HB 1146: Georgia Ready to Learn Act; enact

Georgia's Pre-K Program currently serves four-year-old children. This bill, called the "Georgia Ready to Learn Act," would add a new section to state law directing the state board overseeing early care and learning to set up a pilot program extending pre-k style services to children who turn three by September 1. The program would have to be established no later than July 1, 2027, but only if the General Assembly actually appropriates (sets aside) funding for it. The pilot would follow the same rules as the existing Pre-K Program, with adjustments the Department of Early Care and Learning considers age-appropriate for three-year-olds. Each year funding is provided, the department must report on the program to the Governor, top legislative leaders, and the House and Senate education committees. The bill states the General Assembly's intent that the program be paid for entirely from the Lottery for Education Account, the same funding source as the regular Pre-K Program. The new law would automatically repeal on July 1, 2032.

• Adds a new Code section (O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-19) directing the state board to establish a pilot pre-k program for three-year-old children by July 1, 2027.
• Makes the pilot program's creation dependent on the General Assembly actually appropriating funding for it.
• Requires the pilot to follow existing Pre-K Program rules, with age-appropriate adjustments for three-year-olds set by the department.
• Requires an annual report to the Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, and both chambers' education committee chairs whenever funding is provided.
• States the legislature's intent that the program be funded entirely through the Lottery for Education Account.
• Sets the new Code section to automatically repeal on July 1, 2032.

Three-year-old children and their families who could gain access to a pre-k style program, the Department of Early Care and Learning and its governing board, which must design and run the pilot, and legislative leaders and education committees, who would receive annual progress reports.

If funded, families with three-year-olds could access publicly supported early learning services similar to Georgia's existing Pre-K Program, potentially expanding access to early education a year earlier than currently offered. Because the program depends on future budget appropriations, its actual creation and scope remain uncertain.

• Section 1 gives the bill the short title "Georgia Ready to Learn Act."
• Section 2 adds O.C.G.A. § 20-1A-19, requiring the board to establish the three-year-old pilot program by July 1, 2027, subject to appropriations.
• Subsection (a) requires the pilot to follow current Pre-K Program requirements except where the department deems different rules age-appropriate for three-year-olds.
• Subsection (b) requires an annual report by December 1 to state leaders and education committee chairs after any fiscal year the program receives funding.
• Subsection (c) expresses legislative intent that the program be funded entirely from the Lottery for Education Account, like the existing Pre-K Program.
• Subsection (d) automatically repeals the new Code section on July 1, 2032.

1. 2026-02-04House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-02-03House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-02-02House Hopper (House)

• Phil Olaleye (D, HD-059)Primary sponsor
• Carolyn Hugley (D, HD-141)
• Rick Townsend (R, HD-179)
• Anne Westbrook (D, HD-163)
• Tangie Herring (D, HD-145)
• Joseph Gullett (R, HD-019)

• pre-k education
• early childhood education
• Georgia lottery funding
• education policy