Coverdell education savings account

Georgia's school choice ranking reveals opportunities to do more to help families.

When it comes to providing educational opportunities for families, Georgia ranks 14th out of 50 on a new 50-state index measuring families’ access to school choice nationwide.

At first glance, that doesn’t seem like such a bad position, but when you dig deeper, the picture becomes less flattering. Georgia is still lagging behind and we have our work cut out for us to ensure that every family has access to a great education.

Where Does Georgia Stand?

Georgia scored four out of a possible 100 on the EdChoice Friedman Index, which weighs three major factors:

Access to School Choice: Only 15% of Georgia’s K-12 students are eligible for school choice programs, far below what it takes to establish broad, equitable access.

Flexibility in Educational Funding: While Georgia has made strides through its Promise Scholarship Program (an education savings account or “ESA”), current funding systems and program designs limit how well families can use educational funds to meet their unique needs.

Funding Parity: Choice students in Georgia receive just 45% of the funding allocated to their public school peers. For example, public school students receive $13,810 per pupil, while choice students average $6,264 in funding.

These metrics paint a clear picture of why Georgia’s score is so low. More significantly, it’s a reminder of the limitations facing families who are seeking to access the best education for their children.

Georgia scores 4 out of 10 on EdChoice's Friedman Index on school choice

Image Credit: EdChoice, 2025 Friedman Index

Georgia’s Neighbor to the South Earns the Top Score

To notch a perfect score of 100, states must have several policies in place. First, universal school choice is a must. That means all students, regardless of income or zip code, have access to a great education.

A second requirement is that all educational funds allocated to students must be fully usable for any educational expenses—anything from tuition to textbooks to needed therapies or tutoring.

Lastly, funding per choice student must be equal to the amount provided to public school students.

So far, no state has achieved these standards, but Florida has come the closest with a score of 77 out of 100. Florida allows for all students to access school choice and receive 77% of the funding that public school students receive. Additionally, all students may use these funds flexibly.

Closing in on Florida are Arkansas (60), as well as Alabama and Arizona (each scoring 59).

While these states are leading the way, the Friedman Index is a reminder that the majority of the country still has a long way to go on education choice and opportunity. The idea of a “school choice” revolution has sparked widespread conversation, but in reality, even higher-ranking states like Georgia have only begun to tap into the full potential of school choice and its benefits for families and communities.

Educational Opportunity Matters Most for Georgia’s Low-Income Communities

The limitations of Georgia’s school choice programs disproportionately affect children from low-income communities. For these families, access to the right education isn’t just a luxury—it’s a pathway to life-changing opportunities, such as improved academic performance, higher graduation rates, and better chances of long-term employment and financial stability.

Data consistently shows that providing families with education options leads to better outcomes for kids. For example, numerous studies indicate that students in choice programs are more likely to become proficient in core subjects like reading and math, areas that often determine future academic and career success.

One recent leap forward is the Georgia Promise Scholarship, a state-funded initiative designed to give families financial support to choose the best learning environment for their child. The program opens to families this year, providing scholarships of $6,500 a year that families can use for private school tuition, tutoring, special needs programs, homeschooling, or other customized options outside the traditional public school system.

While this program is an encouraging start, it’s not enough to rank Georgia among the nation’s top states for school choice. Currently, too few students have access to the program, and funding levels fall short of what’s needed to enable meaningful choice for all families.

The Friedman Index Gives Georgia a Roadmap, Not Just a Score

The factors that make up the Friedman Index give Georgia lawmakers clear steps to increasing education opportunity for all students:

Expand Access to School Choice: Every family throughout Georgia should have access to educational opportunities that meet their child’s needs, regardless of income or location. This includes significantly increasing the percentage of students eligible for choice programs, particularly the Georgia Promise Scholarship.

Increase Funding for Choice Students: Georgia must make substantial investments to bring funding for choice students closer to parity with public school funding. Providing families with adequate resources will make educational choice a real possibility—not just an option in name only.

Focus on Students, Not Systems: It’s time for Georgia to reframe its education policies around the needs of students. Our goal shouldn’t be to improve Georgia’s ranking on an index, but to provide real hope and opportunity for the students who need it the most.

Image Credits: Canva, EdChoice

press release, news, The press release prominently features the company logo and headline, with visible text detailing the announcement.

PEACHTREE CORNERS, GA—Today, the Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) applauded Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia legislature for ushering into law the Promise Scholarships bill that will bring much-needed relief to the over half-a-million low- and middle-income kids stuck in low-performing schools.

