ATLANTA – Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones (R-Milton) was recently named by Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) as chair of the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education. This bipartisan legislative working group will focus on policies to expand access to and improve the quality of effective pre-Kindergarten education in Georgia.
“I’m honored to chair the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education and look forward to working with my colleagues to develop solutions to improve children’s lives,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Jones. “I appreciate Speaker Burns and his wife, Dayle’s, commitment to Georgia’s young children by creating this initiative.”
The House Working Group on Early Childhood Education will work throughout the remainder of this year to develop legislation that may be considered during the 2024 legislative session, which will begin next January.
“High-quality pre-K programs can enhance children’s social and educational skills to prepare them for success in kindergarten and beyond,” added Speaker Pro Tempore Jones. “However, we need to evaluate how Pre-K is funded; teachers are paid, recruited and retained; and barriers to access for children. This working group will help identify legislative solutions so we can ensure children who participate in Georgia Pre-K thrive in elementary school.”
Prior to her election as the House’s second highest ranking official, Speaker Pro Tempore Jones served as the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, which determines how state funding is allocated to Georgia’s public K-12 education systems.
Other working group members are as follows: State Representatives Matt Dubnik (R-Gainesville), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education; Chris Erwin (R-Homer), chairman of the House Education Committee; Carl Gillard (D-Savannah), chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus; and Todd Jones (R-South Forsyth), chairman of the House Technology Infrastructure & Innovation Committee.
Information and resources shared during the working group’s public meetings will be published online here.
Representative Jan Jones represents the citizens of District 47, which includes portions of Cherokee and Fulton counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2002 and currently serves as House Speaker Pro-Tempore.
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