Georgia’s school voucher program hits snags as eligibility confusion looms [Video]

Georgia’s new school voucher program, the Georgia Promise Scholarship, is off to a rocky start, leaving parents uncertain about their children’s eligibility for thousands of dollars in scholarships to attend private schools.

The program, designed to provide up to $6,500 to eligible public school students in lower-performing schools, also offers funding for tutoring services, speech therapy, and other educational needs. However, a critical piece of the rollout—identifying the eligible schools—has encountered significant delays.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship website outlines the program’s framework for parents and schools. Yet, a list of eligible schools, initially released on Dec. 1, was quickly withdrawn. The Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) cited the need for “validating additional data to ensure accuracy” as the reason for the retraction. GOSA has not responded to further requests for comment.

Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators, criticized the program’s reliance on standardized test scores to …