Legislative Priorities

Each year, the Gwinnett County Board of Education adopts Legislative Priorities to support students, staff, and families across our community.
Gwinnett County Public Schools serves nearly 179,000 students in 142 schools, making state education policy decisions deeply connected to everyday classroom experiences. The Board’s 2026 Legislative Priorities focus on academic excellence, early literacy, access and opportunity, and the safety and well-being of students and staff.

We invite our community to learn more, attend Board meetings and school events, and stay engaged in the legislative process that shapes public education.

Academics

• Support requests to promote and encourage higher levels of teachers with English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) certification
• Recognize Dual Language programs as an ESOL support for secondary education
• Support appropriate levels of special education professional development aligned to the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
   

Early Literacy

• Increase state grant funds to offset substantial district costs with early learning/Pre-K programs
• Provide adequate funding to provide literacy coaches and professional learning to all schools
• Appropriate sufficient funding to provide for professional development and certification in the science of reading for early learning teachers
   

Access and Opportunity

• Substantially increase the state portion of school district transportation costs to enable greater student access to extra-curricular activities, sports, and credit recovery opportunities

• Continue to develop and expand pathways to career technical education programs as part of a comprehensive workforce development program
• Request investments in college/university preparation programs, financial aid supports, and scholarships
   

Safety and Wellbeing

• Create QBE weights that address the significant needs of students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and multilingual learners

• Provide the investment in personnel to enable the safety and security of students, teachers, and educational support professionals
• Provide the necessary mental health supports, to include mentoring programs, that may be utilized to promote safe and secure school sites
• Support districts in offsetting the increasing costs of the employer portion of non-certified employees, and school board member health insurance
• Introduce legislation to require the safe storage of firearms and promotes gun safety training as protections against any child’s unsupervised access to lethal weapons
• Increase salaries of K–12 public school employees to promote the recruitment and retention of highly qualified staff

2026 Legislative Priorities (PDF)