The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act

To qualify, a student’s parents must reside in Georgia for a minimum of one year, excluding parents on active-duty military service stationed in Georgia within the previous year. A student must reside in the attendance zone of a “low-performing” school, rated a D or F school from the state’s Department of Education, the bottom 25% of Georgia’s public schools. The student must currently be enrolled in a Georgia public school and continuously enrolled for two consecutive enrollment counts. A child is qualified for the program if other program requirements are met and eligible to enroll in a qualified public kindergarten program based upon residency. Once eligible, a child remains eligible through 12th grade graduation. Students are not required to enroll in a nonpublic school to participate. A student cannot be enrolled in a local public school, local charter school, or state charter school while participating in the program. A student is ineligible if they are not a United States citizen or permanent resident, has not complied with the U.S. Selective Service System requirements for registration if applicable to the student, is in default or owes a refund, either unpaid, on a federal Title IV loan or a State of Georgia loan or financial aid program, has been convicted of a felony offense involving marijuana, a controlled substance, or a dangerous drug from conviction until the next academic term, is incarcerated, or enrolled in a school operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice. A student’s family income cannot exceed 400% of the Federal Poverty Level ($124,800 for a family of four in 2024). If appropriations exceed the program demand for student participation for families below 400% Federal Poverty Level, students from higher income families may also qualify for participation. In this situation, a student could be eligible if they are participating in the program, or they submitted a timely application in either of the two quarterly application periods immediately preceding July 1, however prior program participants are prioritized. A student cannot participate in the scholarship program and receive a scholarship or benefit from either of Georgia’s other school choice programs, the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Act, or the student scholarship organizations supported by the Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit, during program participation. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

Families are able to expend funds on one or more qualified education expenses, including: tuition, fees, and required textbooks for eligible courses; career, technical, and agricultural education courses at a participating school, accredited community college, postsecondary school, or nonpublic online program; tutoring from a certified educator; curriculum and required supplemental materials; certain therapies from a physician or license therapist, including occupational, behavioral, physical, or speech-language therapies; up to $500 annually on fee-for-service transportation for travel to or from a participating school or service provider; other authorized expenses approved by the State Board of Education or the Georgia education savings authority; and individual education expenses authorized by a majority of the parent review committee. The program may allow for reimbursement or preapproval of some out-of-pocket expenses. Unused funds, up to 50% of the total deposited for the current school year, shall roll over to the following school year; however, after two years of inactivity, an account’s funds will return to the state general fund, and the account will be closed. A partial payment of up to $1,000, deducted from the total account fund, is authorized prior to the start of the academic year if required to reserve space by a nonpublic school. The Education Savings Authority, which oversees the program, may deduct up to 5% of accounts to cover the costs of overseeing and administering the program. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

Student education savings accounts will be initially funded with an annual maximum of $6,500 in 2025, disbursed in quarterly payments. This amount may be adjusted in the future based upon changes to the funding formula base or upon adjustments to the annual appropriation. A recurring appropriation is provided for the program each fiscal year to not exceed 1% of the total appropriation for the Quality Basic Education Program (Georgia’s education formula) from the previous year’s General Appropriations Act. This amounts to approximately $141 million for the program’s first year in 2025, meaning no more than 21,700 students will be able to participate, or just over 1% of Georgia’s K–12 student population. Unless a future legislative body renews the program, it expires in 2035. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_

There have been no legal challenges of this program. _(Last updated July 15, 2024)_