James May-June 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 75
E D U CAT I O N
THE 2 0 2 5 G E N E R A L ASS E M B LY
Supporting Schools & Communities
BY M AT T H E W S M I T H
uring the 2025 legislative session, the Georgia General Assembly
passed legislation that
strengthens the state’s early literacy
framework, funds district mental
health positions, addresses student
absenteeism and ensures that career,
technical and agricultural education
(CTAE) programs align with in-demand careers.
These legislative priorities and
accompanying investments in the
state budget will support children,
families and communities— securing
Georgia’s status as the No. 1 State
for Business. These strategies also
support EdQuest Georgia’s North Star
goal: ensuring 65 percent of Georgia’s
adults have earned a postsecondary
credential of value by 2033. EdQuest
Georgia, an initiative of the Georgia
Partnership for Excellence in Education, is a 10-year state policy agenda
that provides a basis for state and
community leaders to design comprehensive strategies that contribute to
reaching this ambitious goal.
In this article, the Georgia Partnership spotlights four bills that promote personal well-being, enhance
community resilience, and ensure
Georgia’s long-term economic security. Two of the central legislative
priorities this year were to further
strengthen early literacy in Georgia
and school safety.
EARLY LITERACY
During the 2023 legislative session, the General Assembly enacted
the Georgia Early Literacy Act (House
Bill 538). The law reset expectations
for how elementary educators deliver
reading instruction and how schools
support struggling readers. This year,
during the 2025 session, the General Assembly passed House Bill 307,
which builds on House Bill 538. House
Bill 307 streamlines early literacy and
dyslexia requirements and creates a
new position, the Georgia Literacy
Coaching Coordinator, to ensure that
the coaching and professional learning across the state is executed with
consistency and effectiveness.
Adding dyslexia to the Georgia
Early Literacy Act requirements
ensures that districts can execute
instructional practices and student
support services as part of one
program. The bill’s focus on intensive
academic assistance is timely, as
Georgia and its communities focus
on how to increase the number of
students reading proficiently by the
end of third grade.
The EdQuest Georgia initiative
identifies third grade reading proficiency as a core student success
milestone. Now that the General
Assembly has strengthened the
Georgia Early Literacy Act, the Georgia Partnership will work with its
EdQuest Georgia Coalition partners
to spotlight district strategies and
teacher practices that transform
reading proficiency.
SCHOOL SAFETY
After the Apalachee High School
shooting in September 2024, House
leaders worked with state agencies
to develop a comprehensive bill to
mitigate school safety challenges.
House Bill 268 creates a framework for
districts to address school safety and
mental health service gaps. The bill
accelerates the timeline for transfer of
student records from 10 to five school
days, funds district grants to employ
student advocacy specialists, and requires school leaders to identify how
they will address behavioral threats.
The EdQuest Georgia initiative
endorses a three-dimensional view
of school safety and student well-being that attends to the physical and
emotional well-being of students,
fosters safe and supportive learning
environments, and fosters stronger
interpersonal relationships between
students and trusted adults in the
school building. House Bill 268 creates
a strong foundation on which districts
can adopt innovative strategies that
address student behavioral health.
STUDENT ATTENDANCE
In 2019, about one out of eight
students in Georgia missed more than
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