| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 60 0169 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Bill 912 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Wilkerson of the 38 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Smith of the 41 |
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| 6 | 6 | | st |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Carter of the 93 |
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| 8 | 8 | | rd |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Ballard of the |
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| 10 | 10 | | 147 |
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| 11 | 11 | | th |
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| 12 | 12 | | , Cox of the 28 |
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| 13 | 13 | | th |
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| 14 | 14 | | , and others |
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| 15 | 15 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 16 | 16 | | AN ACT |
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| 17 | 17 | | To amend Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia |
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| 18 | 18 | | 1 |
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| 19 | 19 | | Annotated, relating to grants for educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education2 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Act," so as to provide for up to $500,000.00 in matching grants by the State Board of3 |
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| 21 | 21 | | Education to local units of administration for the purpose of providing home reading4 |
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| 22 | 22 | | programs for students in kindergarten through fourth grade; to authorize the State Board of5 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Education to receive and administer federal funds for such grants; to provide for eligibility;6 |
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| 24 | 24 | | to require the State Board of Education to develop rules and regulations; to provide for7 |
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| 25 | 25 | | related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.8 |
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| 26 | 26 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:9 |
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| 27 | 27 | | SECTION 1.10 |
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| 28 | 28 | | Part 9 of Article 6 of Chapter 2 of Title 20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,11 |
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| 29 | 29 | | relating to grants for educational programs under the "Quality Basic Education Act," is12 |
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| 30 | 30 | | amended by adding a new Code section to read as follows:13 |
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| 31 | 31 | | H. B. 912 |
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| 32 | 32 | | - 1 - 25 LC 60 0169 |
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| 33 | 33 | | "20-2-259.1.14 |
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| 34 | 34 | | (a) Subject to available funding, the State Board of Education shall provide matching15 |
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| 35 | 35 | | grants to qualified local units of administration to provide an eligible home reading16 |
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| 36 | 36 | | program for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. Such matching grant funds17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | shall be distributed by the Department of Education.18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | (b) A home reading program is eligible for matching grant funds provided pursuant to this19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | Code section if it is provided in partnership with an affiliated local unit of administration20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | by a nonprofit organization that meets the following requirements:21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) Delivers an evidence based, self-selected reading program consisting of independent22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | reading level books that are individually mailed to the residences of or made available for23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | electronic download to students in kindergarten through fourth grade on a weekly basis;24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) Incorporates at least weekly telephone calls, texts, or application notifications in25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | multiple languages to a parent or guardian to drive parental and family engagement26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | throughout the duration of the program;27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | (3) Builds on pedagogical principles of literacy instruction to scaffold fluency and28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | improve reading comprehension with student exercises;29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | (4) Includes a customizable portal to generate individualized data reports for analysis of30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | student progress by program providers, affiliated local units of administration, and31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | parents and guardians;32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | (5) Collects, disaggregates, and distributes detailed data on all metrics of the program,33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | such as engagement of parents or guardians, books read, and allowable demographic data;34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | (6) Provides a summary of data on all students served by the program to the Department35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | of Education;36 |
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| 56 | 56 | | (7) Agrees to secure the required matching funds from the participating local unit of37 |
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| 57 | 57 | | administration and maintain auditable verification of the receipt; and38 |
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| 58 | 58 | | (8) The combined total cost of the program, including district matching funds, does not39 |
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| 59 | 59 | | exceed $50.00 per student per semester.40 |
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| 60 | 60 | | H. B. 912 |
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| 61 | 61 | | - 2 - 25 LC 60 0169 |
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| 62 | 62 | | (c) The total amount of matching grant funds provided by the State Board of Education41 |
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| 63 | 63 | | pursuant to this Code section shall not exceed $500,000.00 each state fiscal year.42 |
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| 64 | 64 | | (d) The State Board of Education is authorized to receive and administer federal funds to43 |
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| 65 | 65 | | provide matching grant funds pursuant to this Code section. The Department of Education44 |
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| 66 | 66 | | shall serve as a state level flow through point for any available federal funding.45 |
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| 67 | 67 | | (e) The State Board of Education shall prescribe criteria, policies, and standards deemed46 |
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| 68 | 68 | | necessary for the effective implementation of this Code section."47 |
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| 69 | 69 | | SECTION 2.48 |
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| 70 | 70 | | All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.49 |
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| 71 | 71 | | H. B. 912 |
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| 72 | 72 | | - 3 - |
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