--- title: HB 1146. Georgia Ready to Learn Act; enact collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hb1146 cite_as: HB 1146, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1146 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1146.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1146/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72706 date: 2026-02-04 status: introduced corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1145.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1147.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 129 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1146.md?full=1 bill_number: HB 1146 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-02-02 last_action: House Second Readers sponsors: - Phil Olaleye - Carolyn Hugley - Rick Townsend - Anne Westbrook - Tangie Herring - Joseph Gullett text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1146/2025 upstream_id: 2104351 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - pre-k education - early childhood education - Georgia lottery funding - education policy --- # HB 1146. Georgia Ready to Learn Act; enact ## Text House Bill 1146 By: Representatives Olaleye of the 59th, Hugley of the 141st, Townsend of the 179th, Westbrook of the 163rd, Herring of the 145th, and others A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend Article 1 of Chapter 1A of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to early care and learning, so as to establish a pilot program to expand Georgia's Pre-K Program to three-year-old children; to provide for annual reporting; to provide for legislative intent relating to funding for such program; to provide for automatic repeal; to provide for related matters; to provide a short title; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. This Act shall be known and may be cited as the "Georgia Ready to Learn Act." SECTION 2. Article 1 of Chapter 1A of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to general provisions relative to early care and learning, is amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows: "20-1A-19. (a) No later than July 1, 2027, and subject to appropriations, the board shall establish a pilot program to expand Georgia's Pre-K Program to children who attain the age of three by September 1. Such pilot program shall be subject to all current requirements for Georgia's Pre-K Program and shall provide services in a manner similar to those currently provided under such program, except as otherwise deemed age-appropriate by the department for three-year-old children. (b) No later than December 1 following each fiscal year in which funds are appropriated by the General Assembly to conduct the pilot program provided for in this Code section, the department shall provide a report on such pilot program to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the chairperson of the Senate Education and Youth Committee, and the chairperson of the House Committee on Education. (c) It is the intent of the General Assembly that the pilot program provided for in this Code section be financed wholly from appropriations from the Lottery for Education Account as a voluntary pre-kindergarten program in the same manner as Georgia's Pre-K Program. (d) This Code section shall stand repealed on July 1, 2032." SECTION 3. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House bill would direct the state to create a pilot program extending Georgia's Pre-K Program to three-year-olds, funded through lottery money and set to expire in 2032. ### Plain-language summary 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. ### What it does - 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. ### Who it affects 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. ### Why it matters 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. ### Key provisions - 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. ## Status - Status: Introduced (2026-02-02) - Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-04) - Sponsors: Phil Olaleye, Carolyn Hugley, Rick Townsend, Anne Westbrook, Tangie Herring, Joseph Gullett - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72706 > The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1146.md?full=1