“We are thankful to Gov. Kemp and the many House and Senate lawmakers who recognized the urgency of the moment and advanced a bill to provide much-needed opportunity to bolster academic options,” said Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “Passing Promise Scholarships is a momentous milestone for tens of thousands of Georgia kids struggling in a system that doesn’t work for them. It recognizes that Georgia is a diverse state with a diverse set of needs for education. After years of work, this bill is a positive step toward shaping an education system that honors every child’s unique situation and prevents a lack of quality education from locking children and communities into poverty.”

Senate Bill 233 will make students from the lowest performing 25% of public schools eligible to receive $6,500 a year set aside in an account. Parents can then use the funds to cover approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation.

SB 233 also gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level — around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after the lower-income students are served.

Promise Scholarships will serve an estimated 21,500 kids when the program goes live for the 2025-2026 school year.

Georgia now joins a growing list of states offering educational options for all students. In the Southeast, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina have recently enacted universal Education Savings Account programs, while South Carolina is in the process of creating a universal program in the coming years.

“The urgency to create an education lifeline for kids can’t be overstated. Education is a basic need. Lack of access to quality options is a major cause of many of the ills in our society, including putting a cap on upward mobility. A lack of quality education locks children into poverty and prevents communities from thriving,” said Brockway.

Although GCO praised passage of Promise Scholarships, Randy Hicks, GCO’s president and CEO, cautioned that the bill is just a first step.

“Unfortunately, the final compromise bill was watered down in a number of ways that will limit its reach,” said Hicks. “Funding for Promise Scholarships is capped to 1% of public school funding and there is a 10-year sunset on the entire program. It’s a positive step that over 20,000 students will be eligible for educational freedom, that number is a drop in the bucket compared to the need. We will continue building on this foundation for the future so that all of Georgia’s schoolchildren have options.”

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Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) is independent, non-partisan, and solutions-focused. Our team is dedicated to creating opportunities for a quality education, fulfilling work, and a healthy family life for all Georgians. To achieve our mission, we research ways to help remove barriers to opportunity in each of these pathways, promote our solutions to policymakers and the public, and help effective and innovative social enterprises deliver results in their communities.

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Georgia's new education choice program, the Georgia Promise Scholarship, expands education opportunities for kids in low-performing public schools

Key Points

Georgia lawmakers and Gov. Kemp have officially passed Senate Bill 233, which creates a new education option called the Georgia Promise Scholarship program.
Promise Scholarships will help students in low-performing public schools. Eligible students can receive $6,500 scholarships to access different education options that match their needs.
The program is a positive first step toward an education system that works for every Georgia kid. To make an even bigger difference, lawmakers should work toward opening up the program to all Georgia students.

On April 23, 2024, Governor Brian Kemp signed SB 233, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, into law. This education savings account program—the first of its kind in Georgia—will give parents access to $6,500 state-funded scholarships that they can use to afford the education option best suited to their child’s needs.

The Promise Scholarship Program empowers parents to give their kids quality education and brighter futures

Promise Scholarships will be state-administered, state-funded accounts that give parents $6,500 per year and per student to use for approved education expenses. The program will be available beginning in the 2025-2026 school year.

Parents can use these scholarships for a variety of education costs, including:

Tuition and fees for private schools, online classes, college courses, and vocational programs
Tutoring services
Curriculum and textbooks
Educational therapies
Technology, including adaptive or assistive technologies for students with special needs
Transportation costs

Because of this flexibility, Promise Scholarships allow parents to consider a wide range of options—from homeschooling to private schools to other unique combinations of education services.

“The best gift we can give our next generation is a quality education that opens the doors for new opportunities.” — Randy Hicks, GCO President & CEO

Promise Scholarship eligibility focuses on low- and middle-income students

SB 233 limits Promise Scholarship access to students enrolled in the bottom 25% of Georgia’s public schools, as ranked by the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement.

First priority will also be given to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after the lower-income students are served.

These parameters—plus the funding cap that SB 233 puts on the program—means that Promise Scholarships will serve an estimated 21,000-22,000 kids out of half a million that are stuck in low-performing public schools.

See all the student eligibility requirements here.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship is an important step for updating our education system

SB 233 is a good step toward giving Georgia families access to high-quality, diverse education options. With more education options, students will have even better opportunities to get an education that’s tailored to their needs and sets them up for success in today’s fast-changing world. But if Georgia is serious about investing in our communities, we must keep working to close the education opportunity gap for all of Georgia’s kids.

By passing SB 233, Georgia is catching up to neighboring states like Alabama, Florida, North Carolina that have already adopted education savings account programs.

