ATLANTA — Effective, July 1, 2026, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) officially becomes the Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy (GOEWS), marking a significant evolution in how Georgia coordinates education and workforce policy under one roof. The transformation is authorized by HB 1302, the Education and Workforce Strategy Act, signed into law by Governor Brian P. Kemp on May 11, 2026.

"As the No. 1 state for business, we've now set our sights on becoming the Top State for Talent," Governor Brian Kemp remarked. "Our highly skilled workforce is a major reason why job creators keep coming to and expanding in our state. This further step will help us building on that success for generations."

A Legacy of Education Excellence

GOSA served Georgians as the state's P-20 education agency with a broad mandate: powering the Annual Education Report Card on the public data dashboards through GA Awards; issuing accountability designations including Beating the Odds, the Financial Efficiency Star Rating, and SSAS Awards; conducting academic auditing under state law; producing independent policy research and evaluation; administering the Governor’s Honors Program; and overseeing Vision 2030: Georgia Literacy Plan.  GOEWS will carry forward all of these functions without interruption, honoring and extending GOSA's legacy of data-driven education accountability.

A Bolder Mandate for Georgia's Workforce Future

For Governor Kemp, the creation of GOEWS represents the culmination of a commitment to putting students first and ensuring Georgia's education system delivers real results. Under HB 1302, GOEWS takes on an expanded role as Georgia's lead agency for coordinating education and workforce policy across state government. Key elements of the new mandate include:

•    Unified Workforce Plan: GOEWS will facilitate, in partnership with TCSG and GaDOE, the development of a single, integrated state workforce plan combining the federal WIOA and Perkins plans, replacing separate planning processes with one coordinated strategy. This plan then becomes the foundation for a comprehensive statewide education and workforce plan for approval by the State Workforce Development Board.

•    State Workforce Development Board: The SWDB is now administratively attached to GOEWS, ensuring workforce investment strategy and education policy are informed by Georgia's High Demand Career List. In addition, the SWDB will approve the cross agency aligned plans and make recommendations to the Governor.

•    Education Data Governance Board: GOEWS will convene the Education Data Governance Board to coordinate cross-agency data sharing and build a unified education and workforce data system giving the public and policymakers the transparent, actionable information they need.

•    Navigation Tool: GOEWS is developing a first-of-its-kind statewide career navigation platform helping students, families, and job seekers find their education and training opportunities, especially those identified by the High Demand Career List.

A New Era of Partnerships

The Governor's Office of Education and Workforce Strategy (GOEWS) is the successor agency to the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA). Established under HB 1302, effective July 1, 2026, GOEWS serves as Georgia's lead state agency for coordinating education and workforce policy, producing the annual Georgia Report Card, maintaining education accountability systems, and connecting Georgians to pathways of opportunity. GOEWS also chairs the Literacy Coordinating Committee, leading implementation of Vision 2030, Georgia's statewide literacy plan. GOEWS works in partnership with Georgia Department of Education, Technical College System of Georgia, University System of Georgia, Georgia Student Finance Commission, Department of Labor, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, Professional Standards Commission, the Georgia Department of Public Health, the State Workforce Development Board, and local education and workforce partners across the state.

For more information, visit goews.georgia.gov.