By Matthew Smith
April 8, 2026
Before the Georgia General Assembly adjourned Sine Die early last Friday morning, both houses approved House Bill 974, the FY 2027 State Budget. The budget funds state government operations from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. Below, I shared how the budget invests in the five priorities identified by the EdQuest Georgia Coalition and documented several areas where the legislature can dedicate funding in 2027.
Early Learning
The budget continues to invest in reducing Georgia Pre-K class sizes from 22 to 20 on a multi-year basis. The General Assembly also funded the number of seats available via the Rising Pre-K and Summer Transition programs. For the first time, the budget includes state funds for Georgia Pre-K lead and assistant teachers to take up to five days of leave during the school year.
K-12 Education
The budget includes $2.5 million for districts to purchase equipment to conduct vision and hearing screenings. Appropriators included $70.4 million in new Quality Basic Education funding to deploy literacy coaches in each primary and elementary school in Georgia. The budget also funds several literacy initiatives related to teacher professional learning, adoption of high-quality instructional materials, and research and evaluation.
Post-Secondary and Workforce Readiness
The FY 2027 budget includes increases for the Dual Enrollment and HOPE Scholarship programs, demonstrating healthy demand for these financial aid programs.
During the current session, the General Assembly approved SB 556, which creates the DREAMS Scholarship and establishes responsibilities for the Georgia Student Finance Commission to execute the program. The FY 2026 budget provides $325 million to endow this need-based aid program.
The FY 2027 budget also includes $3.98 million to create a Career Navigation tool for the public to learn more about high-demand careers.
Educator Recruitment and Retention
The Amended FY 2026 budget provided one-time, $2,000 bonuses for educators, administrators, bus drivers, custodians, nurses, and nutrition workers. While the FY 2027 budget does cover part of the district’s State Health Benefit Plan contributions, the document does not include any new initiatives related to recruiting and retaining educators.
Barriers to Learning and Well-Being
The General Assembly addressed rural health care access by increasing funding for two Graduate Medical Education programs and two targeted initiatives led by Mercer and Morehouse Schools of Medicine. The final budget also allocates $3.7 million in additional funds to support the expansion of maternal home visiting to an additional 33 rural counties.
Five Funding Opportunities in Next Year’s Budget
- Increase funding for the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program.
The CAPS program provides financial assistance for parents to pay for childcare. Currently, 51,000 children benefit from the program. Georgia used federal pandemic-relief funds to provide childcare to an additional 22,000 children and increase provider reimbursement rates. The General Assembly should increase funding to restore service to 2023 levels.
- Revisit the creation of an opportunity weight within the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula that supports students from low-income households.
The QBE formula does not provide dedicated funding to educate students from low-income backgrounds. The General Assembly funded a pilot to support students from low-income backgrounds, but the FY 2027 Budget eliminates funding after one year. The legislature should update the QBE formula to provide district grants to support the higher cost of educating these students.
- Fund the development of a statewide talent dashboard.
House Bill 1302 created the Education Data Governance Board to coordinate cross-agency data sharing. The General Assembly should ensure the Governor’s Office of Education and Workforce Strategy has sufficient resources to develop a statewide talent dashboard that informs Georgia’s investments in education and workforce development.
- Fund advanced teacher roles within the QBE budget.
The Georgia Partnership commends the General Assembly for taking an affirmative step to fund literacy coaches within the QBE formula. We recommend that the legislature continue in this direction by providing state funding to encourage district leaders to deploy teacher leaders in schools.
- Extend the maternal home visiting program to more counties.
The General Assembly provided $3.7 million in additional funding to extend the maternal home visiting program to 33 more counties. With 65 Georgia counties lacking pediatricians and 82 counties OB-GYNs, the Georgia Partnership supports the House’s original budget recommendation to expand the home visiting program to 62 additional counties.
Matthew Smith is the Director of Policy and Research at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.