HB 1048: 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 to enroll directly in first grade, but there is no statewide system for checking whether that child is actually ready. This bill amends the Quality Basic Education Act (O.C.G.A. Title 20, Chapter 2, Article 6) to require the State Board of Education to adopt an assessment and placement process for these students, using readiness testing along with teacher recommendations and other information. The bill guarantees that no matter what the assessment shows, a parent or guardian can still choose to enroll their child in kindergarten rather than first grade. It also moves up deadlines for local school boards to adopt placement and promotion policies, requires the state to build a model policy by July 1, 2026, and adds kindergarten and first grade to the statewide implementation timetable starting in the 2026-2027 school year. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it and would apply beginning with that school year.

• Requires the State Board of Education to adopt criteria and an assessment instrument to judge first grade readiness for children eligible for initial enrollment.
• Guarantees that a parent or guardian can enroll their age-eligible child in kindergarten instead of first grade no matter what the readiness assessment shows.
• Bars local school systems from placing a student in kindergarten or first grade based solely on the student's age or birth date.
• Moves the State Board's deadline for adopting placement and promotion criteria from January 1, 2002 to July 1, 2026, and requires a model policy by that date.
• Requires local boards of education and other public school governing bodies to adopt their own placement and promotion policies by July 15, 2026.
• Adds kindergarten and first grade to the state's academic placement and promotion implementation timetable starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

Parents and guardians of children entering public school for the first time, especially those eligible for first grade by age; local boards of education and other public school governing bodies, which must adopt new placement policies; the State Board of Education and Department of Education, which must build assessment criteria and a model policy; and kindergarten and first grade teachers and students.

Families of incoming students would gain a guaranteed choice to start their child in kindergarten even if a readiness test suggests first grade, while schools would face new state deadlines to build and follow formal placement criteria instead of relying only on a child's age or birth date.

• Section 1 revises O.C.G.A. § 20-2-151 to require state-adopted readiness assessment tools and bars enrollment decisions based solely on a student's age or date of birth.
• Section 2 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-283 to move the State Board's criteria-adoption deadline to July 1, 2026, and adds a new subsection requiring first grade readiness assessment plus a parental override guaranteeing kindergarten enrollment.
• Section 3 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-284 to move local boards' placement policy deadline to July 15, 2026, and extends the requirement to other public school governing bodies, with a state model policy due by July 1, 2026.
• Section 4 amends O.C.G.A. § 20-2-285 to add kindergarten and first grade to the statewide implementation timetable starting with the 2026-2027 school year.
• Section 5 sets the effective date as the date of the Governor's approval, applying to school years beginning with 2026-2027.

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

• Scott Hilton (R, HD-048)Patrocinador principal
• 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
• public school policy
• student placement
• education law