HB912: HB912 Quality Basic Education Act; $500,000.00 in matching grants for purpose of providing home reading programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade; provisions

Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act sets rules for state funding of school programs. This bill adds a new section allowing the State Board of Education to award matching grants to local school districts (called local units of administration) that team up with nonprofit organizations to run home reading programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. To qualify, a nonprofit's program must mail or electronically deliver leveled reading books weekly, engage parents through regular calls or texts in multiple languages, use evidence-based literacy methods, provide data tracking for families and districts, and report results to the Department of Education. The district must secure matching funds and keep records proving it, and the combined cost per student cannot exceed $50 per semester. Total state matching grants are capped at $500,000 per fiscal year, and the state board can also accept federal funds for this purpose and must write rules to carry it out.

• Creates a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-259.1) letting the State Board of Education fund home reading programs through matching grants to school districts.
• Caps total state matching grant funding at $500,000.00 per state fiscal year, subject to available funding.
• Sets detailed eligibility rules nonprofits must meet, including weekly book delivery, parent engagement calls or texts, and data reporting to the Department of Education.
• Limits the combined per-student program cost, including district matching funds, to no more than $50.00 per semester.
• Authorizes the State Board of Education to accept and administer federal funds for these grants, with the Department of Education as the flow-through point.
• Directs the State Board of Education to create rules, policies, and standards to implement the program.

Kindergarten through fourth grade students and their parents or guardians, local school districts (local units of administration) seeking matching funds, nonprofit organizations running home reading programs, and the State Board of Education and Department of Education, which would administer the grants.

Districts that partner with qualifying nonprofits could get state help paying for home reading programs, potentially expanding access to books and parent engagement tools for young students, but funding is capped at $500,000 statewide per year and districts must still cover matching costs.

• Section 1 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-2-259.1, authorizing matching grants for home reading programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
• Subsection (b) requires partnering nonprofits to deliver weekly independent-reading-level books by mail or electronic download.
• Subsection (b) also requires at least weekly parent or guardian contact in multiple languages and a customizable data portal for tracking student progress.
• Subsection (b)(8) caps the combined program cost, including district matching funds, at $50.00 per student per semester.
• Subsection (c) limits total state matching grant funds to $500,000.00 per state fiscal year.
• Subsection (d) allows the State Board of Education to receive and administer federal funds for the grants, with the Department of Education serving as the state flow-through point.
• Subsection (e) requires the State Board of Education to set criteria, policies, and standards for implementing the program.
• Section 2 repeals conflicting laws.

1. 2026-01-12House Second Readers (House)
2. 2025-04-04House First Readers (House)
3. 2025-04-02House Hopper (House)

• David Wilkerson (D, HD-038)Primary sponsor
• Michael Smith (D, HD-041)
• Doreen Carter (D, HD-093)
• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
• Brent Cox (R, HD-028)
• Lydia Glaize (D, HD-067)

• literacy education
• school funding
• home reading programs
• elementary education
• state grants