While Georgia is starting out with narrow student eligibility, these other states are opting for universal ESA programs, opening access to all students. Georgia will need to be open to this model if we want to give our own students the best possible academic outcomes and opportunities for a flourishing life.

Thank you to Gov. Kemp and the lawmakers who recognized the urgency of the moment and passed Promise Scholarships to strengthen the key building block of education for thousands of kids across the state. It’s a momentous step toward a system where every child has access to quality education and a good life, regardless of income, race, zip code, or other life circumstances.

Learn more about the Georgia Promise Scholarship

The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (SB 233): Questions and Answers (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

What is the Georgia Promise Scholarship? (Georgia Public Policy Foundation)

The Georgia Promise Scholarship (SB 233): What Private Schools Need to Know (Georgia Center for Opportunity)

Georgia Students Need More Schooling Choices (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Governor’s Signature on School Choice Bill Is Good First Step (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Governor Signs Bill to Launch ‘Promise Scholarships’ (Washington Examiner)

Promise Scholarships would give Georgia students stuck in failing schools the opportunity to access schooling options better suited to their needs.

Key Points

On March 14, 2024, the Georgia House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233: The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act). The bill was confirmed in the Senate and signed into law on April 23, 2024.
SB 233 will create a much-needed education option for students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% of public schools.
The Georgia House added parameters to the bill that reduce accessibility and set the bill to expire after 10 years. These issues will need to be addressed moving forward so that every child can have better opportunities to access quality education in Georgia.

On March 14, 2024, the Georgia House voted 91-82 to pass Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233: The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act). This bill is an important first step in extending an education lifeline to low- and middle-income kids in under-performing schools. While there is still much more to do as we press toward universal school access, we are thankful to the many House lawmakers who put the needs of kids above politics to advance this measure.

What’s in the Promise Scholarship Bill?

With these Promise Scholarships, students in the lowest performing 25% of public schools will be eligible to have $6,500 a year set aside in an account. These are the funds the state would have spent for their public school education. Under this bill, parents can direct the funds to cover approved educational expenses, including private school tuition, books, uniforms, and even transportation.

SB 233 also gives first priority to students from families below 400% of the federal poverty level—around $120,000 a year for a family of four. Students above that threshold will be allowed to participate if funds are left over after lower-income students are served.

To give public schools time to plan and adjust, public school districts will still receive state funding for a period of two years to cover any students leaving to participate in the program.

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.”
— Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

Limits to Promise Scholarships

While we are thankful that the bill moved forward in the 2024 legislative session, the version of SB 233 passed by the House is watered down in significant ways:

It restricts eligibility and access: The bill caps the amount of revenue available to fund Promise Scholarships to not exceed 1% of public school funding. Even if parent demand maxes out the program, this amount only covers an estimated 21,000-22,000 kids. That’s 0.012% of Georgia’s public school student population, and only a fraction of the 500,000+ kids that are stuck in the bottom 25% of public schools.

It applies expiration dates: Unless a future legislative body evaluates the program and chooses to extend it, the Georgia Promise Scholarship program will expire in 10 years. In that decade, lawmakers will still have to vote annually to fund the program. These measures add a layer of uncertainty that makes it difficult to secure a future of success and opportunity for our kids.

A view of the Georgia State Capitol Building, a symbol of political and historical significance in Atlanta, Georgia

Curious how your representative voted on SB 233?
Georgia’s General Assembly puts the voting records online. Go to the legislature’s website to see the breakdown of support among state representatives.

See the Promise Scholarship votes

Student success is at the heart of Promise Scholarships

The passage of SB 233 can’t come soon enough. Georgia is now surrounded by states that are aggressively and urgently addressing the needs of the future generations by adopting education savings accounts, or ESAs, that are open to all students. Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina have recently enacted universal programs, while South Carolina is in the process of creating a universal program in the coming years.

ESAs, particularly universal ones, are good policy because kids need quicker solutions for accessing education options that will work best for them. We can’t wait on reforms that will take years or even decades to take hold. As we’ve seen before, increased funding is no guarantee that poor performing public schools will improve, much less improve quickly.

Every semester, our K-12 students have academic milestones they are supposed to hit. And we know that when they don’t achieve these goals, they are more likely to fall further and further behind their peers, putting themselves and their futures at risk.

SB 233 provides immediate help by making Promise Scholarships available beginning with the school year in 2025.

Education is a building block of a flourishing life. Without access to quality education in Georgia, our kids and our communities will continue down a path where success and opportunity are not open to everyone in the state. An increasing number of families are looking for alternatives, and we must work to provide opportunities that meets the needs of all students, not just a few.

