Senate passes Georgia Early Literacy Act after floor changes to emphasize coaching and classroom time
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Summary
After extended debate and floor amendments, the Georgia Senate passed House Bill 11-93, the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026, to expand school-based literacy coaches, require high-quality materials aligned to the science of reading, and create a state literacy director position.
The Georgia Senate on March 31 passed House Bill 11-93, the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026, after adopting a committee substitute and a floor amendment that emphasizes placing literacy coaches in classrooms and trimming administrative layers.
The bill’s floor presenter, the senator from the nineteenth (the Senate Appropriations Committee substitute sponsor), said the Senate version focuses funding and implementation on school-based literacy coaches rather than creating long-standing new councils. “We put coaches at the very front of this bill,” the senator said, urging colleagues to prioritize in-class coaching time and to “spend no less than 70% of the school day in the classroom.”
Why it matters: Sponsors said the provisions are intended to raise early reading proficiency — a point they tied to later-life outcomes — and to direct roughly $70 million toward literacy coaches statewide. The bill requires high-quality instructional materials aligned with the science of reading and creates a state literacy director position, housed at the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, to coordinate implementation.
Senators pressed for operational detail during floor debate. The senator from the fourteenth asked whether the proposed state literacy director would serve primarily as a coordinator; the presenter replied the role would be a coordinator housed at the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement and suggested an education official already at the Department of Education as a candidate for the role. The senator from the thirtieth and others asked how assessments and appeals would work, and sponsors pointed to reporting requirements intended to produce annual implementation updates to the General Assembly.
Supporters highlighted recent policy history in Georgia and other states. “This began with work three years ago,” one senator said, noting prior bills to bring phonics and dyslexia screening back into the state’s approach. The sponsor emphasized the bill’s classroom focus and the intent to avoid adding cumbersome new bureaucratic layers.
Vote and next steps: The Senate adopted the committee substitute as amended and passed the bill by roll-call vote (49–0). The bill now moves toward any remaining conference reconciliation with the House as needed and would take effect upon the governor’s signature or becoming law without signature.
Context and limits: The bill contains multiple implementation details — including local funding shares for coaches and procedures for student assessments — that senators asked staff to track. Supporters said an annual report to the legislature will permit adjustments; opponents raised concerns about local funding requirements and the administrative burden of new assessments. The record shows that the Senate’s version removed some task-force language the House had proposed and shifted implementation toward grant funding and classroom coaching.
The Senate’s action completes the chamber’s consideration of House Bill 11-93 as amended; the measure will return to the House or proceed to the governor depending on the final conference disposition.
