3 metro Atlanta teens killed in Florida crash ► PAGE 3
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Georgia legislation mandates literacy coaching statewide By ZOE SEILER zoe@appenmedia.com
meant to be temporary. “The general public would like to have a moratorium forever,” Moore said. Since 2010, Forsyth County has added about 105,000 residents, an increase of almost 66 percent. The county currently has a population of about 280,000 residents. Numerous residents have voiced concern about the growth, asking commissioners to better manage it.
ATLANTA — Georgia lawmakers have passed a sweeping education bill that requires literacy coaches, mandates science of reading instruction and implements first-grade retention standards. According to the Georgia Council on Literacy, more than 60 percent of third graders in Georgia do not read proficiently. “Not only is it a huge issue for us to resolve from the workforce, it’s a huge issue for us to resolve from a dollar standpoint,” Sen. Blake Tillery, R-Vidalia, said during the March 31 Senate floor session. “If only 29 percent of kids are reading on grade level, then that doesn’t work well for employers. It doesn’t work well for families, and it certainly doesn’t work well for schools.” House Bill 1193, known as the Georgia Early Literacy Act, requires literacy coaches to be in kindergarten through third-grade classrooms. The state will fund one literacy coach per public school. It also creates regional literacy coaches. There will be 1,313 literacy coaches across the state. “We state that literacy coaches in each school shouldn’t be doing other things. They should spend no less than 70 percent of the school day in the classroom,” Tillery said. “We don’t want them to have other administrative duties.”
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Bob Slaughter, founder of nonprofit Smart Growth Forsyth County, leaves the podium after raising concern about proposed changes to the county’s tree ordinance April 2. At the meeting, commissioners lifted restrictions from a residential zoning after a year-long housing freeze.
County thaws residential housing freeze By JON WILCOX jon@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A yearlong housing freeze began to thaw April 2 as officials presented new regulations that aim to ease the pains of rapid growth in Forsyth County. At an April 2 meeting, commissioners unanimously approved releasing the Residential 1 zoning category from a restriction that prevented the consideration of
rezoning applications. They also considered changes to the Unified Development Code meant to better regulate growth. The Residential 1 zoning is the first zoning category to be released from the housing pause, which was enacted in 2025 to give the county breathing room to update its development code. Despite concerns about rapid population growth and the resulting strain on roadways and services, Commissioner Mendy Moore said the freeze was always
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