The most consequential decisions in a state literacy law often happen after the signing ceremony, in a committee most families never hear about. In Georgia, that committee is being assembled right now. The Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 (House Bill 1193), signed by Governor Brian Kemp on May 5, created a Georgia Literacy Task Force to be convened by September 2026. This month the appointments started arriving: on September 3, House Speaker Jon Burns named three members, including Dr. Amy Lingo, dean of Georgia Southern University's College of Education. The task force will evaluate and recommend the professional learning, reading screeners, and instructional materials Georgia schools use. If you have a young child in a Georgia public school, this group is about to shape how your child is checked for reading risk, including dyslexia.

What does the Early Literacy Act of 2026 require?

HB 1193 builds on Georgia's earlier literacy laws rather than replacing them. As summarized by Atlanta News First and the parent-advocacy group Mindworks Georgia, its main pieces are:

  • Literacy coaches. Grants reimburse districts for one literacy coach per K–3 school (half funding for schools of 200 or fewer students). Coaches need at least five years of teaching or intervention experience and expertise in reading research and dyslexia interventions, must spend at least 70% of the day in classrooms, and cannot be pulled for substitute teaching or evaluations.
  • Approved materials. The State Board approves K–3 reading materials, and beginning in 2029–30 schools cannot use state funds on unapproved ones.
  • First-grade checkpoints. Starting in 2027–28, first graders identified as significantly at risk must get parent notification, intervention, and reassessment, with retention possible and an appeals process.
  • An updated dyslexia definition in state policy, plus revised universal screener requirements.

Georgia already requires universal reading screening in K–3 under 2023's HB 538, which, according to a district-facing summary from Progress Learning, calls for screeners three times a year that include characteristics of dyslexia. The new law asks the task force to recommend improvements to those tools.

Who is on the task force, and what will it decide?

The task force is convened by the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy and chaired by the State Literacy Director. Speaker Burns's appointees are Dr. Lingo; Lesley S. Taylor, a regional literacy coach for First District RESA with more than 25 years in Georgia public schools; and Dayle Burns, a retired elementary educator who co-leads the Effingham Early Literacy Council. Georgia Southern reports that appointments run three years, through September 1, 2029. Other appointing authorities are naming members too; the full roster was not yet public when we went to press. The group's portfolio (screeners, materials, professional learning) covers the three things that most determine whether a dyslexic child is spotted in kindergarten or in fourth grade.

Why does the screener choice matter so much for dyslexia?

A screener is a short test that sorts children into risk levels; it is not a diagnosis. But the details decide who gets flagged. A screener that measures only oral reading fluency can miss a bright kindergartner who is memorizing words. One that includes phonological awareness, letter-sound knowledge, rapid naming, and nonsense-word reading catches more of the early dyslexia profile. The timing and the cut scores matter, as does what happens next: whether results go home in plain language, and whether a flag triggers intervention or just a note in a data system. Those are the questions a task force settles, often in documents few parents read. Speed matters too: a flag in the fall of kindergarten that leads to intervention by winter is worth far more than the same flag discussed at a spring conference. As we reported on this year's new state requirements, the law on paper and the screener in the classroom can drift far apart.

What should Georgia families and teachers do now?

  1. Find out which screener your school uses today. One email to the principal: "Which universal reading screener does my child take, when, and how are results shared with families?"
  2. Ask for your child's results. Screening data is part of your child's record. Request it in writing and keep a copy.
  3. Watch for public comment. Task force recommendations will go to state leaders. Follow the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy and the Georgia Department of Education for meeting notices.
  4. Send testimony with specifics. Two paragraphs work: your child's experience, then one request, such as "recommend screeners that include rapid naming and phonological measures, with results sent to parents within two weeks."
  5. Don't wait for 2027–28 if you're worried now. If your child shows signs of dyslexia, a written evaluation request (our template) starts the federal timeline today, regardless of what the task force decides.

What could go wrong in implementation?

Georgia's law is ambitious, and ambitious laws have predictable weak points. These are the ones we'll be watching, and the ones families should keep in mind:

  • Unfilled coaching positions. Coaches only work if the grants are funded and schools can hire qualified people. Five years' experience plus dyslexia expertise is a high bar, especially in rural districts, and an empty position helps no one.
  • Retention without better teaching. Holding back a first grader can help if it comes with serious, targeted intervention. It can harm if it becomes another year of the same instruction that didn't work the first time.
  • A deadline that invites delay. The 2029–30 materials cutoff is far enough away that some districts may wait until the last year to switch. Every year of waiting is a cohort of children taught with the old materials.
  • Screeners without follow-through. A flag that sits in a data system and never reaches the family or triggers intervention has done nothing. The task force should say how results reach parents, not just which test to use.

Other states are working through the same challenges: Michigan's five-year teacher-training clock shows how long a statewide buildout takes. The task force is where Georgia gets to learn from them. Families who show up early can influence what gets built. Families who show up late mostly read about it afterward.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Georgia Literacy Task Force? A body created by the Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026 (HB 1193), convened by the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy and chaired by the State Literacy Director. It will evaluate and recommend reading screeners, instructional materials, and professional learning for Georgia's K–3 literacy reforms.

Does Georgia screen children for dyslexia? Yes. Georgia requires universal reading screening in kindergarten through third grade, including characteristics of dyslexia, under laws passed in 2023. The 2026 law updates the dyslexia definition and asks the new task force to recommend improvements to the screeners districts use.

Could my first grader be held back under the new law? Starting in 2027–28, first graders identified as significantly at risk in reading must receive parent notification, intervention, and reassessment. Retention is possible if a child remains at risk, with an appeals process. Parents may also request readiness assessments before promotion to first grade.

Source: "Gov. Kemp Signs Bills Strengthening Literacy and K-12 Schools" (Office of the Governor, May 5, 2026) · "Sweeping early literacy bill signed into law" (Atlanta News First, May 5, 2026) · "Speaker Jon Burns Announces Appointments to Literacy Task Force" (Rome CEO, Sep 3, 2026) · Georgia Southern University announcement (Sep 2, 2026) · "Georgia Early Literacy Act of 2026" (Mindworks Georgia, Jun 2026)