Augusta students can file soon for tuition vouchers

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Applications open soon for Georgia’s Promise Scholarship Program, which offers private school tuition vouchers for students of low-performing public schools.

Students at the lowest performing 25% of schools are supposed to be eligible to apply for the “Georgia Promise” program.

Forty-two Richmond County schools are included in an updated list of the state’s lowest-performing public schools, but we’ve already determined that every student in Richmond County is eligible because of the way the rules are written.

But the Georgia Education Savings Authority wrote rules saying any student in such a school’s attendance zone is eligible, even if they don’t attend that school.

For example, if a middle school is on the list, elementary and high school students who live in that zone can also apply.

For that reason, all Richmond County students are eligible, even if they don’t attend a school that’s specifically on the list.

Applications will open March 1 at https://mygeorgiapromise.org.

Students are eligible to apply for the $6,500 voucher if:

• They are enrolled in a Georgia public school for the 2024-2025 year or entering kindergarten for the 2025-2026 year.
• The student resides in the attendance zone of a public school included on the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement published list of lower-performing schools.
• The parent has lived in Georgia for at least a year or is an active-duty military member.

Students cannot be recipients of the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship or Georgia Student Scholarship Organization Scholarship.

At the Capitol

House Education Committee Chair Chris Erwin of Homer is among Republicans who said the interpretation that all students in an attendance zone are eligible isn’t what lawmakers intended.

He said Tuesday he’s still considering introducing a bill in the current legislative session to limit eligibility only to students who would attend the low-performing schools, and not other schools in the attendance zone. However, it’s unclear whether the more pro-voucher Senate would agree to such a measure.

The law capped spending at 1% of the funding formula for public schools, or $141 million. That could provide more than 22,000 vouchers. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp recommended spending that much, but lawmakers haven’t yet decided on the amount.

The law requires that Georgia fully fund its public schools before any money is allotted to vouchers. The money for vouchers is appropriated separately, on top of public school funding.

Georgia has 1.75 million public school students. Broad eligibility means applications could far exceed the spending limit, creating pressure to raise it. Already, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones has endorsed a proposal to make all foster children eligible.

Voucher programs are ballooning nationwide. Many ers want all students to be eligible, regardless of school performance or family income. States that have adopted such universal vouchers, such as Arizona, Florida, Iowa and Ohio, reported more applications than expected, causing costs to bulge.

Georgia’s law is more limited. Only children zoned for a low-performing school who have been enrolled for two semesters or who are incoming kindergartners can apply. If more students apply than there are vouchers available, students from households with incomes of less than four times the federal poverty level are prioritized. That’s about $100,000 for a family of three. If there are still too many applications, a random statewide drawing decides who gets the money.

The money can be spent on private school tuition, textbooks, transportation, home-schooling supplies, therapy, tutoring or early college courses for high school students.

Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.