Georgia's K-3 Reading Screening and the Two 15-School-Day Notices

Georgia screens every public school student in kindergarten through grade 3 with a state-approved universal reading screener three times each school year — the first administration within 30 school days of the year's start (O.C.G.A. §20-2-153.1, the Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Act, as amended by HB 307 in April 2025). When the data leads the school to determine your child is significantly at risk, the law puts it on a clock that runs to you: written notice within 15 school days of that determination, an intervention plan, and ongoing progress updates — and a second, separate 15-school-day notice if your child is identified as having characteristics of dyslexia.

Here's what the statute requires, what each notice must contain, and the separate right the notices don't mention.

The screening framework

Under §20-2-153.1 as it stands after HB 307:

  • Who and how often: every K-3 student, three times a year; grades 1-2 may substitute one administration with the state's formative reading assessment.
  • First window: the first screening must happen within 30 school days of the start of the school year.
  • Results flow to you: the school must report results to parents after each administration — not just when there's a problem.
  • Guardrail: results can't be used for school accountability scoring, and GaDOE must publish the approved screener list (including a free option) by July 15 each year.

One housekeeping note that prevents real confusion: HB 307 repealed Georgia's older dyslexia statute (§20-2-159.6, from SB 48). Plenty of advice written before 2025 still cites it. The current law — screening, notices, support plans — lives in §20-2-153.1.

Notice #1: the "significantly at risk" letter

If screening and related data show your child is significantly at risk of not reaching grade-level reading, the statute requires written notice from the school "no later than 15 school days after such determination has been made." That letter must include, by law:

  • the determination itself — that your child has been found significantly at risk;
  • that a tiered reading intervention plan will be implemented;
  • your child's screener results and the other data used to make the determination;
  • a description of the current services your child receives;
  • a description of the proposed evidence-based reading interventions and supports;
  • a commitment to keep you informed in writing of your child's progress; and
  • strategies you can use at home.

Check the letter you received against that list. A bare "your student will receive extra reading help" note doesn't satisfy the statute — and asking for the missing pieces (especially the underlying data) is both reasonable and within the letter of the law. One gap worth knowing: the statute sets no deadline between the screening itself and the school's determination of significant risk — so if a flag came home weeks ago and nothing since, the question that starts the clock conversation is: "has a determination been made?"

Notice #2: the "characteristics of dyslexia" letter

For a flagged child who doesn't make adequate progress despite the interventions, the law requires the school to dig deeper — collecting additional quantitative and qualitative data and examining it alongside the screener data to identify whether your child may have characteristics of dyslexia. If that identification is made, a second written notice is due "no later than 15 school days after the identification," containing: the identification itself, the data behind it (including your child's rate of progress with prior intervention), the dyslexia support plan that will be implemented, proposed changes to interventions, the progress-update commitment, dyslexia information and resources, and at-home strategies.

A wording note for anyone comparing sources: before HB 307, the at-risk notice clock read "15 days" — unqualified, meaning calendar days. The 2025 amendment changed that clock to 15 school days (which pause over breaks and summer) and created the dyslexia-characteristics notice with the same 15-school-day clock. Older guides quoting the calendar-day version are describing repealed text.

What these notices are — and aren't

Everything above is general education law (Title 20), not special education. A "characteristics of dyslexia" identification is not an IDEA referral, evaluation, or eligibility decision — and the support plan it triggers is not an IEP. That's not a flaw in the law; it's a boundary you need to see clearly, because crossing it is your move:

  • You can request a full special education evaluation in writing at any time — the screening track neither requires nor replaces it (34 CFR 300.301(b); Child Find, 34 CFR 300.111).
  • In Georgia, your signed consent starts a 60-calendar-day evaluation clock (with break and summer pauses), and the SST/intervention process runs concurrently — it cannot lawfully be sequenced in front of your request. Full how-to: requesting an evaluation in Georgia.
  • A practical pairing: the dyslexia-characteristics letter, with its statutorily required data, is strong supporting evidence to attach to an evaluation request.

Get a plain-language read of your child's notice

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Sources

IEP Explained provides analysis and preparation tools — you decide and you send. We are not a law firm, we do not provide legal advice or representation, and nothing on this page is legal advice for your specific situation. In Georgia, only a licensed attorney may represent a party at a due process hearing (OSAH Rule 616-1-2-.34(1)); non-attorneys may accompany and advise.