Georgia Department of Education Website
Data Requests & Contact

July 15, 2026 – Superintendents

Below are your weekly updates and reminders from the Georgia Department of Education. Here are your links to the District Deadlines and To-Dos Dashboard and the Digest Archive.

Project AWARE Grant Intent to Apply Open

GaDOE is preparing to submit a grant application under the Substance Abuse Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA)-funded Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). This five-year grant opportunity is designed to strengthen school-based mental health systems and improve the relational and behavioral wellbeing of school-aged youth. GaDOE intends to submit a coordinated application that includes three to four (3-4) eligible LEAs. Final participation and funding levels may be adjusted based on the strength and scope of responses to this Intent to Apply. Each selected LEA may request up to $250,000/year for up to five years (total of $1.25 million). GaDOE is applying for this funding on behalf of selected LEAs, and a funding award is not guaranteed. Selected LEAs that submit an Intent to Apply best aligned with the overall application will be notified and invited to complete the formal grant application process. Given the compressed timeline for this grant opportunity, districts must submit their Intent to Apply form by July 20 at noon.

  • Additional Information: GaDOE Grant Opportunities
  • Deadline: Monday, July 20 at noon
  • Contact: Deborah Chosewood, deborah.chosewood@doe.k12.ga.us

Data Modernization Update

Following a comprehensive review of GaDOE’s data modernization efforts, the agency has determined that development work in 2026-27 on the State Reporting System (SRS) will not include a focus on the Ed-Fi data standard or backend technologies for sending data from district SIS vendors to the state. All official data for the 2026-27 year will be collected through legacy applications. Development of SRS will continue during the year to improve the features, functionality, and performance of the legacy applications. A detailed plan and road map will be provided to districts at the 2026-27 GaDOE Data Conference.

STRIDE Implementation

To streamline state-level reporting and ensure data continuity across Georgia’s educational landscape, GaDOE is launching STRIDE (Staff Tracking & ID Entity). STRIDE replaces fragmented local ID systems with a single, permanent state-assigned staff identifier that will be used for statewide reporting and interoperability.

Georgia Milestones English Language Arts Standard Setting

GaDOE is seeking nominations of highly qualified educators to participate in an upcoming Standard Setting meeting for the Georgia Milestones English Language Arts (ELA) assessments. During the meeting, participants will follow an iterative standard setting process to recommend cut scores for each of the achievement levels on the Georgia Milestones ELA assessments. Details regarding the process for submitting nominations can be found in the memo sent to System Test Coordinators, System Curriculum Coordinators, and System Special Education Directors.

  • Additional Information: Nomination Memo
  • Contact: Jan Blose, jblose@doe.k12.ga.us
  • Deadline: July 29, 2026 at 5 p.m.

New Guidance Available: Supporting First-Grade Readiness Decisions

This resource helps schools make thoughtful first-grade placement decisions using approved assessment evidence, teacher input, parent or guardian preference, and other relevant information.

2027 WIDA ACCESS and WIDA Alternate ACCESS Assessment Language Domain Preclusion Requests

For English learner students with disabilities, IEP teams must document applicable language domain preclusions for the 2027 WIDA ACCESS or WIDA Alternate ACCESS assessments and submit a Language Domain Preclusion Request Form to GaDOE using the form linked below, by November 30.