Bill > HR319

This resolution recognizes February 19, 2025, as Reach Out and Read Day at the state capitol, honoring an early literacy intervention program that works through pediatric healthcare settings to promote reading to young children. The program, which began in 1989 and is endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, operates in all 50 states and has trained over 36,000 medical providers to prescribe reading as a daily activity during wellness checkups. In Georgia specifically, the program serves 194,258 children across 81 counties, distributing 289,422 new children's books in the past year and providing books in 30 languages. The resolution highlights the program's significant impacts, including helping children develop a six-month developmental advantage before kindergarten, increasing wellness visit compliance, and creating positive emotional bonding between parents and children. The House of Representatives commends Reach Out and Read's efforts to give young children a foundation for success by incorporating books into pediatric care and encourages Georgia families to read aloud together daily, while also directing the House Clerk to distribute a copy of the resolution to Reach Out and Read Georgia.

https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/70545