Georgia Needs to Widen Schooling Choices in 2024
(Buzz Brockway in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Passes Promise Scholarships and Expands Education Opportunity

Governor’s Signature on School Choice Bill Is Good First Step
(Randy Hicks in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Promise Scholarships (SB 233): Questions and Answers

Gov. Brian Kemp Champions Education Opportunity, Calls for Unity on Promise Scholarship

Why Educational Opportunity Is Good for Rural Areas, Too

Media statement, in the news, Georgia news, ga news

The Alabama legislature has passed a bill that phases in universal Education Savings Accounts over time. It now goes to the desk of Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature. The ESA will be worth up to $7,000 for each student to be used for approved educational expenses.

The Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Georgia is now on the cusp of being surrounded by states with universal school choice, or near universal school choice,” said Buzz Brockway, GCO’s vice president of public policy. “That means our state is now an outlier in the southeast when it comes to educational options. We shouldn’t be satisfied to maintain a status quo on this issue that leaves thousands of schoolchildren behind each year. It’s time for Georgia lawmakers to lead and pass legislation like the Promise Scholarships bill that expand educational opportunities across the state to students and families trapped in a system that doesn’t work for them.”

For more on the ways ESAs would help kids in Georgia, check out these resources:

Promise Scholarships would give Georgia students stuck in failing schools the opportunity to access schooling options better suited to their needs.

Key Points

On March 29, 2023, Georgia Promise Scholarships (Senate Bill 233) failed by only a few votes in the House of Representatives. These leaders had another chance to vote on the bill in 2024.
SB 233 creates a much-needed education option for students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% of Georgia publis schools. Of the 16 Republicans who voted against Promise Scholarships in 2023, 13 have schools in the bottom 25%.
More research is showing that more education choice helps public schools and translates to better academic achievement, especially for low-income students.

On March 29, 2023, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (Senate Bill 233) failed by a vote of 85-89 in the House of Representatives, despite passing the Georgia Senate on March 6, 2023.

At the time, that was the furthest that an education savings account bill had advanced in the Georgia Legislature. Despite having support from Governor Brian Kemp, Lt. Governor Burt Jones, and Speaker Jon Burns, the bill still came up six votes short of passage in the House.

Georgia needs Promise Scholarships to build its future workforce and prosperity

In late 2023, Governor Brian Kemp announced a new program called Georgia Match. Georgia Match seeks to connect every high school senior with a post-secondary education path that meets each student’s needs. The program brings unprecedented cooperation between the Georgia Department of Education, The Technical College System of Georgia, and the University System of Georgia. It’s not an exaggeration to say this program can potentially transform Georgia’s educational system and workforce.

SB 233 would allow students zoned for a school ranked in the bottom 25% for two consecutive years, according to Georgia’s College and Career Readiness Performance Index (CCRPI), to use a Promise Scholarship.

Promise Scholarships would allow these families to access education options that they might not otherwise be able to afford or use. The scholarship could be applied to private school tuition, homeschooling materials, or other educational expenses defined in the bill.
The state would put the scholarship amount ($6,500) in a parent-directed account controlled by the state of Georgia for these purposes.

Based on CCRPI scores, which were last calculated in 2018-2019, 298 schools currently fall into the bottom 25% criteria. These schools are located all across Georgia, but mostly in areas of high poverty.

It’s important to note that limiting the Promise Scholarship to only the bottom 25% of schools doesn’t cover all the schools in Georgia that receive D or F grades in CCRPI.

To see Georgia Match fulfill its potential, K-12 students must be prepared to succeed in the post-secondary education path they choose—especially those students eligible for a Promise Scholarship and those who deserve better economic and social opportunities to escape poverty.

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.” — Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

“Our job is not decide for every family but to support them in making the best choice for their child.”
— Gov. Brian Kemp, 2024 State of the State Address

[16 Republican legislators opposed Promise Scholarships in 2023. Here’s why they should have changed their vote.

Over the past 10 years, Republican governors and legislators have passed and tried to implement reforms meant to improve Georgia’s lowest-performing public schools. From the failed Opportunity School District constitutional amendment to the all-but-gutted Chief Turnaround Officer legislation, efforts for transformational reform within the traditional public school system have been stifled.

Many of the schools in question also receive intensive assistance from the Department of Education (DOE) via the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) and Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) programs. These programs require schools to develop improvement plans in close collaboration with DOE officials.

While these programs have helped, there’s an important detail that voters and parents should know about. Several of these schools in the bottom 25% of CCRPI performance today were schools that qualified for the Opportunity School District program back in 2015.

