ATLANTA – The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has released a list of schools in Georgia whose students may qualify to receive private-school vouchers.

Under legislation the General Assembly’s Republican majorities passed in the 2024 legislative session, eligible students who reside in a public school attendance zone that is in the lowest-performing 25% of all public schools in the state may qualify for up to $6,500 in annual funding for private school tuition, tutoring services and other qualified expenses.

In Bulloch County, Langston Chapel, Sallie Zetterower and Stilson elementary schools and Statesboro High School were listed as low performing schools.

To potentially qualify for a voucher, the student must have attended the school for at least one year or be a rising kindergarten student. Parents must have been Georgia residents for at least a year, with exceptions for active-duty military personnel.

The full list of includes schools in 107 school districts across the state and may be found at https://gosa.georgia.gov/georgia-promise-scholarship-sb233-school-list.

Legislative Republicans tried unsuccessfully for years to get a vouchers bill through the General Assembly before finally succeeding this year. To achieve that goal, the bill’s GOP sponsors agreed to concessions that set spending limits on the program.

Senate Bill 233 prohibits spending more than 1% of Georgia’s Quality Basic Education (QBE) fund on vouchers, a cap that is currently set at $140 million a year.

Democrats argued that private-school vouchers will divert money from public schools while not truly serving the needs of students from low-income families. The bill’s opponents said $6,500 is not nearly enough to pay the tuition at most private schools.

The application portal is expected to open in early 2025. Funding will be available after July 1.

Students are eligible to apply for the scholarship if:

• They are enrolled in a Georgia public school for the 2024-25 school year or they are entering kindergarten for the 2025-26 school year

• They reside in the attendance zone of a public school included on the published list of lower-performing schools

• Parents have resided in Georgia for more than a year, except for active-duty military

• They are not recipients of the Georgia Special Needs or the Georgia Student Scholarship Organization scholarships

The Georgia Promise scholarship will allow families to use funds from a $6,500 voucher to pay for private school tuition and fees, required textbooks, tutoring services, curriculum, physician and therapist services, transportation services and other approved expenses.

Some students may be given priority if funding is limited.

“Students whose family income does not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level will receive priority consideration,” the Georgia Promise scholarship website states. “The federal poverty level used to determine eligibility is defined annually by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Students who receive an initial scholarship will receive priority consideration over new applicants to the program in future years.”