Deadline approaches for families to apply to new Georgia Promise Scholarship
ATLANTA - Hundreds of thousands of Georgia parents can soon apply for a $6,500 scholarship to pay for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses under the Georgia Promise Scholarship.
MORE:Georgia school voucher program expanded to more students by new agency
What we know
Students who qualify must either have attended a public school for two consecutive semesters or be kindergartners about to enroll. Parents must have been Georgia residents for at least a year unless they were on active military duty.
Also, only students who attend the lowest performing 25% of schools under the state's academic rating system are eligible.
For families trying to plan for next fall's academic year, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement has not provided an estimated release date for that list of schools. The first application window for the Georgia Promise Scholarship opens on March 1.
The scholarship program is a result of Senate Bill 233. It was signed into law last year. It limits spending to 1% of the $14.1 billion that Georgia spends on its K-12 school funding formula, or $141 million. That could provide about 20,000 scholarships. Critics have said lawmakers should focus on improving outcomes at public schools, instead.
What they're saying
Kyle Wingfield, President of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, a group advocating for expanding school choice in the state, spoke with Good Day Atlanta's Kaitlyn Pratt on Sunday, addressing criticism.
"This isn't about public versus other. It's about the best fit for the child," he said. "We know one size doesn't fit all for every child. Every child deserves the chance to get into the education setting that will allow them to best have their needs met and fulfill their potential."
What you can do
There are multiple application windows. The first runs from March 1 to April 15. The following periods include June 1 to June 30; Sept. 1 to Sept. 30; and Dec. 1 to Jan. 31, 2026.The initial funding for approved student accounts will be at the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, according to the Georgia Promise Scholarship website.
The Source
FOX 5's Kaitlyn Pratt reported on this story out of Atlanta. Additional reporting came from previous FOX 5 stories by Marc Teichner, Christopher King and the Associated Press.
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