Who qualifies for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship in metro Atlanta?
A student qualifies with an IEP, or a 504 plan for a listed condition, that was in effect during the previous school year at a Georgia public school. The student must have been counted at a public school in both state FTE counts that year, held in October and March, and a parent must have been a Georgia resident for at least a year.
Military families stationed in Georgia within the past year, children adopted or placed in permanent guardianship from foster care, and students who qualified before are excused from the prior-year attendance rule. A rising kindergartner can qualify after receiving IDEA preschool special education services and turning five by September 1.
Which 504 plan conditions count toward GSNS?
A 504 plan qualifies only when it relates to a condition on the state's list. That list includes ADHD and ADD, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities, epilepsy, hearing and visual impairment, intellectual disability, emotional or behavioral disorder, bipolar disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, spina bifida, traumatic brain injury, cancer, cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy, drug or alcohol abuse and NIH-listed rare diseases.
GaDOE notes that verifying a 504 student can take longer, and a 504 family that can't find an award in the online calculator should file a Parent Inquiry Form.
How is the GSNS amount set for a Gwinnett or DeKalb student?
The scholarship equals whichever is lower: the private school's tuition and fees, or the funding the student would have generated in the home public school system. Because that public figure depends on the services in the IEP, two children at the same school can receive very different amounts.
Families find their figure through GaDOE's scholarship calculator, which opened for 2026-27 award letters on July 15, 2026. EdChoice puts the statewide average at $7,358 for 2023-24.
Which metro Atlanta private schools take GSNS for 2026-27?
153 schools in our directory appear on GaDOE's authorized participating list for 2026-27, published in August 2026. 73 of them are also approved for the Promise Scholarship.
Being on the list means the school may accept the scholarship. It does not mean the school offers the services in your child's IEP, so ask each school which needs it currently has staff for.
How do GSNS payments reach the school?
GaDOE pays the school quarterly, and only for students the school actually served during each window. For 2026-27, checks go out on or before October 15, December 15, February 15 and May 17.
If a student withdraws before a quarter's mandatory date, September 4 for the first quarter, neither the student nor the school receives that quarter's payment. Ask the business office how it handles the gap between tuition due dates and GSNS checks.
| What it is | What it isn't |
|---|---|
| Tied to an IEP or qualifying 504 plan from a Georgia public school | Available to a child diagnosed privately who never attended public school |
| Paid to the private school, quarterly | A flexible account for therapies or tutoring outside the school |
| Free of any income test | A fixed amount; it follows the services in the IEP |