Senate · Introduced · 2025-2026 Regular Session

SB493: SB493 "Promise Scholarship Student Success and Transparency Act"; enact

Last action February 11, 2026 · Senate Read and Referred

A Georgia Senate bill would require the state agency running the Promise Scholarship school voucher program to set academic performance standards for participating private schools and review their eligibility every year.

In plain language

Georgia's Promise Scholarship program lets eligible students use state education savings accounts to pay for private school tuition. This bill amends the law governing that program (O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-26) to add new oversight requirements for the private schools that take part. By December 31, 2026, and every year after, the education savings authority must work with the Office of Student Achievement to create an academic performance standard, aiming for at least half of a school's participating students to be at grade level or showing growth. The authority must review each school's performance and overall eligibility annually. Schools that repeatedly miss the standard face escalating consequences: an improvement plan, then a probationary period with more reporting, then a cap on new enrollees, and after a fourth failure a three year ban on enrolling new students. The bill also keeps existing rules on account audits, fund misuse penalties, and administrative cost limits.

What the bill does

Requires the education savings authority to set an academic performance standard for participating schools by December 31, 2026, targeting at least half of students performing at grade level or showing growth.
Requires annual reviews (by December 31 each year) of both school performance against the standard and each school's overall eligibility to enroll participating students.
Creates a four-step escalating enforcement process for schools that repeatedly fail the performance standard, from an improvement plan up to a three-year enrollment ban.
Directs the performance standard and reviews to weigh specific test scores, prior-year public school test results, and how long a student has attended the participating school.
Keeps in place existing authority for the education savings authority to audit accounts, refer fraud to the Attorney General, and deduct up to 5 percent annually for administrative costs.

Who it affects

Private schools that participate in Georgia's Promise Scholarship program, families and students using Promise Scholarship accounts, the education savings authority that runs the program, and the Office of Student Achievement, which helps set the new performance standard.

Why it matters

Private schools accepting Promise Scholarship students would face new, recurring academic checks, and schools that consistently underperform could lose the ability to enroll new scholarship students for three years, changing which schools families can choose and how the state tracks voucher-funded education outcomes.

Key provisions

Section 1 gives the bill the short title 'Promise Scholarship Student Success and Transparency Act.'
Section 2 rewrites O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-26 to add paragraph (4), requiring an academic performance standard by December 31, 2026 developed with the Office of Student Achievement.
The performance standard must consider assessment scores under Code Section 20-2B-27, prior-year public school test scores under Code Section 20-2-281, and length of enrollment at the school.
Paragraph (4)(B) creates a four-tier escalating response for schools that fail annual reviews: improvement plan, probation with reporting, a cap limiting new enrollees to half the prior year's number, and a three-year enrollment ban after a fourth failure.
New paragraph (5) requires separate annual reviews, also starting by December 31, 2026, to confirm each participating school remains eligible to enroll students at all.
Existing provisions are retained allowing random annual audits, referrals to the Attorney General for fraud, and an administrative fee capped at 5 percent of account funds annually.
Section 3 repeals conflicting laws.

Status timeline

2026-02-11Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2026-02-10Senate Hopper (Senate)

Topics

school vouchers
Promise Scholarship program
private school accountability
education savings accounts
school performance standards