Candidate forum puts early education policy center stage

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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms spoke about education at a candidate forum in Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026.

Credit: Screenshot from GEEARS YouTube

Candidates running for school superintendent detailed their early childhood education policies at a forum Tuesday hosted by the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS). 

Incumbent Republican State School Superintendent Richard Woods said that the state needs to expand its statewide pre-K program, which has a long waiting list.

"The more kids that we can get involved into our statewide pre-K, the better off we are going to be in education," Woods said.

Democrat Lydia Powell, who is challenging Woods, also supports additional pre-K slots, as well as learning what other services are needed.

"We need to make sure we're collecting data on those students so that we know what resources we need to put in place," she said.

Pre-K, except for special education pre-K, does not fall directly under the jurisdiction of the state school superintendent, but whoever holds that position works closely with the department of early childcare and learning.

Democratic candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms also spoke at the forum, highlighting her proposal to allow voters to approve casino gambling in the state, which she said could bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to be allocated towards pre-K. She also emphasized taking another look at the formula to fund education, which hasn't been updated in over 40 years, and fully funding education. 

"We need to make sure that we are fully funding education, that we're fully training our early learning providers, that we providing the resources to make sure that our children are going into safe environments where they are able to learn," she said. 

Her opponent, Republican Rick Jackson, did not attend the forum in person, and instead sent a video where he vowed to reduce the cost of childcare and improve the state's third-grade literacy rate. 

"I'll also make quality care less costly for providers and more affordable for families," he said in the video. "We'll expand insurance options, streamline licensing, and cut unnecessary regulations — all without compromising children's safety."

Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Josh McLaurin attended the forum in person as well, and like Bottoms, proposed more funding for education. He emphasized expanding the Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program, which provides financial assistance for childcare to low-income families. 

"Every child in this state I think has a right to be in a supportive, caring, healthy environment," he said. "And if our state budget is lacking right now in producing that outcome, then we need to do it."

Republican lieutenant governor candidate Greg Dolezal did not participate in the forum.