Georgia CommonsSenate · Passed · 2025-2026 Regular Session
SB 93: "Georgia Early Literacy Act"; the three-cuing system from inclusion in high-quality instructional materials or structured literacy; prohibit
Last action July 1, 2025 · Effective Date
Senate Bill 93 amends Georgia's Early Literacy Act to require the Professional Standards Commission to set new rules for how Georgia's teacher training programs teach reading, based on the science of reading.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.
In plain language
Georgia's Early Literacy Act (O.C.G.A. § 20-2-153.1) already sets state policy on how reading is taught in public schools. This bill adds a new subsection directing the Professional Standards Commission, the state body that oversees educator preparation programs, to adopt rules setting criteria for the core curricula those programs must teach. The new rules must require teacher training programs to align with content standards set by the State Board of Education that reflect the science of reading, an evidence based approach to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension. Programs must also prepare teachers to use explicit, systematic instruction, multisensory teaching strategies, and approaches for English language learners, students with disabilities, and students with reading deficiencies. The bill repeals any conflicting laws but does not state a separate effective date beyond standard enactment.
What the bill does
- Adds a new subsection (d.1) to the Georgia Early Literacy Act requiring the Professional Standards Commission to adopt rules for core curricula at state approved educator preparation programs.
- Requires those curricula to align exclusively with the science of reading rather than other reading instruction methods.
- Requires teacher training to cover explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension.
- Requires the curricula to include strategies for teaching English language learners, students with disabilities, and students with reading deficiencies, and for differentiating instruction.
- Requires programs to address content literacy, mathematics practices, and the use of technology and distance learning in instruction.
Who it affects
Georgia's state approved educator preparation programs and the colleges or organizations that run them, the Professional Standards Commission, the State Board of Education, and future public school teachers who will be trained under the new reading instruction rules.
Why it matters
How future Georgia teachers are trained to teach reading affects classroom instruction statewide for years to come. By requiring teacher prep programs to follow the science of reading, the bill could change coursework and training methods at colleges and other programs that certify new teachers.
Key provisions
- Section 1 adds subsection (d.1) to O.C.G.A. § 20-2-153.1, directing the Professional Standards Commission to adopt rules setting curricula criteria for educator preparation programs.
- The rules must require alignment with State Board of Education content standards based on the science of reading.
- The rules must require evidence based, explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative teaching methods for phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension, plus multisensory and multimodal strategies.
- The rules must cover instructional strategies for English language learners, students with disabilities, differentiated instruction, early identification of reading deficiencies, and use of technology in education.
- Section 2 repeals any state laws that conflict with the new requirements.
From the bill
“The Professional Standards Commission shall adopt rules which establish criteria for core curricula for each state approved educator preparation program.”
“Prepare teachers to provide explicit, systematic, sequential, and cumulative approaches to teaching phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and text comprehension”
Status timeline
- Effective Date
- Act 27
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
Show full history (18 actions)
- House Second Readers (House)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- RaShaun Kemp (D, SD-38)
- Billy Hickman (R, SD-4)
- Harold Jones II (D, SD-22)
- Greg Dolezal (R, SD-27)
- Jason Esteves (D, SD-35)
- Kim Jackson (D, SD-41)
- Elena Parent (D, SD-44)
- Derek Mallow (D, SD-2)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-45)
- Sonya Halpern (D, SD-39)
- Bethany Ballard (R, HD-147)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2025
50 yea, 3 nay (3 not voting, 0 excused)
- House voteMarch 31, 2025
168 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 7 excused)
- Senate voteApril 2, 2025
55 yea, 0 nay (0 not voting, 1 excused)
Topics
- early literacy
- teacher training
- science of reading
- education policy
- educator certification