ATLANTA — The Georgia House Speaker wants to overhaul how the state encourages literacy.
House Speaker Jon Burns unveiled his 2026 plan to make literacy better across the state on Thursday.
Burns says his inspiration for this is his wife, Channel 2’s Richard Elliot reports.
The first lady of the house, Dayle Burns, was a long-time schoolteacher and principal. Literacy has always been one of her number one concerns for children.
Her husband put the weight of his office behind efforts to make things better.
“The time for decisive, bold action is now,” the speaker said.
It’s long been a goal for Burns and his wife, who lamented that 60% of Georgia school children aren’t reading at their grade level.
“We must do better, and I commit to you we will do better because the future of our state depends on it,” he said.
His sweeping literacy bill includes QBE funding for school-based literacy coaches for kids in kindergarten through third grade. Also, it includes regional literacy coaches, comprehensive curriculum-based learning to help support teachers and those coaches, and he wants to make kindergarten mandatory and encourage parents to have their children start it at five instead of six.
If children still aren’t reading at level, schools could hold them back.
“In addition, kindergarten and first grade students who are shown to be significantly at-risk for reading difficulties by the variety of measures, including first and foremost, periodic input, will repeat that grade of learning,” Burns said.
It’s not a step back, he says, but a step to help those children read at level and improve themselves.
“We look forward to working alongside all of our friends, the senators, in getting this life-changing measure across the finish line,” said state Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer.
With the speaker’s push, there’s a good chance this bill makes it through the House, and we’ll see what happens in the Senate.
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