Georgia Expands Promise Scholarships for Low-Performing Schools

ATLANTA — Georgia's General Assembly has greenlit a major expansion of school choice, creating the Georgia Promise Scholarship program that hands $6,500 per student to families in the lowest 25% of public schools for private education options. Signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on April 23, 2024, Senate Bill 233 — sponsored by Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, and carried in the House by Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones — targets students zoned for underperforming schools as ranked by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement. Eligible K-12 students must have attended public school for two consecutive years or be entering kindergarten, with priority for low-income families and prior participants.

The scholarships cover tuition, fees, textbooks, tutoring and more at accredited Georgia private schools, which must test students annually and report data. Public school enrollees can't use funds for tutoring, and the program joins Georgia's existing voucher efforts, which cost $155 million in 2023-2024 per critics like PAGE Legislative. Funding is capped at 1% of public school allocations, projecting 21,000-22,000 students max, as applications for private schools are underway ahead of the 2025-26 school year.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, pushing further choice, announced on Feb. 12, 2025, plans to extend Promise Scholarships to biological and adoptive children of foster care parents via Sen. Greg Dolezal's bill — without altering the $6,500 award or criteria. SB 233 also eases inter-district public school transfers without local approval and boosts tax credits for donations to low-performing public schools by $10 million. Critics decry weak accountability in Georgia's vouchers, which private schools can deny to students with disabilities or behavioral issues.

The move aligns with national trends, as Gov. Kemp opted Georgia into a federal school choice tax credit and Reps. Rick Allen and Barry Loudermilk back the Educational Choice for Children Act, stackable atop state aid. Polls show 69% of likely voters and 75% of school parents support such expansions, fueling Atlanta debates on diverting funds from public systems serving most Georgia kids.