Feature Story: 2026 Legislative Session Preview

Make Your Plans to Stay Informed and Engaged

The General Assembly convened this week at the State Capitol in Atlanta. On Day 1, the House and Senate adopted an adjournment resolution which set the calendar for the remainder of the session.

Creation, negotiation, and approval of the state budget, including the education budget, will be a main priority. Gov. Brian P. Kemp’s office originates drafts of the Fiscal Year 2027 and the Amended Fiscal Year 2026 budgets. Release of these drafts coincided with the governor’s State of the State Address Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. Subsequently, budget drafts will be considered by the House, then the Senate, and then by appropriations conferees, before final approval by both chambers and gubernatorial signature.

Upcoming state elections will also heavily shape the 2026 legislative session. Multiple legislators have announced plans to run for statewide office. So far, five state senators and one House member have expressed their intention to run for lieutenant governor. Georgia’s current lieutenant governor, Burt Jones, has set his sights on the governor’s race. He joins a former Atlanta mayor, a former labor commissioner, and current officeholders — including a state senator, the attorney general, and the secretary of state—in the governor’s race. House and Senate members will jockey to fill positions vacated by those running for higher office.   

Since policymakers recessed at the conclusion of the 2025 session, study committees and related groups have been exploring policy challenges and solutions that will inform legislation and budget proposals considered during the 2026 session. Education has been a major focus of this intersession work, and PAGE staff have been heavily involved, attending meetings, sharing PAGE member survey data and resulting recommendations, and reporting on meetings of the following:

• House Study Committee on Student Attendance in PreK-12 Education

• House Study Committee on Reducing and Prioritizing Mandates for Public School Administration

• Senate Study Committee on Combating Chronic Absenteeism in Schools

• Senate Study Committee on Keeping Kids Safe Online

Together with leaders from state education agencies and state associations, throughout the summer and fall, PAGE has been deeply engaged in ongoing work initiated by the passage of SR 237, which tasks the groups with developing recommendations to strengthen Georgia’s educator pipeline. The Georgia Professional Standards Commission led this collaboration, which yielded many strong recommendations, a few of which include:

• Additional state funding for substitute teachers as a strategy to preserve teacher planning time

• Paid student teacher stipend pilot to reduce financial barriers to entering the profession

• Creation of a teacher compensation study task force

• Reauthorization of a $3,000 tax credit for teachers in high-need subjects or qualifying rural schools

• Continuation of Georgia’s Return-to-Work program

• 
  

In addition to this work, PAGE partnered with the College of Education at Georgia Southern University on a survey of more than 3,000 Georgia educators, who expressed strong support for student cell phone bans. These findings have already been communicated to policymakers and are reflected in study committee recommendations.

A PAGE collaboration with the College of Education at Georgia State University convened student teachers, PAGE staff, and a legislator sponsoring a bill to create student teacher stipends. Students at this event shared valuable insight into their experiences, including financial challenges. They learned more about the proposed legislation. In turn, policymakers and PAGE staff learned how to craft policy proposals more effectively to reduce teacher preparation cost barriers.     

Cell phones, absenteeism, Georgia’s educator pipeline: these policy areas, along with PAGE survey data, are reflected in the 2026 PAGE Legislative Priorities. Developed from recommendations of the PAGE Legislative Advisory Committee, with input from the entire PAGE membership, PAGE priorities are communicated to each legislator and key state leaders.

2026 PAGE Legislative Priorities

PAGE Legislative Priorities are created and approved by members every year. While the priorities inform areas of PAGE advocacy focus during the legislative session for which they are generated, PAGE also strongly supports and continuously advocates for policies benefiting educators, students, and public education, including raising educator salaries and promoting strong retirement and healthcare benefits for Georgia educators.

Combat Chronic Absenteeism Through Targeted Investments and Increased Accountability 

Chronic absenteeism is an ongoing challenge in Georgia schools, significantly impacting student success. Chronically absent students often have lower academic performance, reduced literacy levels, and a higher chance of dropping out.¹ Legislators should implement the following solutions to improve student attendance: 

• Expand School-Based Support Staff 

  
  

  Adding more mental health professionals in schools is one of the top action steps state and district leaders can take to improve student attendance, according to educators in a recent PAGE survey.²  

• Georgia’s current funding ratios for school mental health professionals do not meet student needs. During the 2025 session, in response to previous recommendations by PAGE members, the General Assembly lowered the school psychologist-to-student ratio to 1:2,420 and provided funding to every district for a minimum of one full-time social worker. They also made it easier for school psychologists to work when they move to Georgia.  Legislators should build on these valuable steps by reducing the school counselor-to-student funding ratio from 1:450 to 1:400 as well as lowering the school social worker-to-student ratio from 1:2,475 to 1:1,856. 

