Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program

Eligibility requires the student’s parent currently resides in Georgia and has been a Georgia resident for at least one calendar year. The student must have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504-plan relating to specific conditions in effect for the previous school. Students are required to have spent the prior school year in attendance at a Georgia public school–defined as enrolled and reported by the school system at the time of both program counts in October and March. The student must have received special education services under the IEP or 504 plan at any point in the prior school year at the public school. Residency requirements and prior public-school attendance. Residency requirements and prior-public attendance are waived if the student’s parent is an active-duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year. Prior public-school attendance is also waived if the student has been adopted or placed in a permanent guardianship from foster care pursuant to an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction within the previous year, or the student previously met other program requirements and qualified for a scholarship. Incoming kindergarten students may qualify if the parents meet residency requirements or if they meet the active-duty military exception. The student must have received preschool special education or related services qualifying under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the previous year and the student must be five years of age by September 1 of the current school year. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

Parents may apply the scholarship to tuition; fees for student assessment; uniforms; physical therapy, speech therapy or occupational therapy; transportation provided by the participating school; meals; summer school programs; tutoring; and other materials, services, or activities as authorized by the department. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

Funding for the program is provided through the school funding formula, which is issued over six payments. Funding varies by student age. Any qualifying Georgia K–12 student that wishes to participate may receive funding. Scholarships are worth up to the cost of the educational program a student would have received in public school at their local district, as calculated by the services the student received in the local school district as well as existing state funding formulas, but the scholarship may not exceed the private school’s tuition and fees. The scholarship amount is transferred from the state allotment for the student’s resident school district into a separate account for the scholarship program. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

No legal challenges have been filed against the program. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_