Georgia · Policy & Funding

Georgia signs $70M literacy law placing coaches in every K-3 school

HB 1193 funds more than 1,300 literacy coaches statewide, bars administrative use, and eventually requires state-approved reading materials, as baseline data show a split on how many third graders read proficiently.

School Decision NewsroomAugust 15, 2026

Georgia has committed roughly $70 million to place a literacy coach in every public elementary school serving kindergarten through third grade, under the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 (HB 1193), signed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 5. The law requires more than 1,300 coaches statewide, bars schools from using them for administrative duties, and sets the stage for a shift to state-approved reading materials by the 2029-30 school year.

House Speaker Jon Burns made the bill a priority, according to Georgia Public Broadcasting. House Education Committee Chairman Chris Erwin, the bill's sponsor, said it will take a couple of years to fill all the coach positions but that schools will move aggressively to hire, as reported by The Current.

What the law requires

HB 1193 mandates that each coach spend at least 70 percent of the school day in classrooms working directly with teachers and students. Coaches cannot be used as substitute teachers, evaluators, or teachers of record. Minimum qualifications include state certification, at least five years of successful teaching or literacy intervention experience, and expertise in scientifically based reading research and dyslexia interventions, per WCTV.

The State Board of Education will provide grants, subject to legislative funding, to reimburse districts for the starting salary and benefits of one coach per K-3 school. Schools with 200 or fewer full-time equivalent students qualify for half the amount. The law also authorizes regional literacy coaches employed by Georgia's RESAs to support school systems, WCTV reported.

Starting with the 2029-30 school year, schools receiving certain state education funds would be prohibited from using that money to buy or use K-3 literacy materials not approved by the State Board of Education. The state board is to approve high-quality early reading instructional materials for K-3 and create an annual certification process for districts, according to WCTV.

Building on prior literacy laws

HB 1193 extends a series of Georgia literacy statutes. HB 307, the Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Act, requires universal reading screeners administered three times per year to all K-3 students, bans the three-cueing system model for teaching word reading, and defines high-quality instructional materials as those aligned with the science of reading and state ELA standards, according to the Georgia Department of Education document on HB 307. HB 538 (2023) required all K-3 teachers to complete training on the science of reading and structured literacy by August 2025.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) is developing a Literacy Coaching Endorsement Preparation Rule, with a task force that includes representatives from the Governor's Office of Education Workforce and Services, the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center, the Georgia Department of Education, and several state universities. Endorsement rules are proposed for initiation in October 2027, with programs potentially beginning as early as spring 2028. The endorsement will include a competency-based component to ensure coaches demonstrate both literacy knowledge and coaching skills, according to a GaPSC policy brief.

The Sandra Dunagan Deal Center, in collaboration with the Governor's Office of Student Achievement and funded by the Georgia Council on Literacy, has launched the Unified Literacy Coaching Project to develop Literacy Coach Competencies, design an evaluation system, and set a statewide standard for effective literacy coaching. The Georgia Literacy Coach Competency Framework is in draft form as of 2026 and under review with the Professional Standards Commission, the center reported.

Two different reading numbers

Georgia tracks third-grade reading performance with two metrics that produce different pictures. According to the State Board of Education-adopted State Literacy Metric, based on Georgia Milestones ELA reading readiness data, 65 percent of third graders were reading at or above grade level during the 2024-2025 school year, as reported by the GaDOE Insights Reading Readiness Dashboard.

62 percentThird graders in Georgia who are not reading proficiently, according to Georgia Reads, which reports only 38 percent are proficient based on broader ELA proficiency measures. [10]

The Georgia Reads figure shows 62 percent of third graders not reading proficiently, a figure derived from a different cut of the same Milestones data. The two metrics use different standards: one measures reading readiness, while the other measures full ELA proficiency. The baseline against which the $70 million investment will be judged depends on which measure is used.

Implementation timeline and reporting

Districts will have access to funding starting in July 2026, but there is no set deadline for schools to hire coaches, Georgia Public Broadcasting reported. The state's earlier literacy law (HB 307) already requires districts to report literacy data through the MyGaDOE Portal, including universal screening results at three intervals (October 1, February 1, June 1), instructional materials adoption information, professional learning percentages, dyslexia identification data, and tiered reading support plans. The first annual report on HB 307 implementation impacts was due April 1, 2026, according to a Georgia Department of Education document on reporting requirements.

