CA2 Team 7
Photo by: CBS News
CA2 Team 7: Kadyn B, Jacob G, Layla G, Kason L
The early literacy crisis in Georgia has been an issue for years. More than half of the state’s third graders are not at a proficient reading level, while research expands on it’s importance is directly correlated to long-term success academically. The Georgia Early Literacy Act or House Bill 1193, allows for the funding of literacy coaches in public schools within the kindergarten through third grade levels. This makes attendance before first grade mandatory and puts into place unified literacy plans into play across all districts. Noelle Kahaian (R-District 81) was apart of the supporters of this bill and mentioned it as a “generational investment in Georgia’s students.” Some of the detractors of this bill see it otherwise. Critics of the bill suggest how it might not be attainable to keep up with the bill’s grade retention as well as hiring over 1,300 new coaches during a pre-existing teacher shortage. They are skeptical whether these mandates by themselves allow for sustainable improvement academically. Research by Onchwari and Keengwe in 2010 observed that mentor-coach dynamics provided a significantly improved student literacy when participating in sustained use, rather than intermittent training. This shows how the execution is just as much of a priority as the bill being passed. Whether Georgia’s implimentation of the bill will be successful or not will be determined by the execution long-term. The conversation remains open-ended on social media platforms while still being divided, with stakeholders, lawmakers, journalists, etc. commenting on what they believe is best for Georgia’s children when it comes to early literacy.
This X post comes from the Georgia State Senate and serves as a summary for HB 1193, which is also known as the Georgia Early Literacy Act. This bill will provide funding for basic literacy coaches in all public schools for students in grades K-3. This bill will also make it mandatory for children to attend kindergarten prior to entering the first grade. Finally, this bill will encourage parents to have their children enrolled in either public/private schools or home school by the time they reach 5 years of age, and to also establish first grade readiness assessments for students.
State Representative Noelle Kahaian posted to X to announce that she is proud to have voted YES on HB 1193. Along with this announcement, she expressed her belief that addressing Georgia’s third grade literacy rates is of the utmost importance for this current session. She referred to this bill as a generational investment and also stated that this bill will provide high quality educational materials for K-3 students on top of providing them literacy coaches and provide the necessary funding to acquire these literacy coaches and high-quality materials. Kahaian truly believes that this is not just a policy change and instead, it is a generational investment for families and the state of Georgia.
This X post from WABE News provides a link to an article they published about the decline in the literacy rate for students in third grade, as well as the plan proposed by lawmakers to address this issue. Specifically, the article informs readers that 62% of third graders are not reading proficiently. The article also makes the claim that the reason this is such an issue is because reading levels at that age are an indicator for success in life beyond school. Both the article and the post state that Georgia lawmakers’ plan to address this issue is through HB 1193.
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This Instagram post from Miss America GA sees Audrey Kittila, also known as “Miss Georgia”, visiting classrooms and speaking to K-3 students. The caption to these images informs viewers of the current Georgia education legislation that have been proposed for the year. Such legislation includes HB 1193, as well as HB 907, which expands access to completion schools/alternative pathways for students that are at risk of being held back, and HB 1009, which limits the use of electronics such as cellphones and other personal electronics in public schools. HB 383 is also mentioned, clarifying the rules for NIL and extracurricular activities.
This X post from Jarrod Allen is a reply to another user’s post claiming that 70% of black children are not reading at the necessary grade level and that no one is discussing the issue. Allen replied to announce the advancement in the passing of HB 1193 and promote the bill as a way to address the problem by setting stronger standards, providing better teacher support, and early intervention. Allen also informs that the bill will mandate teacher training in reading education such as assigning literacy coaches for students in K-3 schools, update dyslexia screening and support, and establish statewide literacy standards as well as approved materials.
Georgia Reads Literacy Plan 2030
This site published by Georgia Reads gives a glimpse into the Literacy plan for 2030. On the website, they write “We will lead the nation in literacy by ensuring that every child is on a path to proficient reading and beyond.” This one quote is a direct representation of what the literacy bill intends to do. The website later goes on to breakdown goals, framework, and success targets. “Every child a reader” the goal here is that all children in the state of Georgia would be a “proficient reader” by the time they reach the third grade. “Every educator prepared” every teacher must have the skillset to teach these students how to read. And lastly “Every community supported”, this will push for more accessibility to education and academic resources.
This post from X comes from a man named Gunther Eagleman, who is commenting his general thoughts on HB 1193. In the post, he states that HB 1193 should be passed “to strengthen literacy and keep their state moving forward” referring to the state of Georgia. Based on Eagleman’s comments on the post, it is easy to conclude that he feels literacy is the last major thing Georgia politics needs to address as he states “Georgia Republicans have passed school choice, banned woke ideology in curriculum, kept boys out of girls’ sports, and removed cellphones from classrooms. Now, it’s time to get Georgia’s students reading”. Overall, this post is a general idea of how some people feel regarding the passing of HB 1193 as many people such as Eagleman believe it is a necessary step to improve the literacy in Georgia.
This post from the Georgia Department of Education on X, discusses about the GA Early Literacy Act of 2026 (HB 1193). The Department of Education provides numerous benefits that would come with the passing of the bill, such as the funding of literacy coaches in K-3 public schools all over the state. This post also takes the time to explain why benefits such as this are important by providing statistics that support the argument that the passing of HB 1193 would be beneficial. This post does a great job at highlighting potential benefits that would come with the passing of this bill, as well as show that there are people like Superintendent Woods that do see the true benefits.
In this post on X sent out by Sandy Donatucci, she points out that HB 1193 was passed by the house and even considered the bill to be “the most significant education initiative since the HOPE scholarship was enacted”. What follows a further dive into what the bill would do if passed by allocating funding for all literacy coaches. This post highlights the importance of literacy through the literacy coaches and the argument that every coach should be funded all over Georgia. Also, the post highlights the support people like Ms. Donatucci are giving to the field of education and how it should be given the attention it needs to improve literacy in Georgia.
In this tweet, Keisha Lance Bottoms is asking for our vote as she plans to create a way to increase accessibility to education for children starting at the age of 4-years-old. She plans to ask voters to use “a referendum regarding casino gaming” in the state of Georgia. In doing this, Keisha Lance Bottoms and her team will be able to generate millions of dollars, acting as a HOPE scholarship to children in need of an education. This approach highlights her focus on early childhood development and long-term academic success, while also encouraging public involvement in shaping funding decisions that could directly benefit families and communities across the state.
At the end of the day, children are the future for our country. In time, they will be the ones to create and build upon our country. Illiteracy is a crisis that needs to be solved immediately, and many people are beginning to speak out against the crisis. With these new bills coming out, there are newfound solutions to the epidemic of illiteracy in America, starting in Georgia. Georgia’s decision-makers are beginning to create plans to push out more accessible education to those who may not currently have easy access. They plan to not only extend the starting grade to kindergarten, but also to make sure that every teacher is also equipped to teach the children. What we can do now as citizens is vote, as well as telling your friends and family as well. We can put the right people in power to get a good and accessible education for all children.
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