---
title: HB 912. 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
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb912
cite_as: HB 912, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb912
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb912.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb912/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71999
date: 2026-01-12
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.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb912.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 912
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2025-04-02
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- David Wilkerson
- Michael Smith
- Doreen Carter
- Bethany Ballard
- Brent Cox
- Lydia Glaize
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB912/2025
upstream_id: 2019454
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- early literacy
- education funding
- reading programs
- Quality Basic Education Act
- school grants
---
# HB 912. 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
## Text
House Bill 912
By: Representatives Wilkerson of the 38th, Smith of the 41st, Carter of the 93rd, Ballard of the
147th, Cox of the 28th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia
Annotated, relating to grants for educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education
Act," so as to provide for up to $500,000.00 in matching grants by the State Board of
Education to local units of administration for the purpose of providing home reading
programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade; to authorize the State Board of
Education to receive and administer federal funds for such grants; to provide for eligibility;
to require the State Board of Education to develop rules and regulations; to provide for
related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to grants for educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is
amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:
"20-2-259.1.
(a) Subject to available funding, the State Board of Education shall provide matching
grants to qualified local units of administration to provide an eligible home reading
program for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Such matching grant funds
shall be distributed by the Department of Education.
(b) A home reading program is eligible for matching grant funds provided pursuant to this
Code section if it is provided in partnership with an affiliated local unit of administration
by a nonprofit organization that meets the following requirements:
(1) Delivers an evidence based, self-selected reading program consisting of independent
reading level books that are individually mailed to the residences of or made available for
electronic download to students in kindergarten through fourth grade on a weekly basis;
(2) Incorporates at least weekly telephone calls, texts, or application notifications in
multiple languages to a parent or guardian to drive parental and family engagement
throughout the duration of the program;
(3) Builds on pedagogical principles of literacy instruction to scaffold fluency and
improve reading comprehension with student exercises;
(4) Includes a customizable portal to generate individualized data reports for analysis of
student progress by program providers, affiliated local units of administration, and
parents and guardians;
(5) Collects, disaggregates, and distributes detailed data on all metrics of the program,
such as engagement of parents or guardians, books read, and allowable demographic data;
(6) Provides a summary of data on all students served by the program to the Department
of Education;
(7) Agrees to secure the required matching funds from the participating local unit of
administration and maintain auditable verification of the receipt; and
(8) The combined total cost of the program, including district matching funds, does not
exceed $50.00 per student per semester.
(c) The total amount of matching grant funds provided by the State Board of Education
pursuant to this Code section shall not exceed $500,000.00 each state fiscal year.
(d) The State Board of Education is authorized to receive and administer federal funds to
provide matching grant funds pursuant to this Code section. The Department of Education
shall serve as a state level flow through point for any available federal funding.
(e) The State Board of Education shall prescribe criteria, policies, and standards deemed
necessary for the effective implementation of this Code section."
SECTION 2.
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.
House Bill 912 would create a state matching grant program, capped at $500,000 a year, to help local school systems pay for home reading programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act currently does not include a specific grant program for home reading initiatives. This bill would add a new section to that law creating a matching grant program run by the State Board of Education and distributed through the Department of Education.
Local school systems could get matching funds to partner with nonprofit organizations that deliver eligible home reading programs to students in kindergarten through fourth grade. To qualify, a program must mail or electronically deliver independent reading level books weekly, engage parents through regular calls or texts in multiple languages, use evidence based literacy instruction, provide data tracking, and keep total costs (including the local match) at or under $50.00 per student per semester. The state's total matching contribution cannot exceed $500,000.00 per fiscal year, and the State Board could also accept and pass through federal funds for the program. The board must write rules to carry it out.
### What it does
- Adds a new Code section allowing the State Board of Education to give local school systems matching grants for home reading programs serving kindergarten through fourth grade students.
- Caps the state's total matching grant spending on this program at $500,000.00 per state fiscal year.
- Sets detailed eligibility rules for qualifying reading programs, including weekly book delivery, parent engagement contacts, and a $50.00 per student per semester cost cap.
- Requires participating nonprofits to secure and document the required local matching funds and report student progress data to the Department of Education.
- Authorizes the State Board of Education to accept and pass through federal funds to support these grants.
- Directs the State Board of Education to create rules and regulations to put the program into effect.
### Who it affects
Local school systems (called local units of administration) that want to offer home reading programs, nonprofit organizations that run qualifying literacy programs, elementary students in kindergarten through fourth grade and their parents or guardians, and the State Board of Education and Department of Education, which would administer the grants.
### Why it matters
Families in participating districts could gain access to weekly at-home reading materials and parent engagement support aimed at improving early literacy, while school systems would need to find local matching dollars and partner with a qualifying nonprofit to take advantage of the limited state funds.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 adds new Code Section 20-2-259.1 to Georgia's Quality Basic Education Act establishing the matching grant program for kindergarten through fourth grade home reading programs.
- Subsection (b) lists eligibility criteria a home reading program must meet, including evidence based instruction, weekly parent contact in multiple languages, and individualized student data reporting.
- 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 pass through point.
- Subsection (e) requires the State Board of Education to set criteria, policies, and standards for implementing the program.
- Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2025-04-02)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-01-12)
- Sponsors: David Wilkerson, Michael Smith, Doreen Carter, Bethany Ballard, Brent Cox, Lydia Glaize
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/71999
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb912.md?full=1