New Education Voucher Program Offers $6,500 for Scholarships

Georgia is set to roll out a new education program that will provide families up to $6,500 annually for private school tuition or home-schooling expenses.
Known as the Georgia Promise Scholarship, the initiative will launch in the 2025–2026 school year, after over a year of pushback from some Republicans.
The program offers financial assistance to students zoned for the bottom 25 percent of public schools based on academic performance.
Funds can be used for a variety of educational needs, including private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, and early college courses.
Passed by local representatives earlier this year with a vote of 91-82, the initiative is part of a broader national movement favoring education savings accounts (ESAs).
The Georgia Public Policy Foundation wrote on X on the day of its passing (March 14) that the bill would ensure “every child gets the education needed to ensure every child gets the quality education needed to unlock their full, God-given potential.”
Under the new program, eligible students must have attended public school for two consecutive semesters or be kindergartners entering school for the first time.
Families must also meet residency requirements––having lived there for at least a year, unless they are active military members stationed in Georgia.
The program’s funding is capped at $141 million, or 1 percent of the state’s K-12 school funding budget, which could provide over 21,000 scholarships each year.
If applications exceed available funds, priority will be given to families earning less than $100,000 annually for a family of three, or four times the federal poverty level.
Remaining scholarships will be allocated through a lottery system.
The scholarships are set to be managed through the newly launched MyGeorgiaPromise.org, where parents can apply for funds and make payments for services.
Despite eventual success following a years-long lobbying mission, ESAs as a concept remain conceptually divisive across the state.
Supporters say the program will empower parents to take control of their children’s education, while critics argue it could drain resources from public schools, which many students still rely on.
Critics warn the program could exacerbate existing inequities in public education.
Opponents argue that by diverting state funds to private institutions, the program risks leaving public schools underfunded, particularly those already struggling in low-income areas.
“This bill robs the poorest students in Georgia’s poorest schools of the funding they need,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, one of the state’s largest teacher groups, shortly after it passed.
Despite the criticism, Georgia joins a growing number of states, including Arizona and Iowa, in implementing education savings accounts to provide more school choice options for families.
Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp wrote a post on X today, “proudly” sharing his desire to use the bill to expand “education opportunity for Georgia’s students and families.”
The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement will release the list of underperforming schools eligible for the program by December 1. Applications for private schools interested in accepting vouchers have already begun, with parents set to apply for scholarships starting in early 2025.
Georgia already offers $120 million annually in tax credits for donors to private school scholarship funds and vouchers for special education students. However, students cannot combine benefits from those programs with the Georgia Promise Scholarship.
Private schools must meet accreditation requirements and are obligated to administer standardized tests, reporting the results to maintain transparency.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.