HB1048: HB1048 Quality Basic Education Act; State Board adopt criteria for assessment and placement of students who are eligible for initial public school enrollment in first grade

Under current Georgia law, a child who turns six by September 1 is eligible for first grade, and the state already has a readiness assessment process tied to kindergarten. House Bill 1048 amends the Quality Basic Education Act to require the State Board of Education, by July 1, 2026, to adopt criteria for assessing and placing students who are eligible for initial enrollment in first grade rather than kindergarten. It also guarantees that no matter what the assessment shows, a parent or guardian can insist their child be enrolled in kindergarten instead of first grade. The bill also requires local boards of education and other public school governing bodies to adopt their own placement and promotion policies by July 15, 2026, consistent with the state's criteria, and directs the State Board to publish a model policy by July 1, 2026. The changes take effect once the Governor signs the bill and apply starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

• Requires the State Board of Education to adopt, by July 1, 2026, criteria for assessing and placing students eligible for initial enrollment in first grade.
• Guarantees that a parent or guardian can choose to enroll their child in kindergarten instead of first grade regardless of the assessment results.
• Requires local boards of education and other public school governing bodies to adopt their own placement and promotion policies by July 15, 2026.
• Directs the State Board of Education to develop a model placement and promotion policy for local use by July 1, 2026.
• Adds kindergarten and first grade to the state's existing timetable for implementing academic placement and promotion policy, starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
• Sets the law to take effect once the Governor signs it and applies it beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

The change affects parents and guardians of children old enough to start first grade, those children themselves, local school systems and their boards of education, public school governing bodies, and the Georgia Department of Education and State Board of Education, which must write new criteria and model policies.

Families with a child who could start first grade would gain a guaranteed right to place that child in kindergarten instead, even if an assessment suggests first grade. School districts would face new deadlines to write or update their own placement and promotion rules to match state criteria.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-151 to keep the existing first grade age cutoff (age six by September 1) and readiness assessment process, referencing the new placement criteria required elsewhere in the bill.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-283 to move the State Board's deadline for adopting placement and promotion criteria from January 1, 2002 to July 1, 2026, and adds a new subsection requiring first grade readiness assessment for newly eligible students.
• Section 2 also guarantees that a parent or guardian may request kindergarten enrollment for their child regardless of the first grade readiness assessment results.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-284 to move local boards' deadline for adopting placement and promotion policies from July 1, 2003 to July 15, 2026, and requires the State Board to issue a model policy by July 1, 2026.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-285 to add kindergarten and first grade to the implementation timetable, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as upon the Governor's signature, applying to school years beginning with 2026-2027.

1. 2026-01-29House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-01-28House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-01-27House Hopper (House)

• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)Primary sponsor
• Chuck Efstration (R, HD-104)
• Jan Jones (R, HD-047)
• Sandy Donatucci (R, HD-105)
• Matt Reeves (R, HD-099)
• Reynaldo Martinez (R, HD-111)

• kindergarten enrollment
• first grade readiness
• school placement policy
• Georgia education law
• Quality Basic Education Act