# Georgia SB 589: "Quality Basic Education Act"; the date by which a child must attain a certain age to be eligible for enrollment in kindergarten or first grade; revise

Georgia SB 589, "Quality Basic Education Act"; the date by which a child must attain a certain age to be eligible for enrollment in kindergarten or first grade; revise, is a 2025-2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by John Albers (Republican), Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Matt Brass (Republican) and 7 others; status signed, last action 2026-07-01 (Effective Date); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB589-2025-2026
- As of: 2026-10-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Georgia SB 589
- State: Georgia
- Session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
- Title: "Quality Basic Education Act"; the date by which a child must attain a certain age to be eligible for enrollment in kindergarten or first grade; revise
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-02-25
- Last action: 2026-07-01, Effective Date
- Sponsors: John Albers (Republican), Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Matt Brass (Republican), Clint Dixon (Republican), Bo Hatchett (Republican), Billy Hickman (Republican), Mike Hodges (Republican), Kim Jackson (Democrat), Steven McNeel (Republican), Randy Robertson (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Education, Education and Youth, General Bill
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 3 (259 yes, 3 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Georgia Pre-K access for younger children: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, Georgia’s voluntary Pre-K enrollment rules apply starting with the 2026–2027 school year. Children who reach age 4 or 5 by September 1 are eligible when a parent or guardian requests enrollment. Enrollment is limited to one year. Eligible four- and five-year-olds must be con…
- Parents can choose kindergarten for newcomers: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, this kindergarten option applies starting with the 2026–2027 school year. It covers children entering a state-supported education program for the first time who qualify for first grade by age and birth date. At a parent’s or guardian’s request, the child must be enrolled in…
- Student badges must show crisis help: benefit, low. Georgia local school systems and public schools that issue student identification badges must add a crisis-help message for grades 6–12. The rule covers badges issued on or after July 1, 2026, starting with the 2026–2027 school year. The required message says, “You are not alone,” and directs peopl…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: John Albers (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Jason Anavitarte (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Matt Brass (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Clint Dixon (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Bo Hatchett (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Billy Hickman (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Mike Hodges (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Kim Jackson (Democrat), Senate
- Sponsor: Steven McNeel (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Randy Robertson (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Scott Hilton (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-31 | Senate | AGREE TO HOUSE SUBSTITUTE | pass | 49 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026-03-27 | House | PASSAGE | pass | 156 | 3 | 8 |
| 2026-03-06 | Senate | PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE | pass | 54 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (18)

- 2026-07-01: Effective Date
- 2026-05-12: Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- 2026-05-12: Act 633
- 2026-04-10: Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- 2026-03-31: Senate Agreed House Amend or Sub (Senate)
- 2026-03-27: House Third Readers (House)
- 2026-03-27: House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
- 2026-03-25: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
- 2026-03-10: House Second Readers (House)
- 2026-03-09: House First Readers (House)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Tabled (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Third Read (Senate)
- 2026-03-06: Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-03-04: Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
- 2026-02-26: Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- 2026-02-25: Senate Hopper (Senate)

## Bill text

- SB 589/AP* (v9): [PDF](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248646)

## Related bills

- SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckless stunt driving; replace the forfeiture penalty (signed)
- SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation for certain motor vehicles; provide (signed)
- SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Service Foundation; establish (signed)
- SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact (signed)
- HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish (signed)
- HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact (signed)

## Sources
- [SB 589/AP* (v9) (PDF)](https://www.legis.ga.gov/api/legislation/document/20252026/248646)

## Related
- [SB 160: Reckless Stunt Driving; a motor vehicle involved in a second offense of reckles…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB160-2025-2026)
- [SB 384: Motor Vehicle; optional five-year motor vehicle registration and revalidation f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB384-2025-2026)
- [SB 76: License Plates; specialty license plate benefitting the Georgia Veterans Servic…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB76-2025-2026)
- [SB 406: "Georgia Property Owners' Bill of Rights Act"; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB406-2025-2026)
- [HB 1391: Specialty license plates; honor public safety officers; establish](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1391-2025-2026)
- [HB 1344: Georgia Insurance Affordability and Claims Integrity Act; enact](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-HB1344-2025-2026)
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- [Georgia state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/georgia)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/GA-SB589-2025-2026 (as of 2026-10-12).