In other words, these schools are still among our state’s lowest-performing schools after eight years of intensive assistance. Should we continue to tell parents to wait for another program? If your children or grandchildren were zoned for these schools, would you tell them to wait?

For several legislators, including 16 Republican Representatives, the answer has been “yes.”

Of the 16 Republican legislators who voted against SB 233 in 2023, 13 have public schools in their districts that are in the bottom 25%. Yet all 16 of these districts have private schools ready to accept more students. In addition, Georgia has a robust homeschooling community in all corners of the state, as well as a burgeoning microschool movement. Promise Scholarship recipients can access these options no matter where they live.

Get the answers to common questions about the new Georgia Promise Scholarship program.

Georgia’s Promise Scholarship Explained
Find out what the program is, how it works, and which students will be eligible.

See the Promise Scholarship FAQs

To meet Georgia’s diverse student needs, the answer is to expand parental options.

If we truly want Governor Kemp’s Georgia Match program to succeed, parents need more options. If we truly want all of Georgia’s students to obtain a quality education and pursue post-secondary education that prepares them for a meaningful career and a stable life, parents need more options. If we want Georgia’s economy to continue to thrive and attract new industries to our state, parents need more options.

Expanding parental options will lift our entire educational system. To see this in action, all we need to do is look south. A November 2023 study of Florida’s educational landscape found that as school choice programs matured, the positive effects were felt across the board, including within the public schools:

“We find that as public schools are more exposed to private school choice, their students experience increasing benefits as the program matures. In particular, higher levels of private school choice exposure are associated with lower rates of suspensions and absences, and with higher standardized test scores in reading and math.”

The students showing the most gains? Students with low–socioeconomic status (SES).

Far from harming public schools, school choice actually improves public schools. Georgia’s students deserve to have this opportunity as well.

With SB 233, Georgia legislators had an incredible chance to set Georgia students on a path toward academic success and a bright future. Thankfully, SB 233 and Georgia’s kids received the support needed from lawmakers, and the Georgia Promise Scholarship passed in April 2024. The progam will become available for Georgia parents and students in Fall 2025.

Georgia Needs to Widen Schooling Choices in 2024
(Buzz Brockway in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Georgia Promise Scholarships (SB 233): Questions and Answers

Gov. Brian Kemp Champions Education Opportunity, Calls for Unity on Promise Scholarship

Why Educational Opportunity Is Good for Rural Areas, Too

A diverse group of students holding a 'National School Choice Week' banner, representing inclusivity in education.

Key Points

A new proclamation from Governor Brian Kemp has designated January 21-27, 2024, as School Choice Week in Georgia.
Georgia School Choice Week celebrates the fact that every kid is unique and more education options mean parents, educators, and communities can improve education and life outcomes for all students.
In 2024, Georgia lawmakers can expand education options by passing Promise Scholarships, expanding the Tax Credit Scholarship for private school access, and allowing public school transfers.

A new proclamation from Governor Brian Kemp has designated January 21-27, 2024, as School Choice Week in Georgia. Georgia is one of several states holding this event as part of National School Choice Week.

National School Choice Week is an annual, multi-state initiative that engages parents, schools, community organizations, and elected officials in promoting the benefits of school choice and the education options available within each state.

A proclamation from Georgia Governor Bill Kemp celebrating National School Choice Week. The document features official seals and signatures, emphasizing the commitment to providing diverse educational options for students across the state.

Georgia Governor Bill Kemp’s proclamation highlights the commitment to fostering diverse educational options so that the state is investing in one of our state’s most valuable resources: our students and their futures.

Georgia Governor Bill Kemp proudly celebrates National School Choice Week with a proclamation, adorned with official seals and signatures. The proclamation highlights the commitment to fostering diverse educational options for students throughout the state.

School Choice Week focuses on giving parents and educators the tools to improve education outcomes for all students

First and foremost, School Choice Week celebrates the fact that every kid is unique. While public schools will continue to be a great option for many students, states are realizing that families need more education choices and flexibility overall. There’s no one-size-fits-all learning environment that can accommodate the diversity of learning needs that exist within our communities.

Parents know this well—so much so that the desire to give kids a quality, customized education motivated one in five parents to switch schools between March 2020 and May 2022. In 2023, polling found that 75% of parents, including two-thirds of Hispanic parents, supported more choices within the K-12 education system. Teachers share this support, as well: A majority think that Education Savings Accounts are a good idea.

Why all the positive support for school choice? More choice in education is a win for everyone. It expands opportunities for all families, not just those who can afford to make a choice or live in a certain area. States with robust choice programs tend to achieve better academic outcomes for all students, including those in the public school system.

