SCHOOL CHOICE IN GEORGIA

What does School Choice look like in Georgia?

Every child is different—which is why families should have a variety of options for educating their children. The goal of school choice is to ensure families have quality educational options regardless of their income, zip code, or the educational needs of their student.

Whether a student is best served by a traditional public school, public charter school, private school, online education, homeschool, or hybrid school, school choice ensures every student in every situation is given the tools to learn and grow.

What is the Georgia Center for Opportunity doing to strengthen school choice in our state?

The Georgia Center for Opportunity has been involved in the school choice movement for more than a decade. In recent years, we helped create and secure the passage of the Georgia Promise Scholarship, as well as Georgia’s Special Needs Scholarships and Tuition Tax Credit programs. In 2012, our work was instrumental in getting the Georgia Charter School Amendment passed along with much of the legislation enabling the following scholarships and programs.

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What school choice options are available to your family?

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Public School Transfers

Georgia enables any student attending public school in the state to transfer to another public school that better suits their needs.

Charter Schools

Charter schools are public schools that provide educators and families more freedom and flexibility to best serve students’ needs.

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Tax Credit Scholarships

The Georgia Tax Credit Scholarship Program provides Georgia students funds to attend any eligible private school in the state.

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Special Needs Scholarships

Too often, families of special needs students can struggle under the increased costs of educating their child. To help ease some of that pain, Georgia’s special needs scholarship program provides special needs families the financial assistance to attend the public or private school that best serves their student.

Promise Scholarships will open for eligible Georgia families in 2025.

Georgia Promise Scholarships

Georgia’s newest school choice program gives eligible families up to $6,500 per year to afford the best education option for their child. Families can use funds for a variety of approved education expenses, including tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and more.

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Homeschooling in Georgia

Georgia protects the rights of families to homeschool their students as long as they file a Declaration of Intent with the Georgia Department of Education and meet certain instructional and testing requirements. Learn more about the requirements for homeschooling and resources available for homeschool families.

Additional School Choice Resources

A Guide to Georgia’s K-12 Education Options

The Georgia Center for Opportunity has produced a School Choice Handbook to give families a complete guide for their school choice options for Public Charter Schools, Special Needs Scholarships, Tax Credit Scholarships, and Public School Transfers. In this handbook you will find helpful information on how to apply for the above options and where to find additional resources online.

Education savings accounts in Georgia empower parents to tailor their child's education.

Education Savings Accounts in Georgia: Everything Families Need to Know

Education Savings Account programs (ESAs) provide state-funded accounts that families can use to pay for the educational needs of their students. Georgia’s ESA program is called the Georgia Promise Scholarship.

Parents can use an ESA to direct the money the state would have spent on their child to attend their local public school to pay for things like private school tuition, tutors, adaptive technology, therapy, and specialized curriculums. ESAs allow families to truly customize an education that best meets each child’s needs.

Georgia Education News

Download Fortifying Pathways

Download Fortifying Pathways

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DownloadGeorgia School Choice Handbook

DownloadGeorgia School Choice Handbook

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Deep Red Valleys Report

Deep Red Valleys Report

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Georgia's Welfare System Reference Guide

Georgia's Welfare System Reference Guide

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An Alternative To Incarceration

An Alternative To Incarceration

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A High Price To Pay

A High Price To Pay

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Increasing Employment Opportunities For Ex-Offenders

Increasing Employment Opportunities For Ex-Offenders

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Prisoner Reentry | The State of Corrections

Prisoner Reentry | The State of Corrections

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Prisoner Reentry

Prisoner Reentry

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Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare for Low-Income Uninsured Georgians

Increasing Access to Quality Healthcare for Low-Income Uninsured Georgians

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Disincentives for Work and Marriage in Georgia's Welfare System White Paper

Disincentives for Work and Marriage in Georgia's Welfare System White Paper

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Disincentives for Work and Marriage in Georgia's Welfare SystemExecutive Summary

Disincentives for Work and Marriage in Georgia's Welfare SystemExecutive Summary

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