SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Students who are zoned for schools in the lowest performing 25% of schools in Georgia will now be eligible for vouchers worth up to $6500 per year for alternative or private schools.
Schools in several counties throughout Southeast Georgia are part of that 25%, making the students zoned for some schools eligible for this new program. Out of more than 500 schools in the state considered to be in the bottom quarter, 40 of them are located in Southeast Georgia.
Bulloch, Evans, Liberty, Long, Tattnall, Toombs and Wayne Counties, as well as Vidalia City Schools and Savannah Chatham County Public Schools are in the 25%.
The Governor's Office of Student Achievement calculates these rankings. According to their office, the rankings are based on content mastery, progress, closing gaps, readiness and graduation rate for high schools.
Each category is worth a certain percentage of the school's total score. To create the 2025 list of voucher-eligible schools, GOSA said that they took the average of each school's 2023 and 2024 scores.
The voucher is called the Georgia Promise Scholarship and was created as a result of Senate Bill 233. The bill also created the Georgia Education Savings Authority, an agency to oversee the scholarship.
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Some parents News 3 spoke with are all for the change.
"I love the idea of a program like that because it gives that opportunity to kids who don't have money, low-income families that I know quite a few of," one parent said.
However, others don't agree. Many have voiced their concerns on social media, with some saying that they felt already struggling schools would lose funding.
Some of the other concerns have to do with public tax dollars going to private schools and the possibility of private schools raising tuition to adjust for the vouchers. For those that do want to participate, a student's parent must have lived in Georgia for at least a year and their child needs to be enrolled or entering school for 2025-20206 school year.
Parents with qualifying students will be able to apply for the scholarship in early 2025, and the funds will be available as early as July, meaning they can be used for the 2025-2026 school year.