HB 1114: Quality Basic Education Act; allow for students in ninth and tenth grade to complete the high school graduation financial literacy course requirement

Currently, Georgia law requires a financial literacy course only in 11th or 12th grade and has no statewide digital literacy requirement. This bill changes both. It requires the State Board of Education to adopt digital literacy content standards for kindergarten through 12th grade, and starting in the 2027-2028 school year, schools must teach grade-appropriate digital literacy lessons. The Department of Education must build model programs, publish resources online, and issue an annual report on online safety education. For financial literacy, the bill lets students complete the required half-credit course in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade rather than only in the last two years, starting in the 2026-2027 school year. It also adds gambling risk education to the content standards, extends basic financial literacy instruction down to kindergarten through 8th grade starting in 2027-2028, and bars schools from partnering with or accepting materials from gambling businesses. A separate section requires the state to develop firearm safe-storage materials for schools by 2028. The law would take effect July 1, 2026.

• Requires grade-appropriate digital literacy instruction for all K-12 students starting in the 2027-2028 school year, based on new state content standards.
• Lets students complete the required high school financial literacy course in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade instead of only 11th or 12th grade, starting 2026-2027.
• Adds gambling risk education (odds, addiction, debt, advertising claims) to the financial literacy content standards for grades 9-12 and introduces basic gambling and money concepts as early as kindergarten.
• Prohibits public schools from partnering with, accepting donations from, or using instructional materials made by any gambling business.
• Requires the Department of Education to publish model digital literacy and online safety programs and issue an annual report to two legislative committees by December 1 each year.
• Requires the Department of Education, working with the Department of Public Safety and Department of Natural Resources, to create firearm safe-storage materials for schools by January 1, 2028.

Public school students in kindergarten through 12th grade, local boards of education and school administrators who must update curricula, the Department of Education and two other state agencies tasked with new duties, teachers who deliver the new instruction, and gambling businesses now barred from partnering with or donating to schools.

Students would get earlier and broader exposure to digital safety and financial topics, including gambling risks, and would have more flexibility in scheduling the required financial literacy course. Schools would face new curriculum and reporting duties, and gambling companies would lose any current ability to sponsor school programs or materials.

• Section 1 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149 to require K-12 digital literacy content standards covering online safety, AI evaluation, digital communication, and basic computer skills, with instruction starting in 2027-2028.
• Section 1 requires the Department of Education to develop model digital literacy and online safety programs and publish an annual report by December 1 to the House and Senate education committees.
• Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2-149.4 to set financial literacy content standards by grade band, including detailed gambling-risk topics for grades 9-12 and simpler concepts for younger grades.
• Section 2 moves the mandatory half-credit financial literacy course requirement so it can be completed in 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade, beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
• Section 2 extends financial literacy instruction to kindergarten through 8th grade starting in 2027-2028 and bans schools from partnering with or accepting materials from gambling enterprises.
• Section 3 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-2-308 requiring the Department of Education, Department of Public Safety, and Department of Natural Resources to develop firearm safe-storage materials for schools by January 1, 2028, and requires distribution to parents by July 1, 2028.
• Section 4 sets the effective date of the Act as July 1, 2026.

1. 2026-04-02Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
2. 2026-04-02Senate Third Read (Senate)
3. 2026-04-02Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
4. 2026-03-31Senate Tabled (Senate)
5. 2026-03-31Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
6. 2026-03-27Senate Tabled (Senate)
7. 2026-03-23Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
8. 2026-03-20Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)

• Bill Yearta (R, HD-152)Primary sponsor
• Matt Dubnik (R, HD-029)
• Chris Erwin (R, HD-032)
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)
• Miriam Paris (D, HD-142)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 6, 2026

   171 yea, 0 nay (2 not voting, 4 absent)

   Passage: House Vote #652

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 voteApril 2, 2026

   36 yea, 13 nay (4 not voting, 1 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #1 By The Senator From The 44th: Senate Vote #954

4. PassedSenate voteApril 2, 2026

   46 yea, 4 nay (3 not voting, 1 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #955

• financial literacy education
• digital literacy
• school curriculum
• gambling awareness
• firearm safe storage