State launches website for new school vouchers program

ATLANTA – The state is laying the groundwork for a private-school vouchers program by launching a website with details on the initiative.

The new site, mygeorgiapromise.org, includes information on the Georgia Promise Scholarship, which the Republican-controlled General Assembly created this year to provide eligible K-12 students in lower-performing schools up to $6,500 in annual funding for private school tuition, tutoring services, and other qualified expenses.

“Mygeorgiapromise.org will make it easy for families, schools, and providers to learn about eligibility and the application process as we work toward the program launch in July 2025,” Mitch Seabaugh, the program’s senior vice president, said.

The Georgia Education Savings Authority has partnered with Odyssey, an experienced technology provider, to create a user-centric financial services platform for families to use the vouchers.

The program is open to students who reside in a public school attendance zone that is in the lower 25% of all public schools in the state for at least one academic year or are a rising kindergarten student. Parents must have been Georgia residents for at least a year, with exceptions for active-duty military personnel.

Private-school vouchers have been a hot issue in the General Assembly for years. Legislative Republicans tried unsuccessfully over many sessions to pass a vouchers bill until this year, when the House and Senate approved the measure largely along party lines.

In an effort to get the bill through the legislature, Republicans made concessions that set spending limits on the program.

The legislation prohibits spending more than 1% of Georgia’s Quality Basic Education fund on vouchers, a cap that is currently set at $140 million a year. It also limits the vouchers to students in families earning no more than 400% of the federal poverty limit – currently $120,000 a year for a family of four.

But Democrats argued the bill will divert money from public schools while not truly serving the needs of students from low-income families. Among other things, opponents said $6,500 is not nearly enough to pay the tuition at most private schools.

By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder