Latest news with #GeorgiaStudentFinanceCommission
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
60 Georgia colleges, universities to waive application fees
The Georgia Student Finance Commission announced dozens of state colleges and universities would waive application fees for Georgia students applying for enrollment. The fee waivers come to Georgia high school seniors through the GSFC's Find Your MATCH in March initiative. For the special initiative, any high school seniors who apply for colleges in the state would have their fees waived, but they have to apply between March 1 and March 30. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Some Cobb Co. parents uneasy after teacher charged in family violence case Man meeting Gwinnett County teens with luxury gifts banned from schools New FBI Atlanta head says agency's biggest goal is keeping Georgians safe: 'We follow the facts' 'We are working to let every Georgian know there is a path to a successful career for them right here in the Peach State, starting at one of our institutions of higher learning,' Gov. Brian Kemp said in a statement. 'That's why allowing our prospective students and their families an opportunity to apply to college with no application fee this month is so important. It further opens the door to a rewarding career and lets young Georgians know they can find success right here in their home state.' State officials said this is the eighth time the waivers for application fees have been used since 2022, and that there is no limit on how many schools a student can apply to fee-free. 'Over 137,000 Georgia high school seniors have an opportunity to apply to college free in March through the GEORGIA MATCH dashboard,' Georgia Student Finance Commission President Lynne Riley said. 'The Find Your MATCH in March initiative encourages seniors to take advantage of college application fee waivers, direct admissions through GEORGIA MATCH, and over $1 billion in financial aid available annually through Georgia's HOPE Scholarship and other grant and loan programs.' [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia Promise Scholarship: Applications now open for new school voucher program
Applications are now open for Georgia's new school voucher program. The Georgia Promise Scholarship will give up to $6,500 a year to some families to pay for private school tuition, home-school expenses or other education related expenses. Gov. Brian Kemp signed the law last year. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Saturday, the Georgia Student Finance Commission started to accept applications. More than 3,000 applications have been submitted as of Tuesday, according to the office. The first window will be open until 2025. There are several requirements that a family must meet for their student to be eligible. A student must attend a school on the state's low performing list and must have attended the public school for at least two consecutive semesters or is entering kindergarten. The parent or parents must have been a Georgia resident for at least a year unless they are on active duty in the military. The law also states that priority goes to families who earn less than four times the federal poverty level. You can click here for more details on the requirements. The school voucher program has been met with mixed reaction since its approval. There was also confusion over which schools were in the bottom 25% after the list was taken down multiple times before it was republished in February. RELATED STORIES: Georgia republishes list of low-performing schools eligible for voucher program Georgia $6,500 school vouchers: What to know about the bill heading to Gov. Kemp's desk Georgia moves forward in creating voucher program for private and home schools [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Applications for new Georgia Promise Scholarship now open
ATLANTA - The first application period for the Georgia Promise Scholarship opened this weekend and those leading the new initiative say thousands of families have already applied. What we know "Over the weekend, over 2,000 successfully completed an application on the platform," said Lynne Riley, the president of the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Riley oversees the rollout of the Georgia Promise Scholarship program. The application period began on Saturday and will be open until April 15. The program allows families with students who attend a school that has been identified by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement as "underperforming" to get $6,500 to put towards private school tuition or other alternatives to public school. The agency released a list of around 400 schools that are eligible for the program. Riley says with the funding that's been allotted by the legislature so far, they can accept up to 22,000 students. "The program will prioritize families from lower income levels. When we do a final determination of eligibility, should we have more applicants than there are places available in the program, the first priority goes to low-income families. We're trying to help families that have been put in a situation where they have no choice for the best school for their children, to be able to utilize these funds to find that best choice," she said. The other side Opponents of the program say it's going to do more harm than good. "It's not a scholarship. It is a voucher," said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators. RELATED: Georgia school voucher program expanded to more students by new agency She says taking funds away from public schools for a minority of students will negatively impact the majority of students still attending the public schools. "We are not providing our students the resources they need to be successful in our public schools. Instead, we want to take a small minority to go to a private school," Morgan said. When asked about taking money away from these public schools, this is what Riley had to say: "It would otherwise be spent on the students at that public school. It's merely taking the money and allowing it to follow the child," Riley said. Dig deeper Morgan says she believes this may even lead to more school closures. "Our concern is that the schools are going to be closing because there is going to be less funding and less resources available for those schools," she said. FOX 5 asked Riley about the possibility of schools closing because of this. "I really don't have an answer to that … we believe that the ability for a child and their family to choose their destiny is going to be the best use of the public dollars available to them," Riley said. Riley says the dollars can also go to help families homeschool their children. "They can invest in technology, curriculum, and materials. They can provide for tutoring services for a child that is homeschooled," she said. But Morgan says they believe that there won't be enough accountability for how those funds are spent. "So it does set up some potential for fraud and abuse within the program," Morgan said. Riley says one way they'll try to curb that is by creating a central place where families can spend those dollars. "That marketplace will have specific selections that have been pre-approved for uses of the Promise Scholarship," Riley said. What's next Some Democratic State Lawmakers have filed a bill to repeal the Promise Scholarship, citing concerns it will "destabilize" Georgia's public school system. "Over 90% of the children in our state attend our public schools. So we believe we should be focused on solutions to provide the resources, the funding necessary for all our students who are attending our public schools," Morgan said. But she said those efforts don't seem to be gaining enough traction. "There have been multiple bills filed to repeal this system. We don't think that they are going to move forward," Morgan said. Riley says regardless of any efforts to repeal it, the strong start to the application period is a good sign. "We are fully invested in the delivery of this program, and we're excited at the initial appetite. We anticipate that it's only going to grow, and we will be optimistically enrolling just under 22,000 students in July," Riley said. What you can do If you want to see if your child may be eligible for the voucher program, Riley says you can visit and use the pre-screening tool to see if you qualify. The Source Information for this story was provided by the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the Georgia Association of Educators, and from previous FOX 5 reports.