These education outcomes are directly linked to students’ long-term success. Students who complete high school tend to have higher lifetime earnings, better health, more involvement in their communities, decreased mortality rates, fewer criminal records, and lower teen pregnancy rates.

With so much at stake, a child’s zip code should not limit their access to a quality education.

Georgia has opportunities to expand education options in 2024

Georgia’s School Choice Week coincides with the early weeks of the 2024 legislative session, making it a good time to consider the opportunities our elected officials have to shape a more modern, equitable education system in Georgia.

Here are few ways Georgia lawmakers could expand access to quality education for families this year:

Pass Promise Scholarships (SB 233): The Georgia Promise Scholarship is a proposed education choice program that would allow parents to access the best schooling option for their child. These state-funded scholarships would give parents $6,500 per student for each school year and expand opportunity for kids in the bottom 25% of public schools. The bill needs to be passed by the House in 2024 and receive the governor’s signature in order to be enacted.
Increase the Tax Credit Scholarship Cap: Costs often put private school options out of reach for lower and middle-income households. Georgia’s tax credit scholarship program alleviates some of this inequity by making private school scholarships available to K-12 public school students in need. Raising the scholarship cap would allow the program to serve even more kids. In 2024, the House of Representatives is considering a bill that would raise the cap from $120 million to $130 million.
Allow Public School Transfers: We often think of school choice as alternatives to public schools, but there are ways to build flexibility into the public school system itself. This is a worthwhile goal because strong public schools will continue to be beneficial to communities. A proposed senate bill would allow students to transfer to a different public school within their district or a different district, making it easier for families to access the public school best suited to their child’s needs. Georgia Senators have a chance to pass that bill in the current session.

Behind all of these potential reforms, there’s a significant question about the future of education in Georgia: Will we keep pace with other states expanding education opportunity, or will Georgia continue to fall further behind?

Ways to participate in Georgia’s School Choice Week

See a full list of ideas here, and check out these ideas specifically for Georgia parents.

Thank the teachers and administrators at the school your child currently attends. School choice is also about appreciating the options we have today.
Get to know Georgia’s school choice options.
Learn how to get information about your school’s resources and performance online.

For communities, school choice is a powerful tool. When options exist—both public schools and alternatives—parents, educators, and communities have tools to focus on what matters most: Nurturing the development, success, and happiness of Georgia’s kids.

Media statement, in the news, Georgia news, ga news

A new Cygnal poll of likely general election voters in Georgia shows a 68% favorability margin for the concept of “school choice,” with 76% of parents in favor. Support levels for education savings accounts sit at 60%, support for refundable education tax credits at 55%, and support for traditional public schools at 65%.

Georgia Center for Opportunity’s (GCO) take: “Families want Georgia to be the best place to educate their child, and they want to have say in how that’s done,” said Buzz Brockway, vice president of policy for GCO. “Generally speaking, the poll shows that while a majority of people in the state are satisfied with their child’s education, there is glowing support — at or above 70% — for more education options for families. And there is nearly 90% support for every child to have access to good school options, not just failing schools. Support for education is pretty similar whether it is private, public, or even homeschooling. As we invest in educating the public we must open up to a new generation of education. Georgia can and should lead on how to deliver a forward-thinking education that is responsive to family’s and kid’s needs.”

student struggling with school work.

Key Points

Arkansas is the fourth state in the U.S. to legislate universal educational opportunity — the others are Arizona, Utah, and Iowa.
Georgia Senate passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (SB 233) in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.
Georgia Senate passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (SB 233) in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.

Arkansas recently joined a growing list of states that have approved Education Scholarship Accounts, empowering parents to make the best decisions for their child’s unique educational needs.

The accounts, called Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs), will contain around $6,600 in funds per student every year. Families can then use the available funds to pay for education-related fees, including tuition, tutoring, textbooks, therapies, and other costs which have been approved by the state.

It will take three years to fully phase in the act. By the end of the third year, all students in Arkansas will be eligible for EFAs.

The creation of these accounts makes Arkansas the fourth state in the U.S. to legislate universal educational opportunity — the others are Arizona, Utah, and Iowa.

Now, Georgia could be next.

Last week, the Georgia Senate passed the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act (SB 233) in a 33-23 vote. It will go on to the House next, where it has traditionally faced more opposition.

If enacted into law, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act would fund $6,000 per student every school year. Promise Scholarships would give families the financial freedom to select an educational environment that best fits their child’s needs. A wide range of educational expenses would be approved under the act, including tutoring, virtual classes, private school tuition, homeschool curriculum, special needs therapies, technology, college courses, and more.

