Georgia Early Literacy Act

December 2, 2024

To the Parents and Guardians of Our Students in Grades Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade,

The Georgia Early Literacy Act (HB538) requires that all Kindergarten through 3rd grade students in public schools are administered a universal reading screener three times per year to monitor student progress in foundational literacy skills. Measuring these foundational literacy skills assists teachers with targeting instruction to meet the needs of individual students no matter their level of reading proficiency, identifying students who may have a significant reading deficiency, and developing intervention plans to address any recognized deficits in foundational literacy skills.

Georgia’s Dyslexia Law (SB48) requires that all Kindergarten through 3rd grade students in public schools are administered a qualified dyslexia screener one time per year. To be clear, this single screener does not provide a diagnosis of dyslexia. Rather it screens students for characteristics of dyslexia as it measures a student’s ability to demonstrate phonological awareness, phonemic decoding efficiency, sight word reading efficiency, rapid automatic naming, and accuracy of word reading on grade-level text.

Beginning on Monday, December 9, 2024 through Friday, January 17, 2025, SCCPSS schools that serve Kindergarten through 3rd Grade students will administer the mid-year Amira benchmark assessment. Because Amira is such a comprehensive screening tool, this assessment meets the requirements of both HB538 as the second universal reading screener administration of the school year and SB48 as the once per year qualified dyslexia screener for the year. Communication regarding the exact day that your child will take the assessment will come directly from your child’s school since schools design their own testing schedule within the district-designated testing window.

Following the assessment, you will receive a report of your child’s results on the Amira benchmark assessment from the school. Should the screener raise concerns about a significant reading deficiency, including, but not limited to characteristics of dyslexia, an educator from your child’s school will reach out regarding either the development of an intervention plan or the manner of continuation for an intervention plan that may already exist.

Should you have any questions regarding the assessment, the requirements of the laws, or your child’s reading proficiency, please reach out to your child’s school.