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) called the bill’s passage “a historical vote.”
PAGE's working summary of the bill is available HERE.
Following the literacy bill, several PAGE priority bills were also approved, including HB 1009 by Rep. Scott Hilton (R-Peachtree Corners), banning student use of cell phones and other electronic devices from bell-to-bell in grades 9-12, beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. Students participating in dual enrollment, work-based learning, or apprenticeship programs off-campus are excluded from the ban. E-readers are also removed from the list of prohibited devices. Hilton asked the House to place their phones in the provided pouches prior to his presentation. Hilton highlighted survey results collected by Georgia Southern University, in collaboration with PAGE, showing strong educator support for extending the existing K-8 ban to high school grades. Hilton also said, in a different survey, 70% of parents support the device ban. The bill was approved 145-20.
HB 310, the Student Teacher Promotion Act, by Rep. Olaleye, was approved by a vote of 151-6. The bill would create a needs-based student-teacher grant program for up to 500 student teachers eligible to receive the Pell Grant. Participating student teachers would receive up to $5,000 to help offset costs of student teaching. Additionally, they would be eligible to receive a $2,500 signing bonus grant upon completing their student teaching if they work in a Georgia school. Olaleye said the grant program "strengthens our teacher pipeline and invests in future educators and the students they serve.”
HB 372 by Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins) extends the sunset date of the return-to-work (RtW) program for retired educators to 2030. If a sunset date extension does not pass, Georgia's current RtW program will end on June 30. HB 372 creates statewide subject areas of high need in which educators can return and shifts responsibility for selecting the high-needs subject areas in which educators are eligible to return from Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs) to individual school districts. Currently, RESAs select the top three highest-need subject areas for districts in their service area. The bill was approved 168-0.
Other education bills approved by the House include:
HB 971 by Rep. Rick Townsend (R-St. Simons), which allows homeschool and private school students to enroll in college and career academies if they reside in the same RESA district as the academy, or if they live in a neighboring school district adjoining the college and career academy, even if the neighboring system is not in the same RESA. School districts would opt in to the bill. The bill was approved 164-0.
HB 1023 by Rep. Chuck Efstration (R-Mulberry) would require at least one weapon detection system at the main entry points of school buildings. The requirement does not apply to entry points that are locked, alarmed, and not intended for student use. Districts could use current school safety funding or any other funding sources to purchase the equipment. Schools would be required to have these systems installed next school year. When asked about funding concerns expressed by some school districts, Efstration responded that he believes HB 1023, with school safety grants included in the state budget, will not be an unfunded mandate for schools. He also said there are less expensive systems available. The annual grants are approximately $50,000 per year per school. Some legislators, speaking for and against the bill, expressed frustration that the legislature has not advanced gun regulation, which they framed as contributing to the problem HB 1023 seeks to address. The bill was approved 151-11.
HB 1123 by Rep. Jan Jones (R-Milton), which would require any public school that offers after-school programs to offer them to its Pre-K students in the same manner they are offered to other students. The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) would be authorized to grant annual waivers of this requirement to schools demonstrating extenuating circumstances. The bill would take effect in the 2026-2027 school year. HB 1123 was approved 162-0.
All bills now move to the Senate for consideration.
Senate Approves Advanced Mathematics Pathway
The Senate approved SB 171 by Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R-Dallas), which would require the State Board of Education (SBOE) to develop an advanced math pathway for students in grades 3 to 8, culminating in a high school math course that students could take in middle school. Districts would be required to offer the new math classes in grades 6-8. The bill would also require the SBOE to establish criteria for students to be automatically enrolled in the advanced classes, offer an opt-out for students whose parents/guardians do not want them to take the classes, and provide a report on pathway participation. The pathway must be developed by Jan. 1, 2027. The bill was amended on the floor by Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth) to permit a parent or guardian whose student may not have been in the top quartile for automatic enrollment, but is still in the top 50th percentile statewide, to opt their child into the pathway.
The bill was unanimously approved and moves on to the House for consideration.
Bill to Provide COLAs for ERS Members Approved by Senate Committee; Joint Retirement Committee Continues Discussion on ERS COLAs
The Senate Retirement Committee approved SB 339 by Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta), which would provide 3% cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for participants in the Employees’ Retirement System of Georgia (ERS). An actuarial study of the bill found it would cost more than $4 billion. Orrock said the legislature owes these adjustments to the state's employees in honor of their service. The room was packed with state retirees, including many law enforcement officers.
In contrast to ERS, TRS members receive COLAS annually.
Jim Potvin, executive director of ERS, explained that the system's unfunded liability would increase by $400 million a year with the passage of SB 339. With no additional state funding, Potvin said he does not support paying the COLAs proposed in the bill at the expense of the retirement plan's stability. Currently, ERS provides small COLAs that began in 2022. He said additional funding from the legislature in recent years helped ERS establish a COLA framework that can be improved over time. He said a mandated COLA of this size would deprive the ERS board of its ability to manage the system. Potvin said a bill is not necessary to provide COLAs; rather, state funding is needed.
