The Georgia Early Literacy and Dyslexia Act (House Bill 307) sets clear expectations for every district: screen students for dyslexia risk factors in the early grades, train teachers in the Science of Reading, and provide timely, structured intervention for students who struggle. The Georgia Department of Education's 2024–2025 Impact Report shows early momentum — 65% of third graders are reading at or above grade level — but it also signals that nearly 20% of K–3 students are already receiving targeted interventions, underscoring how much work remains.
The expectations are real, and so is the pressure. As a district leader, you are likely asking the harder question: How do I turn these requirements into consistent results across every school?
The answer often comes down to your infrastructure. A strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) gives you the framework to meet state expectations, coordinate your literacy work, and prove it's working.
The state is not treating literacy, dyslexia screening, and intervention as separate boxes to check. Georgia is asking districts to develop a connected strategy grounded in the Science of Reading.
Here is what that work involves:
For districts already doing this work, the initiative is reinforcement, not a reset. But with state expectations come accountability, and you will need to show how your systems connect and produce results.
MTSS provides the infrastructure that brings Georgia's literacy goals to life. It pairs the proven practices of the Science of Reading with a collaborative, data-driven problem-solving model, replacing the outdated "wait to fail" approach.
A strong literacy plan operates across three tiers:
MTSS is also a natural home for dyslexia support, because it builds in the cyclical screening, intervention, and monitoring that students with reading difficulties need.
🔼Related Podcast: Writing Instruction: A Key Piece of Literacy
Listen along as we discuss practical strategies for strengthening writing instruction and how it supports reading achievement across grade levels.
Related Resource: Improving Literacy Through MTSS: A Guide for District and School Leaders explores how to align core instruction, intervention, and data to build a stronger literacy system across your district.
🔼 Watch Building Your MTSS Literacy Plan for a practical walkthrough on how to align core instruction, choose effective interventions, and evaluate progress with confidence.
Georgia's literacy initiative sets ambitious expectations for schools: strengthen core instruction, identify student needs early, provide targeted intervention, and monitor progress over time. The challenge is doing all of that consistently across schools while reducing the burden on educators. Because reading success is influenced by more than instruction alone, many districts are looking at technology solutions that bring attendance, behavior, and academic data together to identify barriers before they become larger problems.
The right technology can help districts:
Create a Standard Treatment Protocol for reading instruction and intervention that matches evidence-based reading interventions to student needs.
Technology doesn't replace strong literacy teaching practices, but it helps districts implement them consistently at scale. When educators spend less time searching for information and managing spreadsheets, they can spend more time delivering instruction and support.
Districts using Branching Minds to target reading intervention have seen meaningful gains, including outpacing state growth in K-3 literacy. That kind of evidence builds trust with your board and your community.
🔼 Success Story: How One District Outpaced State Growth in Literacy
Branching Minds helps district leaders bring together data, intervention planning, progress monitoring, and collaboration in one connected MTSS platform.
Start a conversation to see how your district can meet Georgia's literacy goals with Branching Minds.