Georgia school board news · State Education Agenda
Make full-day kindergarten a required step
Require children to attend full-day kindergarten, closing the gap in Georgia law, where school attendance is required only from age six.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Governor-elect of Georgia (Democratic)
Where it stands
- Legislative action
- No action verified
- Changing the attendance age or adding a kindergarten requirement would take a change in state law.
- Funding
- No action verified
- Implementation
- No action verified
Last verified November 4, 2026
What the campaign plan says
Our summary of the plan, published April 2026. Read the original.
- Georgia's attendance law covers children between their sixth and sixteenth birthdays, so kindergarten is still optional.
- The plan would make full-day kindergarten a required step for Georgia children.
- Lottery and gaming revenue would help pay recurring costs of required kindergarten, including classroom operations, educator pay and transportation.
Not specified in the campaign material
- The age at which kindergarten would become required
- A start date or phase-in schedule
- Whether districts that offer half-day kindergarten would have to convert
- Any exemptions for families
Who can act on it
The Georgia General Assembly (compulsory-attendance law and school funding), the Georgia Department of Education, and local school boards that set kindergarten schedules.
Why it matters to school boards: A requirement would change enrollment counts, classroom and staffing needs, and bus routes, and would put kindergarten schedules on district budget agendas.
Verified developments
November 4, 2026
Won the November 2026 general election for governor, as projected by news organizations on election night.
Fox 5 Atlanta: Bottoms wins Georgia governor race
What would change for my district?
Follow this issue
No public hearing, comment period or vote has been verified yet. We’ll list one here once its date and official link are confirmed.
Where decisions will be made
- Georgia General Assembly (bills, committees, calendars)
- Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (Georgia Pre-K)
- Georgia Department of Education
Questions to bring to a meeting
- How many four-year-olds in our district are on a Pre-K waiting list today?
- Do we have classroom space and teachers for more Pre-K seats, or would we rely on community providers?
- Is our kindergarten full-day in every school? What would be needed to make it so?
- How would new classrooms affect our transportation routes and budget?