Who qualifies for the Georgia Promise Scholarship in Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb and Gwinnett?
Eligibility depends on where you live: your child must be zoned to a public school on the state's lowest-performing 25% list, or be a rising kindergartner. For 2026-27 that list names 112 schools in the five metro school systems we cover: 52 in DeKalb County, 31 in Atlanta Public Schools, 15 in Gwinnett, 8 in Fulton County Schools and 6 in Cobb.
Two more tests apply. The student must have been enrolled in a Georgia public school for the two most recent consecutive semesters (kindergarten entrants are exempt), and a parent must have lived in Georgia for at least a year, a rule waived for active-duty service members who moved here in the past twelve months. Our zone lookup lists every qualifying metro school by name.
How much does the Promise Scholarship pay an Atlanta family in 2026-27?
The award is up to $6,500 per student for 2026-27, the maximum fixed by state law, paid in four $1,625 deposits in July, October, January and April. The Georgia Education Savings Authority (GESA) may keep up to 5 percent for administration.
Up to half of a year's unused award can roll into the next year. Because the amount is flat, it covers a larger share of tuition at a small church school than at a large independent academy, and the leftover can go to tutoring or curriculum.
When can Atlanta families apply for the Promise Scholarship?
The next student window runs November 1-30, 2026, and it is for enrollment in spring 2027. Only households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level are considered for spring seats; families above that line can apply only in the March and May windows.
GESA ran four student windows in 2026 (March, May, August and November), and each one feeds the semester that follows. Your child has to stay in public school through the end of the semester in which you apply. Applying early in a window gives no advantage.
Which Atlanta-area private schools accept Promise Scholarship money?
120 schools in our directory appear on GESA's participating list for 2026-27, approved as of April 23, 2026. A participating school must be accredited, or in the process of accreditation, by a recognized agency, and it can enroll Promise students only in the grades its accreditation covers.
Schools could apply again from October 1 to 31, 2026, so the list will grow. A family can also use Promise for home study, paying for curriculum, tutors and classes rather than a full-time school.
What does a Promise family have to do after the money arrives?
Opt in, choose your education option, and test every year. Once an application is approved, a parent confirms participation in the Odyssey portal and picks a participating private school, a non-participating school (which cannot be paid) or home study.
Every Promise student takes a GESA-approved norm-referenced test or a state assessment each spring, and results are due by June 30. Families recertify each year rather than reapplying, and a child who moves within Georgia stays in the program.
| What it is | What it isn't |
|---|---|
| An education savings account the parent directs through Odyssey | A check mailed to the family; only transportation is reimbursed |
| Open to any income in fall windows if money holds out | Open to every student; the zoned-school test comes first |
| Usable for private school or home study | Stackable with a GSNS or SSO scholarship in the same year |