HB 1107: Excellent Teacher Preparation Act; enact

Georgia currently has no standardized public report on how well its teacher preparation programs, run by colleges, universities, and other institutions, actually prepare graduates for the classroom. House Bill 1107, called the Excellent Teacher Preparation Act, changes that by adding a new section to state law requiring the Professional Standards Commission to build a detailed set of performance measures for each educator preparation provider (EPP). By January 1, 2027, the commission must work with the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, the Board of Regents, and the Office of Student Achievement to design these measures, covering enrollment, graduation numbers, certification exam pass rates, job placement, retention over one, three, and five years, and satisfaction surveys. Starting January 1, 2028 and every January after, the commission must report this data to each provider, state education bodies, local school districts, and relevant legislative committees, and post it publicly online.

• Requires the Professional Standards Commission to develop, by January 1, 2027, performance measures evaluating every educator preparation provider (EPP) in Georgia.
• Mandates that these measures track enrollment, graduation rates, certification exam pass rates, job placement, and one-, three-, and five-year retention rates, broken down by age, sex, race, and certification type.
• Requires the commission to publish EPP performance measures on its website and report them annually starting January 1, 2028 to providers, state agencies, school districts, and legislative committees.
• Requires each EPP to promptly supply the commission with information needed to prepare these performance measures.
• Creates a standard satisfaction survey that EPPs must give to graduates and their employers after their first year of teaching.
• Requires the Office of Student Achievement to summarize EPP performance measures in its annual report on the Georgia educator workforce, and requires the Board of Regents to review the measures for university system programs and decide if intervention is needed.

Colleges, universities, and other institutions that run teacher preparation programs; new teachers and school personnel who graduate from those programs; local school districts that employ them; and state bodies including the Professional Standards Commission, the State Board of Education, the Department of Education, the Board of Regents, and the Office of Student Achievement.

Georgians would gain public, standardized data on which teacher preparation programs produce graduates who pass certification exams, get hired, and stay in the classroom. School districts and prospective teachers could use this information when choosing or evaluating programs, and university system officials would have data to decide where programs need support.

• Section 1 names the bill the 'Excellent Teacher Preparation Act.'
• Section 2 adds new Code Section 20-2-988.1, defining terms like 'educator preparation provider' and 'EPP program graduate.'
• Subsection (b) requires the commission to develop EPP performance measures by January 1, 2027, covering enrollment, exam pass rates, job placement, and multi-year retention, disaggregated by demographic and certification categories.
• Subsection (c) requires the commission to report EPP performance measures annually starting January 1, 2028 to providers, state education bodies, school districts, and House and Senate education committees.
• Subsection (d) requires each EPP to timely provide information the commission requests for these measures.
• Subsection (e) directs the commission to create a standardized satisfaction survey given to graduates and their employers after one year of teaching, with annual review of survey validity.
• Subsection (f) requires the Office of Student Achievement to summarize EPP performance measures in its annual educator workforce report.
• Subsection (g) requires the Board of Regents to annually review University System of Georgia EPP programs' performance measures and determine if interventions are needed.

1. 2026-05-05Effective Date 2026-07-01
2. 2026-05-05Act 396
3. 2026-05-05House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-10House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-03-27Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Third Read (Senate)
7. 2026-03-27Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
8. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)

• Carmen Rice (R, HD-139)Primary sponsor
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)
• Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 26, 2026

   166 yea, 0 nay (4 not voting, 7 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #578

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   26 yea, 22 nay (3 not voting, 3 absent)

   Motion To Table Remaining Legislation On The Rules Calendar: Senate Vote #835

3. PassedSenate voteMarch 27, 2026

   49 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 5 absent)

   Passage: Senate Vote #866

• teacher preparation
• education policy
• teacher certification
• higher education accountability