As new school year begins, Georgia launches push to rescue struggling readers

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Georgia is launching a sweeping $70 million early literacy overhaul aimed at rescuing struggling readers, as state data reveals nearly two-thirds of third-grade students cannot read proficiently.

The Early Literacy Act introduces a new educational approach across Georgia public schools, deploying highly trained literacy coaches directly into elementary classrooms to assist teachers. Under the new law, state schools are utilizing specialized screenings for dyslexia, vision and hearing to identify and support students silently falling behind.

The 42-page bill represents a comprehensive curriculum shift toward the “Science of Reading,” which focuses heavily on phonics and sounding out words rather than memorization. It regulates both how colleges train incoming teachers on reading science and the daily instruction taking place at individual desks.

State Rep. Chris Erwin, the bill’s sponsor and chairman of the House Education Committee, called the legislation the most significant education reform in decades.

“This is going to be the most impactful education legislation that the General Assembly has taken up since the Hope Scholarship,” Erwin said. “We are going to make a difference in children learning to read in this state.”

Erwin, a former high school principal and teacher, said Georgia modeled its legislation on similar reading overhauls in Alabama and Mississippi. Members of the legislative education committees traveled to Alabama to study their program in person.

“We were trying to not only study what Mississippi had done, but also see what some other states in the Southeast had done so that maybe we could cut some corners or not step in the same slow track,” Erwin said.

Under the law, the state is currently funding 1,300 literacy coaches statewide. These coaches are required to spend 70% of their day inside classrooms, delivering real-time feedback to teachers.

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Jackson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Phillip Brown said his district, which has swelled to 11,000 students, has utilized literacy coaches for several years.

“In every profession, when people have coaches, they reach a higher level,” Brown said.

Brown said the coaches are highly beneficial for first-year teachers structuring their reading classrooms.

Brown noted that Jackson County has also expanded its early education foundation, growing from 16 Pre-K classrooms in 2022 to 26 classrooms today.

“Getting those kids in as four year olds and getting them with a really high-quality teacher who creates a love of learning, we’re going to see a tremendous benefit of that long-term,” Brown said.

Erwin emphasized that learning to read is not a natural human skill, meaning early intervention and diagnosis are vital.

“Every year that we sit and wait, we get two-thirds of our kids in third grade that aren’t reading on grade level,” Erwin said. “We cannot accept that.”

State leaders said parent involvement at home is critical to make the curriculum shift successful. Rather than asking children generic questions about their school day, Brown suggested parents ask more active questions.

“Ask them: What did you read today? What did you write about today,” Brown said.

The law establishes a state literacy task force and a literacy coordinating committee, both of which are currently being selected and are expected to be in place early in this school year.

Once established, the task force — which Erwin called the “rock stars of literacy in our state” — will be responsible for selecting High-Quality Instructional Materials, or HQIM, for teachers and students to use in the classroom. The task force is also charged with developing a plan to scale and expand the reading curriculum from third grade up into fourth, fifth and higher grade levels as students progress.

The literacy coordinating committee will work alongside the task force to research future advancements, including how to safely and effectively integrate artificial intelligence and other classroom technologies to assist teachers. Together, these two bodies will continuously evaluate student outcomes and recommend future curriculum updates to the General Assembly to be written into law.