On October 28, teams from ten Georgia school districts gathered in Atlanta to share the learning models they have spent the past year building, through a partnership between the Georgia Department of Education, the Institute for Self-Directed Learning and the districts. Many began by asking families what they wanted. Houston County's Academy of Innovation opened in August with one teacher and has grown to about 83 students, and Union County is developing an H3 model that lets families combine district online courses with homeschooling. Speakers encouraged districts to start small, treat microschools as a change strategy and lead with student stories. The first cohort will continue receiving support over the next year.
A new statewide poll by Echelon Insights, commissioned by the Georgia Charter Schools Association, finds that seven in 10 Georgia voters say their communities would benefit from a public charter school as an option for families. Support spans political parties and racial groups, and it rises as household income falls. Voters also back equal public funding for all public school students (72%) and giving charter schools first chance to buy or lease vacant public school buildings (81%). The survey, fielded September 30 to October 5, 2026, sampled 851 registered voters and has a margin of sampling error of ±4.7 percentage points. Among families, 79% of parents of K-12 students say their community would benefit.
Georgia families can apply for the Georgia Promise Scholarship for the 2026-27 school year from November 1 through November 30, 2026. Created by Senate Bill 233 in 2024, the program can help cover private school tuition and fees, required textbooks, tutoring, curriculum, eligible therapy services, transportation and other approved expenses, including for families who choose home study. For 2026-27, the scholarship provides up to $6,500 per eligible student, paid in four quarterly installments. Students must be enrolled in a Georgia public school for two consecutive semesters or be rising kindergarteners, and the parent must have lived in Georgia for at least a year. Families must also complete a yearly recertification by May 31.
Reinhardt University in Waleska has launched two new scholarship programs for first-time, full-time freshmen who graduated from public, private or qualified home school programs in Bartow, Cherokee, Cobb, Forsyth, Gilmer, Gordon and Pickens counties with at least a 3.0 high school GPA. The Take Flight Scholarship covers full tuition for households with an adjusted gross income of $70,000 or less, while the 'Hardt of America Scholarship reduces out-of-pocket tuition for households earning $70,001 to
25,000, to roughly $7,900 to $9,900 a year in 2027-2028. Awards last up to four years, though housing, meals, textbooks and fees are not covered. Families must submit applications and financial aid forms, including the FAFSA, by March 1, 2027, for Fall 2027 enrollment.
Georgia families with children in lower-performing schools can now check the official Georgia Promise Scholarship Public School List, published on the Governor's Office of Student Achievement website over the weekend. The list names 426 schools statewide, identified as the lowest-performing 25% of Georgia schools. Applications for the Promise Scholarship, the state's school voucher program, open March 1. Eligible families can receive up to $6,500 per student a year, which may be used for homeschooling, private school tuition, tutoring, therapy, transportation, books, supplies and early college courses. Parents or guardians must have lived in Georgia for at least a year, except active duty military.
Georgia has opted into a new federal program that would let people who donate to approved nonprofit scholarship organizations claim a federal income tax credit, starting Jan. 1, 2027. Scholarships could cover private or religious school tuition, tutoring, textbooks and other K-12 expenses, and families whose income is no more than 300 percent of the local median could qualify. Qualifying does not guarantee an award, and the scholarship organizations will set their own application procedures and amounts. Critics, including the Center for American Progress, worry about accountability and oversight, while supporters say it will expand educational choices. The public may comment on the proposed rules until Dec. 1.
About 13,500 students started this school year with Georgia's Promise Scholarship, up from about 8,700 when the program debuted last fall. The $6,500 annual grant can go toward private school tuition or home school expenses. Families spent about
7 million on private tuition in 2025-2026, and about 77% of that went to parochial schools, according to an analysis by The Current GA. Critics say private schools are not legally required to accommodate children with disabilities as public schools are, and that taxpayer funds should not subsidize religious instruction. The Georgia Education Savings Authority is due to file its first review of the program with legislators in December.
Three Catholic families have sued in DeKalb County over the Georgia Promise Scholarship Program's requirement that students attend a public school for two semesters before applying. They argue the rule burdens their religious freedom and ask the court to strike it down in time for the spring semester. The program, passed in 2024, provides up to $6,500 per child each year for private tuition, homeschooling or therapy. Critics say the funds drain resources from public schools, while supporters say parents should decide how their children are educated. The next application deadline is Monday, Aug. 31, with a second deadline in November.
A federal court has ruled that Vidalia City Schools must reinstate the released-time religious education program run by Sweet Onion Christian Learning Center while a lawsuit against the district continues. The July 30 ruling came from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, and Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents the center and its director, Gady Youmans, announced it. For more than a decade, the program offered optional, free, off-campus religious instruction to Vidalia High School students whose parents gave permission. ADF says the district ended the program after Youmans criticized a proposed property tax increase on Facebook. According to ADF, the superintendent also told the board that the instruction reflected a particular interpretation of the Bible. For families in the program, it is back in place while the case proceeds.
Georgia's State Charter Schools Commission approved four new public charter schools on Wednesday, July 29: Atlantic Connections Academy, Middle Georgia Preparatory Academy, Prestige Preparatory School, and Spalding Academy for Innovation and Learning. The schools are set to open for the 2027-2028 school year, and the Georgia Charter Schools Association says they will add public options for families across the state. Three of the schools took part in the association's Charter Incubator Program. Prestige Preparatory School will open in Valdosta in fall 2027, and Middle Georgia Preparatory Academy will open in Dublin-Laurens County in fall 2027. Atlantic Connections Academy will be a tuition-free online school for students across Georgia.
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