Georgia Reviews Daycare Rating Rules After Safety Gaps
The state plans to tie safety records to quality scores following an investigation into hundreds of daycare centers.
Updated on Oct. 28, 2026 in Child Care
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Should Georgia daycare centers with safety violations lose their high quality ratings?
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation identified 350 Georgia daycare centers that maintained high quality ratings despite serious safety infractions. The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is now weighing policy changes to prevent centers with major violations from keeping these top rankings.
Why it matters
The current rating system has faced criticism for providing parents with potentially misleading information by allowing facilities with documented safety lapses to remain highly rated. Officials aim to reform the system by 2027 to ensure quality scores better reflect a center's actual safety compliance.
There are currently 4,200 daycare centers participating in the state's Quality Rated program. The investigation found safety infractions at 350 of these facilities, which operate as part of a system receiving $400 million in annual state and federal funding.
The players
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
This state agency is responsible for the licensing, regulation, and quality rating of all childcare facilities across Georgia.
Excel Preparatory Center
This childcare facility located in Lithonia became a focal point of the investigation after maintaining a high rating despite serious safety allegations.
The details
The investigation highlighted cases like the Excel Preparatory Center in Lithonia, which maintained a three-star rating despite documented allegations of child cruelty and employee arrests for battery. State officials are now reviewing both staffing requirements and classroom interaction standards to better protect children in licensed facilities.
Timeline
The Quality Rated program began in Georgia in 2013.
Daycare centers began participating in the program in July 2013.
The investigation covered safety violations spanning from 2016 to 2026.
The Excel Preparatory Center was suspended and later reinstated in 2025.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published its investigation in October 2026.
Culture Shift
The investigation into the Georgia Quality Rated program highlights how state-sponsored certification systems can struggle to keep pace with real-world safety compliance. It reflects a growing societal move toward demanding higher transparency in childcare oversight to ensure vulnerable populations are protected.
Parents should check the specific safety records of local centers rather than relying solely on the star rating assigned to a facility. Families may also see changes in how their preferred daycare displays or advertises its state-issued quality credentials in the coming years.
The takeaway
Parents are encouraged to look beyond quality star ratings and review official state safety reports for any facility they are considering. Researching the specific history of a daycare can help families make informed decisions about the safety of their children.
What happens next
The Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning is expected to consider rule changes regarding the link between safety records and quality ratings by 2027.
Further reading
Learn more about the Child Care standards and licensing requirements currently in place across the state.
Source note: This article includes information reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Should Georgia daycare centers with safety violations lose their high quality ratings?
