ATLANTA – A new initiative in Georgia is set to launch in early 2025, offering families financial assistance of up to $6,500 annually to help cover the costs of private school tuition or expenses associated with home-schooling. However, lawmakers still need to finalize how many vouchers the state will fund.

This initiative, known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship, was recently established following a vote by the Georgia Education Savings Authority, which approved guidelines for the program.

Scheduled to start in the 2025-2026 academic year, the program has emerged amid national interest among Republicans advocating for education savings accounts. Proponents of the scholarship assert that parents should have the autonomy to choose the educational paths for their children, while critics contend that such voucher schemes may divert vital resources away from public schools, which are already experiencing struggles.

Under the legislation, students assigned to public schools ranking in Georgia’s bottom 25% in academic performance will be provided with $6,500 in educational savings accounts. Families can utilize this funding for a range of educational-related expenses, including private school fees, textbooks, transportation, home-schooling materials, therapy, tutoring services, and even college courses available to high school students.

To qualify for the scholarship, students must either have been enrolled in a public school for two consecutive semesters or be entering kindergarten. Additionally, at least one parent must have resided in Georgia for a minimum of one year, with exceptions made for families in active military service.

While the legislators are tasked with deciding the budget allocation for the program next year, the law caps expenditures to 1% of Georgia’s K-12 funding, which amounts to approximately $141 million. This funding could potentially facilitate over 21,000 scholarships.

The authority has also introduced the mygeorgiapromise.org website, alongside a contract with a firm to manage the platform. This website will serve as a resource for parents to pay tuition and acquire necessary goods and services.

Starting Wednesday, the state will welcome applications from private schools interested in accepting these vouchers. An announcement detailing the list of the bottom 25% of schools is expected from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement on December 1. Following this, the authority plans to open applications for parents in early 2025.

In the event that the number of applications exceeds the available vouchers, priority will be granted to students from households earning below four times the federal poverty level, which is approximately $100,000 for a family of three. If there are still more applicants than funds, recipients will be selected through a random lottery system.

Georgia currently offers voucher programs for special education students attending private institutions and contributes $120 million annually in tax credits to individuals donating to private school scholarship funds. However, students are not permitted to take advantage of the new Georgia Promise program in conjunction with these existing initiatives.

For private schools to participate, they must be located within Georgia and either hold or be in the process of obtaining accreditation from an authorized organization. Additionally, these schools will be required to administer standardized tests approved by the program and report the results accordingly.