Supporting students’ physical health is also critical in combating chronic absenteeism. School nurses play a vital role in ensuring student health; however, many schools lack a full-time, licensed nurse. Lawmakers should expand funding to provide at least one licensed school nurse in every school. 

• Increase Parental Commitment to Student Attendance 

  
  

  Parents play a crucial role in addressing chronic absenteeism. Lawmakers should support efforts to promote parental awareness of the importance of attendance and examine current truancy laws to ensure parental accountability is upheld.  

• Invest in Local Solutions 

  
  

  Chronic absenteeism is caused by many factors that vary among students, families, and districts. Legislators should provide funding to allow districts to implement strategies tailored to local needs.  

Promote Positive School Environments for Students and Educators 

PAGE recommends legislators continue the vital work of creating safe and positive environments for students and educators in every Georgia school by implementing the following strategies.  

Expand Georgia’s Student Mobile Device Ban to Grades 9-12 Mobile devices and other digital distractions interfere with student learning, according to educators who participated in a recent PAGE survey on digital distractions in the classroom. Educators also report that digital devices exacerbate behavioral challenges. While recognizing that limiting cell phone use by older students may present unique challenges, 93% of high school educators who participated in the survey support expanding the prohibition.⁶ Policymakers should expand the prohibition on K-8 student cell phone use established by HB 340 (2025) to students in grades 9-12.  

Provide Mental Health Training for Teacher Candidates  

Expand mental health training programs in educator preparation programs to ensure new educators enter classrooms prepared to recognize and address student mental health needs. 

Invest in Strategies to Attract and Retain Educators and School Staff 

PAGE strongly supports the work the Georgia Professional Standards Commission is leading pursuant to SR 237 (2025), which aims to strengthen the educator workforce. PAGE urges policymakers to act on the recommendations developed by the SR 237 working group. PAGE also highlights policies that educators say will improve recruitment and retention:   

• Reauthorizing the return-to-work program for retired teachers in high-need subject areas   

• Extending the state teacher salary schedule steps past 20 years of experience  

• Providing a need-based stipend for student teachers in high-need subject areas 

• Reauthorizing the Teacher Tax Credit for educators in high-need subject areas in rural or low-performing schools 

• Increasing salaries for paraprofessionals 

• Exploring educator workforce housing solutions 

• Increasing state funding for substitute teachers 

• 
  

• Legislators can also improve educator working conditions and enhance instruction by:  

• Protecting educator planning time and duty-free lunch 

• Evaluating Georgia’s strategic waiver and charter district flexibility programs to ensure flexibility waivers contribute to student and educator success 

Boost Funding for Teacher and Leader Professional Development Teachers and school leaders need more support to implement the Georgia Early Literacy Act, including on-site coaching and other assistance to master and embed structured literacy, new curricula, and new assessments into daily instructional practice. State funding for professional development is limited. Under the Quality Basic Education (QBE) formula, professional development funding is calculated as a percentage of base teacher salary. The percentage was originally 1.5% until a series of reductions lowered it to the current level of 0.9%. Funding should be restored to the 1.5% level to reflect the cost of high-quality training for all educators.  

2026 PAGE priorities significantly overlap joint priorities shared by PAGE, the Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA), the Georgia School Superintendents’ Association (GSSA), and the Georgia Association of Educational Leaders (GAEL). These joint priorities have also been communicated to the governor’s office and key legislative leaders.

In the coming weeks, PAGE members should communicate the 2026 PAGE Priorities to their House and Senate members. Using their home addresses, educators can access their state representatives’ contact information HERE. As always, please contact policymakers outside of instructional time using personal, not school, email addresses and electronic devices. Personalize PAGE priorities by expanding on policy recommendations important to you and the students you serve.

Also, please make plans to attend 2026 PAGE Day on Capitol Hill, in partnership with GAEL, and the Georgia Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (GACTE). Attendees of this free event will receive breakfast and lunch, briefings on policy areas discussed in this article, and will advocate about those issues under the Gold Dome. Registration is now open and can be accessed along with additional event information HERE.

And finally, use PAGE resources to stay informed and engaged during the legislative session. Sign up for PAGE’s daily Capitol Report HERE, and join us for free upcoming PAGE webinars previewing the 2026 session Jan. 12 and outlining state education budget proposals Jan. 29. Register HERE and HERE, respectively.

The PAGE legislative team includes Director of Legislative Services Margaret Ciccarelli, Legislative Specialist Josh Stephens, Legislative Communications Specialist Robert Aycock, and Senior Policy Consultant Claire Suggs. Reach us via the PAGE website HERE. We look forward to serving you during the 2026 session and seeing you at PAGE Day on Capitol Hill Feb. 17.