In the wake of the pandemic, parents nationwide are demanding more options for their children’s education. Learning loss is one of many major crises to arise from nationwide lockdowns. At Georgia Center for Opportunity, we believe it is the state’s responsibility to help reverse that loss.

Families across the state need access to more opportunities now. With Promise Scholarships, Georgia’s children will have more opportunities to excel at school. Every child deserves empowerment through a high-quality education that works best for him or her. We believe that Georgia should lend support to every educational option for its students, including alternatives like homeschooling and virtual learning.

Promise Scholarships would give families the financial freedom to select an educational environment that best fits their child’s needs.

Over the past few years, more and more families have embraced alternatives to public education. While the majority of students across Georgia still attend public schools (and will likely continue to in the future), a growing minority of families are choosing differently. And, as the nation collectively faced an unprecedented pandemic, parents began to realize how many options were available to them outside the traditional school system.

Traditionally, families who select private schools or opt to homeschool receive no financial support to do so. Despite that choice, their tax dollars continue to fund public schools whose services they do not use.

Parents with special needs children struggle to find school systems that will accommodate their children’s needs. Often, they find that one facility lacks all the important resources they need so their children can thrive at school. While they could opt to build a hybrid program for their children, which might include home healthcare or virtual classes, those alternatives are cost-prohibitive.

Ultimately, we believe that tax dollars should follow each child, meeting their unique needs along the way. There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to education. Public, private, home, and virtual education are of equal value, and as each family decides what is best for their children, Georgia should be willing to meet them where they are.

As the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act moves to the House, we urge you to contact your local representative to advocate for this bill. Our children can’t wait any longer for educational support that fits their individual needs and allows them to thrive. The future is depending on us.

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Key Points

The Georgia Promise Scholarship is a statewide program that empowers parents to access the best education for their child. It creates state-funded scholarships that give eligible families up to $6,500 per student for each school year.
Eligibility is limited to students zoned for low-performing public schools and who meet certain other criteria.
Applications will be open for families during four periods in 2026. Sign up to be notified of application deadlines and tips.

Across the country and in Georgia, parents have been calling for more choice and flexibility in K-12 education. In 2024, Georgia took a major step forward by passing the state’s first-ever education savings account program, the Georgia Promise Scholarship.

The program started during the 2025-2026 school year, and it gives eligible families up to $6,500 per year to access the education opportunity best suited to their child’s needs. Visit the program website for more information on how to apply.

What is the Georgia Promise Scholarship?

The Promise Scholarship gives families financial support to access education opportunities outside the public school system. Families can receive up to $6,500 per year for approved education expenses. This type of program is also known as an education savings account.

How does the Georgia Promise Scholarship work?

The state sets aside the scholarship amount in an account that the parent can direct. Parents can use these funds to choose the education environment that supports their child’s unique learning needs.

When does the Promise Scholarship program open?

There will be four application periods for families in 2026:

March 1-31
May 1-31
August 1-31
November 1-30

Families accepted into the program will receive funding for the 2026-2027 school year. See the Georgia Promise Scholarship website for more details.

What can Georgia families use Promise Scholarships for?

Families can use the funds for a variety of educational expenses, giving them flexibility to choose the best education for their child’s needs. Approved expenses include:

Private school tuition and fees
Tutoring services
Textbooks and curriculums
Education therapies
Education-related technology
Transportation costs

Who can apply for a Promise Scholarship?

To be eligible, families and students must meet the following criteria:

Parents must have lived in Georgia for at least one year, with exceptions for active-duty military families.
The student must be zoned for an eligible public school (one included on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement’s list of the bottom 25% of public schools based on performance).
The student must have been enrolled in a Georgia public school for two consecutive semesters or be a rising kindergarten student.
The student can’t be enrolled in a local school system, charter school, or state charter school while participating in the scholarship program.

The program prioritizes lower-income Georgia families. If applications exceed available slots, priority goes to families with household incomes below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (roughly $129,000 for a family of four).

Parents must agree to use the accounts only for qualifying educational expenses. Once a child receives a scholarship, they remain eligible through 12th grade, until they enroll in a public school, or until they leave Georgia.

How is the Promise Scholarship amount determined?

Amounts have initially been set at $6,500, which is approximately the average per-pupil amount the state sends to local school districts based on Georgia’s current student funding formula. The final 2026-2027 scholarship amount will be announced soon.

Who does the Georgia Promise Scholarship help?

Parents: Parents know better than anyone that children are unique and that a one-size-fits-all education approach doesn’t work for most kids. Georgia’s Promise Scholarship gives parents financial support to access other education opportunities when the local public school isn’t the best fit.