Sen. Russ Goodman (R-Cogdell) moved to pass the bill, which was approved unanimously by the committee. It moves to the Senate Rules Committee for consideration.
Senate Retirement Committee Meeting Recording
A Joint Committee of the House and Senate Retirement Committees met late into the evening for an in-depth presentation from Potvin on ERS and COLAs, including information on COLAs currently provided to ERS members and the funding the system would need to provide 3 percent COLAs each year for retirees.
After Potvin's presentation, state employees, several of whom are retired law enforcement officers injured in the line of duty, shared stories about their injuries, as well as the impact the lack of COLAs has on their lives. All speakers referenced promises made to them when they first entered state service that COLAs would be provided in retirement.
Joint Retirement Committee Meeting Recording (footage begins at 1 hour, 23 minutes)
Senate Ed Approved SPLOST Bill with School District Dissolution Referenda Attached but Hold Other Bills
The Senate Committee on Education and Youth passed SB 475, by Sen. RaShaun Kemp (D-Atlanta), which requires local boards of education to treat local charter schools no less favorably than other local schools for purposes of special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) proceeds. Recent additions to the bill requested by Senate leadership lower the percentage of eligible voters needed to trigger a local referendum on dissolving a city school district into a county district. The current threshold to do so is 25%, and SB 475 would lower that percentage to 10% of eligible registered voters. SB 475 was discussed in yesterday’s Senate Ed meeting, but action was delayed due to committee members’ questions about the logistics of school district resolutions.
Today's hearing was attended by Senate President Pro Tempore Larry Walker (R-Perry), sponsor of the provisions of SB 475 regarding referenda to dissolve city school districts. Walker explained that getting 10% of registered voters to sign a petition is a difficult threshold and said he intends to ensure that responsible school board members vet ideas, not rubber-stamp proposals from their local school superintendents.
SB 475 now moves to Senate Rules, but before it passed Senate Ed, an amendment was added to provide that local school districts will have no obligation to expend sales tax proceeds for the purchase or improvement of a facility operated by a charter school or entity other than the school district.
The committee considered, but did not move forward, three additional bills:
SB 519 by Sen. Tonya Anderson (D-Lithonia) makes changes to Georgia's educator evaluation system, among other employee practices. The legislation states that "no employee of a public school shall be selected as the evaluator of the other employees of such school." SB 519 would require school systems to offer complete employee contracts, with all terms and salaries, by May 15. It also requires that teachers receive two restroom breaks per day and that professional learning be aligned with educators' instructional roles. Bus drivers could also request a bus monitor under SB 519.
HB 200 Rep. Debra Bazemore (D-South Fulton) would create a three-year immersive writing pilot
SB 484 by Sen. Ed Setzler (R-Acowrth) would provide a pathway to certification for educators who have taught for 4 years at the collegiate, postsecondary, or private school level. In addition to other requirements, qualifying educators must pass a GACE subject-matter and ethics test. Sen. Setzler was encouraged by committee Chair Billy Hickman (R-Statesboro) to collaborate with GaPSC Executive Secretary Joseph Barrow before SB 484 advances.
Senate Education & Youth Committee Meeting Recording
Resolution Encouraging Critical Media Consumption Curriculum in Schools Approved by House Committee
The House Special Rules Committee approved HR 1111 by Rep. Sandra Scott (D-Rex), which encourages bipartisan support for teaching critical media consumption in public high schools to reduce political polarization and enhance civic discourse. The resolution was written by a high school senior Scott met at a student policy convention at Valdosta State University.
Antisemitism Bill Approved by Senate Higher Ed Committee
The Senate Higher Education Committee approved SB 523 by Sen. Goodman. The bill would require public schools and institutions of higher education to treat antisemitism in the same manner as they treat discrimination based on religion. The bill mandates that GaDOE appoint a statewide K-12 Title VI Coordinator by Sept. 29, 2026. This coordinator would oversee the receipt, monitoring, and investigation of complaints of discrimination in public schools. Based on the coordinator’s findings, GaDOE may recommend corrective actions to public schools, and the SBOE is authorized to withhold funds to schools that fail to comply with these recommended actions. The bill states that its provisions should not be construed as infringing on constitutionally protected free speech rights. An amendment to the bill would have explicitly extended discrimination protections to other religions, but it was voted down. The bill now awaits consideration by the Senate Rules Committee.
SB 523 moves on to Senate Rules to consider scheduling for a vote on the Senate floor.
Upcoming Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 25 - Legislative Day 24
House Higher Education, 1 p.m., 606 CLOB
Senate Finance, 3 p.m., MEZZ 1
Thursday, Feb. 26 - Legislative Day 25
Monday, March 2 - Committee Workday