2026 State Legislative Recap

With Sine Die in the rearview mirror, we at GEEARS are reflecting upon Georgia’s 2026 session. We were especially pleased to see progress in three areas: Paid Parental Leave, Home Visiting, and Georgia’s Pre-K. Read on to learn more about the bills and budget items that made it across the finish line—and those that did not.  

Note: the text color denotes a bill’s status (i.e., green for passage, red for stalled). Italics indicate GEEARS’ commentary and blue denotes a GEEARS priority. To see all the bills that we tracked this legislative session, click here. 

A caveat: The Governor has 40 days after Sine Die to sign or veto these bills, including the budget, where he can make line-item vetoes. 

Early Childhood Education  

• HB 1123 would require public schools that offer Georgia’s Pre-K Program and afterschool care to allow Pre-K students to enroll in the afterschool program.  

• HB 589  would allow parents or guardians to choose to enroll their five-year-old in Georgia’s Pre-K Program instead of Kindergarten. 

• HB 1193 seeks to strengthen early literacy across Georgia, with a primary focus on Kindergarten through third grade. The bill includes several provisions relevant to children, ages birth to age five:  

• • Allows parents or guardians to choose to enroll their eligible five-year-old in Georgia’s Pre-K Program instead of Kindergarten (also in HB 589)  

• • Encourages families to enroll their children in Kindergarten but does not change Georgia’s compulsory school attendance age (first grade) 

• • Requires all school systems to offer a full-day Kindergarten program  

• • Requires school systems to adopt a unified literacy plan that, among other components, must include strategies for collaboration with early learning providers serving children from birth to age five to support school readiness and early language development. 

The bill also includes broader K–3 literacy reforms, such as requiring a literacy coach in every K–3 school and establishing first grade readiness assessments.  

• HB 634, The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act, would alter the existing Special Needs Scholarship while providing added transparency. 

• SB 554 would create a grant program to expand access to child care by funding repairs, renovations, and expansions of child care facilities.  

• HB 1146 would establish a pilot program to expand Georgia’s Pre-K program to three-year-olds.  

• HB 1281 would require child care providers to carry liability insurance. 

• HR 450 would allow Georgians to vote on a constitutional amendment to legalize sports betting via the Georgia Lottery Corporation, which funds Georgia’s Pre-K program. 

Education-related budget items

• $9.7M in Lottery funds to support CAPS scholarships for before- and after-school care for eligible children enrolled in Georgia’s Pre-K program. While Lottery funds generally cannot be used for CAPS, this approach will allow other funds to be redirected to better serve other CAPS-eligible children, such as children with disabilities and children in foster care.    

• $12M to reduce the classroom size for Georgia’s Pre-K Program from 22 to 20 students (year three of a four-year phase–in).  

• $4M to require Pre-K providers to offer five days of paid leave for Pre-K lead and assistant teachers, with funding included to cover substitute teachers.  

• $708K to expand the Rising Pre-K Summer Transition Program by adding 25 new classes during the 2026-2027 year.  

Healthy Development  

• HB 1096  would allow employees of a county board of health to retain their accrued annual and sick leave if they transition to a position at the Georgia Department of Public Health’s state office. The bill originated from recommendations of the House Study Committee on Public Health Funding.  

• HB 1192 would require the Georgia Departments of Human Services (DHS) and Community Health (DCH) to keep funds designated for specific purposes in separate accounts and provide annual reports to the legislature. DHS and DCH administer Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). 

• HB 291 would create a certification for Community Health Workers. The Department of Public Health’s Home Visiting Program utilizes community health workers.  

• HB 1402  would require vision and hearing screening for all public school students enrolled in Pre-K through third grade.  

Health-related Budget Items

• $3.7M for DPH’s Home Visiting Program.  

• $15.6M in state funding to increase reimbursement rates for providers treating patients on Medicaid, including $5.2M for primary care physicians, $8.7M to create parity between in-home and in-office reimbursement for autism services, and $1.7M to increase prospective payment for federally-qualified health centers. Medicaid is a huge driver of children’s health care coverage in the state and covers 46% of all births and 42% of all children.  

• $121K in state funding for eight new Katie Beckett Medicaid caseworkers to address increased workload and $20K in state funding to provide $3K salary enhancements for caseworkers. The Katie Beckett waiver allows children with complex medical needs who don’t otherwise qualify for Medicaid to receive it by “waiving” the income requirements.  

Family Supports  

• HB 1118 would provide an additional three weeks of paid maternity leave for state employees, including teachers employed in public schools. State employees currently receive six weeks of paid parental leave.  

• SB 406 would make changes to Homeowners Associations (HOAs). One amendment would allow for expungement of dispossessory records after tenants meet certain requirements or seven years have passed.  

• HB 61 was heavily amended and now includes language that would make it easier for extended stay hotel owners to evict guests.  A recent study found that many of those living in extended stay hotels are children.  

• HB 500 would increase the asset limit for families applying for the TANF program.  

• HB 689 would establish a homelessness prevention program to support housing security for communities across Georgia. Children under five are the most likely to experience eviction.  

• HB 947 would increase the stringency of eligibility checks for SNAP recipients, potentially making it more difficult to receive and maintain SNAP benefits.  

• HB 1318 would create an actuarial study on paid parental leave for all employees across the state.  

Family Supports in the Budget

• $40M to address the reduction in federal SNAP administrative reimbursement from 50% to 25%. 

• $6.9M to fund a SNAP payment accuracy innovation effort to reduce the SNAP payment error rate.