Students: For families seeking alternatives to under-performing public schools, Promise Scholarships provide an opportunity for students to access other school options, including those that may not be available or affordable otherwise.

Public schools: States with robust education choice programs see better outcomes for all students, including those in the public school system. Education savings account programs, in particular, have a track record of empowering public schools to improve their budgets and increase student achievement.

Are Promise Scholarships the same thing as school vouchers?

No, they’re two different types of programs. School vouchers allow parents to use public education dollars for private school tuition only. Parents can use the Promise Scholarship for a wider range of education expenses, offering families more flexibility.

Are Promise Scholarships the same thing as 529 plans?

No. With a 529 plan, parents are responsible for contributing money to an account to save for their child’s education expenses. Promise Scholarships are state-funded and don’t require parents to contribute any of their own money. Parents can choose to use a Promise Scholarship account for education savings because up to 50% of unused funds can be carried forward to the next school year, but the account doesn’t have the same tax benefits that 529 plans do.

Do other states have programs like Georgia’s Promise Scholarship?

Yes, 18 states have adopted some form of an education savings account program, including all of Georgia’s immediate neighbors.

Alabama passed the CHOOSE Act, which gives parents up to $7,000 annually per student to use for the education option of their choice.
Florida expanded its program to universal school choice.
In a 2023 bipartisan effort, North Carolina opened its education savings account program to all students, putting it on track to be the nation’s second largest program after Florida’s.
South Carolina has adopted nearly universal education opportunity.
In early 2025, Tennessee expanded its Education Freedom Scholarship program to be open to any K-12 student who wants to apply.

Several other states are moving their education savings account programs to a universal eligibility set-up, where every kid has access regardless of income, race, zip code, or other circumstance.

Georgia is paying attention, and legislators are considering options that will grant Promise Scholarship eligibility to more families. During the state’s 2025 legislative session, senators introduced SB 124, which would allow the children of active-duty military families to be eligible for the Promise Scholarship program, even if they aren’t zoned for a low-performing public school. Georgia lawmakers also introduced SB 152, which would grant eligibility to the biological or adopted children of foster parents, even if their local school isn’t under-performing.

These bills didn’t become law in 2025, but they could be reintroduced in the 2026 legislative session. If they move forward, they could give more kids the best possible opportunities at school and in life.

Do Promise Scholarships take money away from Georgia’s public schools?

No. The Promise Scholarship is funded separately from the money allocated to public schools.

Will Promise Scholarships help low-income families?

Yes. Programs like the Promise Scholarship are some of the most equitable education pathways for students. They give low-income families more opportunity to access schooling options that are often only available to families with greater financial resources.

Georgia’s Promise Scholarship is also set up to give lower-income families priority if applications exceed the number of slots available.

Does the Promise Scholarship hurt homeschooling families?

No. There are no provisions in the proposed law that would prevent homeschooling families from continuing down that education path.

In fact, Georgia’s Promise Scholarship could make homeschooling an even more feasible option. Eligible families can use the funds to pay for curriculums, courses, tutoring, or other education resources needed to homeschool.

Does the Promise Scholarship hurt homeschooling families?

No. There are no provisions in the proposed law that would prevent homeschooling families from continuing down that education path.

Where Does Georgia Stand?

Georgia’s Neighbor to the South Earns the Top Score

Educational Opportunity Matters Most for Georgia’s Low-Income Communities

The Friedman Index Gives Georgia a Roadmap, Not Just a Score

Key Points

The Promise Scholarship Program empowers parents to give their kids quality education and brighter futures

Promise Scholarship eligibility focuses on low- and middle-income students

The Georgia Promise Scholarship is an important step for updating our education system

Learn more about the Georgia Promise Scholarship

Key Points

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Key Points

Key Points

What is the Georgia Promise Scholarship?

How does the Georgia Promise Scholarship work?

When does the Promise Scholarship program open?

What can Georgia families use Promise Scholarships for?

Who can apply for a Promise Scholarship?

How is the Promise Scholarship amount determined?

Who does the Georgia Promise Scholarship help?

Are Promise Scholarships the same thing as school vouchers?

Are Promise Scholarships the same thing as 529 plans?

Do other states have programs like Georgia’s Promise Scholarship?

Do Promise Scholarships take money away from Georgia’s public schools?

Will Promise Scholarships help low-income families?

Does the Promise Scholarship hurt homeschooling families?

Does the Promise Scholarship hurt homeschooling families?

Resources for families

Resources for schools and service providers

Georgia Promise Scholarship in the news

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