Measuring success remains uncertain

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission, in its summer 2026 policy brief, noted that foundational work on science-of-reading standards in educator preparation programs is complete, including new Foundation of Reading and Literacy Language Standards and the availability of GACE Literacy Assessments. But the brief acknowledged that the data necessary to inform the success of these efforts will emerge over the next three years, with literacy compliance reviews of educator preparation programs beginning in the 2027-28 academic year. The commission did not assert that the coaching model itself has been proven in Georgia, leaving open the question of how the state will know whether the $70 million investment has worked.

Analysis

By the School Decision Newsroom, written after the reporting above was filed.

The $70 million falls short of Georgia's own cost estimate by at least $10 million.

The Governor's Office of Planning and Budget fiscal note for HB 1193 estimates state QBE costs at $79.7 million on the low end and $119.1 million on the high end, with total costs including the local share reaching $99.6 million to $148.9 million. A revised fiscal note pushed those ranges even higher: $96.2 million to $156.1 million in state costs. The signed $70 million appropriation is below every scenario the state's own auditor modeled. The gap will land on local districts through the QBE formula's 80/20 state-local split, meaning property tax revenue or other local funds will cover what the state does not.

[11][12]

Mississippi proved literacy coaches work, but deployed one-tenth as many and took a decade.

Mississippi launched its literacy coach program in 2013 with 29 coaches serving the lowest-performing schools. By 2024, the state had grown to 122 coaches covering roughly 182 schools, and third-grade pass rates climbed from 87 percent to 93 percent over three years, reaching 85 percent by 2024-25. Georgia is attempting to place coaches in all 1,300-plus K-3 schools simultaneously, roughly seven times the scale Mississippi reached after a decade. Mississippi also targeted its coaches at the weakest schools. Georgia's universal approach spreads the same dollar further across every building regardless of need.

[13][14][15]

Georgia needs to find roughly 800 qualified coaches in a market where 42 percent of districts cannot.

A Governor's Office of Student Achievement survey found about 500 literacy coaches already working in Georgia, against the 1,300-plus the law requires. That leaves roughly 800 positions to fill with candidates who need five years of experience, state certification, and dyslexia expertise. California, which pursued a similar model, found that 42 percent of districts could not hire coaches and rural areas called it nearly impossible. Georgia's own coaching endorsement program does not launch until spring 2028 at the earliest. The law sets no hiring deadline, and the sponsor himself acknowledged it will take years to fill every position. A parent should not expect a qualified coach in their child's school by fall 2026.

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Sources

Office of Governor Brian P. Kemp. Gov. Kemp Signs Bills Strengthening Literacy and K-12 Schools View
Georgia Public Broadcasting. Gov. Brian Kemp signs education bills into law View
The Current. Georgia lawmakers pass bill to tackle low third-grade reading scores View
WCTV. Sweeping early literacy bill signed into law | Here's what it will do View
Georgia Professional Standards Commission. 2023-2026 Literacy Legislation: GaPSC Policy Brief View
GaDOE Insights. Reading Readiness Dashboard View
Sandra Dunagan Deal Center. Unified Literacy Coaching Project View
Georgia Department of Education. HB 307 signed legislation (download) View
Georgia Department of Education. Required Early Literacy Reporting in the MyGaDOE Portal View
Georgia Reads. Literacy Data in Georgia View
Georgia Office of Planning and Budget. Fiscal Note House Bill 1193 (LC 49 2653S) View
Georgia Office of Planning and Budget. Revised Fiscal Note House Bill 1193 (LC 49 5653S) View
Education Week. Mississippi Students Surged in Reading Over the Last Decade View
AP News. 'Mississippi marathon' continues: 85% of third-graders pass reading test View
Magnolia Tribune. Mississippi Dept. of Education outlines 'Marathon Achievement' in State Superintendent's Report View
AP News. Georgia leaders propose $11.3M to improve reading as some lawmakers seek a more aggressive approach View
AP News / CalMatters. California's literacy investments are working, mostly View