SB 445: "Georgia Promise Scholarship Act"; public schools with a state-wide attendance zone and certain charter schools shall not be included in the separate list of public schools annually reported by the Office of Student Achievement; provide

Georgia's Promise Scholarship Act lets some students use state education savings accounts to attend private schools instead of the public school assigned to their neighborhood. This bill changes several parts of that program. It shortens the public school enrollment requirement from two enrollment counts to one before a student can qualify, adds an age cutoff for the kindergarten exception, and creates a new exception for first graders. It changes how students whose family income exceeds 400 percent of the federal poverty level can qualify when funding is available, adding new priority rules for students who were bullied or previously participated in the program. The bill also requires private schools seeking to enroll voucher students to submit a certified public accountant's financial report, limits nonaccredited schools to two years of enrolling voucher students before losing eligibility, and lets the education savings authority (rather than the State Board of Education) approve additional allowed expenses. It changes how account funds are calculated and distributed (allocations instead of quarterly payments), allows the authority to deduct up to 5 percent from accounts to cover administrative costs if funding is insufficient, and revises annual reporting requirements. It also excludes public schools with a state-wide attendance zone, state and local charter schools, and several other school types from the list of low-performing public schools used to determine which neighborhoods qualify for the program. The law would take effect as soon as the Governor signs it.

• Shortens the required period of prior public school enrollment for voucher eligibility from two enrollment counts to one, while adding an age limit to the kindergarten exception and creating a new first grade exception.
• Removes the State Board of Education's authority to approve additional qualified education expenses, leaving that power solely with the education savings authority.
• Requires private schools seeking voucher students to submit a financial report prepared by a certified public accountant, including a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
• Limits how long a nonaccredited private school can keep enrolling voucher students (two years) before it must achieve accreditation to remain eligible.
• Changes account fund distribution from quarterly payments to fund 'allocations' and requires certain reimbursable expenses to be preapproved by the education savings authority.
• Allows the education savings authority to deduct up to 5 percent annually from voucher accounts to cover program administration costs if state funding falls short, and revises which public schools are excluded from the low-performing list used to set eligibility zones.

Families applying for or using Promise Scholarship accounts, private schools that enroll voucher students (especially nonaccredited ones), the state's education savings authority, the Department of Education, the Office of Student Achievement, and public schools with state-wide attendance zones or charter status that would be removed from the eligibility-determining school list.

The changes affect who can qualify for a voucher and how much money they receive, add new financial scrutiny for private schools accepting voucher students, and change which public schools trigger eligibility for the program in a given neighborhood, potentially shifting which families can apply and which private schools can participate.

• Section 1 requires private schools still working toward accreditation to provide annual written verification of good-faith progress, and removes the State Board of Education from approving additional qualified expenses.
• Section 2 reduces the required prior public school enrollment to one enrollment count, adds a first grade exception, and sets new prioritization rules for over-income students including bullying victims and prior participants.
• Section 3 requires a CPA-prepared financial report for schools seeking to enroll voucher students and cuts off nonaccredited schools from enrolling voucher students after two years without accreditation.
• Section 4 changes the annual account funding adjustment formula, converts quarterly payments to fund allocations, and removes the prior partial tuition reservation payment option.
• Section 5 requires annual fraud detection audits of at least 5 percent of accounts and allows the authority to deduct up to 5 percent from accounts annually to cover administrative costs when appropriations fall short.
• Section 6 revises the annual program report's required recipients (legislative committees, budget office, and audit office) and content, including grade-level data and administrative cost percentages.
• Section 7 excludes public schools with a state-wide attendance zone, state and local charter schools, completion special schools, state-operated special schools, juvenile justice schools, virtual-only schools, and schools serving only pre-third-grade students from the low-performing school list used to set voucher eligibility zones.
• Section 8 sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill or it otherwise becomes law.

1. 2026-03-10House Second Readers (House)
2. 2026-03-09House First Readers (House)
3. 2026-03-06Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
4. 2026-03-06Senate Third Read (Senate)
5. 2026-03-04Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
6. 2026-03-03Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
7. 2026-02-03Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-02Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Greg Dolezal (R, SD-027)Primary sponsor
• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
• Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
• Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
• John Albers (R, SD-056)
• Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)

1. FailedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   21 yea, 32 nay (2 not voting, 0 absent)

   Adoption Of Amendment #1 By The Senator From The 38th: Senate Vote #646

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 6, 2026

   50 yea, 2 nay (3 not voting, 0 absent)

   Passage By Substitute: Senate Vote #647

• school vouchers
• education savings accounts
• Georgia Promise Scholarship
• private school accreditation
• public school ratings