--- title: SR 977. Georgia Pre-K Week; recognize October 5-9, 2026 collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sr977 cite_as: SR 977, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr977 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr977.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr977/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74179 date: 2026-03-19 status: passed 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/sr976.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr978.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 94 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr977.md?full=1 bill_number: SR 977 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-03-19 last_action: Senate Read and Adopted sponsors: - Chuck Payne - Billy Hickman - Elena Parent - RaShaun Kemp - Freddie Sims - Sonya Halpern - Steven McNeel - Timothy Bearden - Shawn Still - Donzella James - Greg Dolezal text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SR977/2025 upstream_id: 2135847 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - Pre-K education - early childhood education - Georgia schools - legislative resolutions --- # SR 977. Georgia Pre-K Week; recognize October 5-9, 2026 ## Text Senate Resolution 977 By: Senators Payne of the 54th, Hickman of the 4th, Parent of the 44th, Kemp of the 38th, Sims of the 12th and others A RESOLUTION Recognizing October 5–9, 2026, as Georgia Pre-K Week; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, Georgia's Pre-K Program was started by Governor Zell Miller in 1992 as a pilot program serving 750 students and now provides quality early education experiences to more than half of the state's four-year-old children; and WHEREAS, Georgia's Pre-K Program has been formally administered statewide by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning since 2004; and WHEREAS, Georgia's Pre-K has helped prepare more than 2 million of Georgia's children for success in kindergarten and beyond since it began; and WHEREAS, findings from the longitudinal study on Georgia's Pre-K conducted by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute show that children in Georgia's Pre-K demonstrate significant gains across all learning domains, and these gains are sustained through the end of fourth grade; and WHEREAS, multiple studies of Pre-K programs, including Georgia's Pre-K, show that participation in Pre-K can greatly improve school readiness skills, particularly for high-risk populations; and WHEREAS, Georgia's Pre-K Program has recognized two outstanding educators—one from a public school system and one from a private child care center—as Georgia's Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year for 2025-2026: Teresa Swaim from West Jackson Elementary in Hoschton and Autumn Hart from Bundle of Joy Academy in Marietta; and WHEREAS, Georgia's Pre-K Program is ranked eighth best in the nation for access to Pre-K for four-year-olds; and WHEREAS, there is a growing commitment to improving the quality of child care in Georgia, with more than half of Georgia's Pre-K programs participating in Quality Rated, the voluntary quality improvement system for child care programs; and WHEREAS, the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education was appointed during the 2023 Legislative Session to determine ways in which the system of Pre-K education in Georgia could be improved; and WHEREAS, the working group's recommendations include specific areas in need of change to make the Pre-K program more accessible and effective, such as restoring class sizes to 20 students, increasing salaries for assistant teachers, providing pay parity between Pre-K and K-12 teachers, increasing operating funds for Pre-K programs, counting Pre-K enrollment in entitlement earnings for public school systems, and ensuring equivalent lease payments for private Pre-K providers; and WHEREAS, Georgia Pre-K programs serve more than 70,000 children annually in approximately 3,785 classrooms operating in all 159 counties in Georgia; and WHEREAS, Voices for Georgia's Children and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning will host Georgia Pre-K Week for the 16th consecutive year during the first full week of October. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body recognize October 5–9, 2026, as Georgia Pre-K Week; thank the hundreds of programs, teachers, aides, and staff who have built a nationally recognized Pre-K program and other high-quality early education programs; and encourage parents, educators, community members, and business leaders to participate in Georgia Pre-K Week and support high-quality, accessible, and affordable early education for all children in the great State of Georgia. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Voices for Georgia's Children. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Senate resolution designates October 5-9, 2026 as Georgia Pre-K Week, honoring the state's early education program and the educators who run it. ### Plain-language summary This resolution does not change any Georgia law. It formally recognizes October 5-9, 2026 as Georgia Pre-K Week, marking the 16th consecutive year that Voices for Georgia's Children and the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning have hosted the observance. The resolution recounts the history of Georgia's Pre-K Program since its 1992 start under Governor Zell Miller, cites research on its educational benefits, and names the 2025-2026 Pre-K Teachers of the Year. It thanks Pre-K programs, teachers, and staff, and encourages parents, educators, and community members to participate. It also directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to Voices for Georgia's Children. ### What it does - Formally recognizes October 5-9, 2026 as Georgia Pre-K Week in Georgia. - Thanks the teachers, aides, and staff who work in Georgia's Pre-K programs and other early education programs. - Encourages parents, educators, community members, and business leaders to participate in Georgia Pre-K Week. - Directs the Secretary of the Senate to send a copy of the resolution to Voices for Georgia's Children. ### Who it affects Georgia's Pre-K Program teachers, aides, and staff across the state's roughly 3,785 Pre-K classrooms, the children and families served by those programs, the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, and the advocacy group Voices for Georgia's Children. ### Why it matters The resolution carries no funding or policy change, but it publicly highlights Georgia's Pre-K Program and its educators, and points to areas a legislative working group has flagged for possible future improvement, such as class sizes and teacher pay. ### Key provisions - The resolving clause recognizes October 5-9, 2026 as Georgia Pre-K Week and thanks Pre-K program staff statewide. - The resolution notes findings from a Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute study showing sustained learning gains for Georgia Pre-K participants through fourth grade. - It references a House Working Group on Early Childhood Education and lists its recommendations, including restoring class sizes to 20 students and pay parity with K-12 teachers, without enacting them. - The final clause directs the Secretary of the Senate to provide a copy of the resolution to Voices for Georgia's Children. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-03-19) - Last action: Senate Read and Adopted (2026-03-19) - Sponsors: Chuck Payne, Billy Hickman, Elena Parent, RaShaun Kemp, Freddie Sims, Sonya Halpern, Steven McNeel, Timothy Bearden, Shawn Still, Donzella James, Greg Dolezal - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74179 > The history, votes, and amendments (94 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sr977.md?full=1