Georgia Promise Scholarship Application: How to Apply and How to Keep It

1. Where to apply (and where not to)

Families apply for the Georgia Promise Scholarship through the program’s website, mygeorgiapromise.org. The family application and login are reached from that site and run on Odyssey, the program manager the Georgia Education Savings Authority (GESA) contracts with. GESA runs the program and is a companion entity to the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC).

You may also see it called the Promise Scholarship, an education savings account (ESA) or, in the news, a school voucher. It is one program, created by Senate Bill 233 (2024). The homepage also links Odyssey’s pre-screen tool.

Application questions go to the program’s support team, which the homepage lists as the “Odyssey Support Team”: 470-470-7057 or help@mygeorgiapromise.org. This website is run by Special Ed Resource. It is not the application, and we can’t apply for you or see your application.

2. The 2026 application windows

GESA set four family application windows for 2026. Each one is for the next semester. In the program’s own example, “If you apply during the May application period, your student’s enrollment would begin in the fall semester.” Income matters too: GESA’s program timeline says families above 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL) “will only be considered in the spring (March and May) application windows,” meaning the windows held in the spring, which are for fall enrollment.

The February and October 2026 windows are for private schools, not families, and providers can apply year-round. When we checked on October 2, 2026, the homepage still showed an old notice about the August window, which ended August 31, 2026.

3. The November 1–30, 2026 window: the last one for 2026-27

If you are thinking about Georgia Promise for this school year, November is the window that remains. Four things to know:

• Income limit. The program says “Only applicants who have a household income level at or below 400% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) will be considered for enrollment in the Spring Semester.” We don’t list a dollar income limit here; ask the program’s support team how it applies to your household.
• Half-year funding. The Family Handbook says “Families that apply in the third or fourth application window will only be eligible to receive funding for the second half of the school year (beginning on or around Jan 1).” For 2026-27, that means at most the January and April payments of up to $1,625 each: up to $3,250 for the 2026-27 school year, before any administrative withholding (GESA may withhold up to 5%).
• Public-school enrollment first. Your child must be currently enrolled, and have been continuously enrolled, in a Georgia public school for at least two consecutive enrollment counts (Odyssey’s plain-English version is “two consecutive semesters”), or be eligible for public kindergarten. Odyssey says students in active-duty military families are exempt from this rule and from the one-year residency rule.
• Don’t withdraw early. Official guidance says students stay in public school for a time before they use scholarship funds, but the program’s homepage FAQ and its Family Handbook describe the timing differently. Ask the program’s support team exactly when to withdraw before you do.

Your home must also be in the attendance zone of at least one school on the official “lowest 25 percent” list. As Odyssey puts it, this rule “is not based upon the public school the student attends.” The current list, used for the 2026-27 school year, has 506 schools in 112 school systems (our count of the official list). GESA’s timeline says “The GOSA list will apply to the following year. For example, the December 2025 list will apply to the 2026 calendar year.” By that rule, the current list is the one that applies to the November 2026 window. Our eligibility and school list guide explains how to check it.

4. Next year’s windows: not published yet

GESA’s regulations say it “shall publish the application periods by December 15 of each year,” for the next calendar year. GESA also publishes enrollment periods and the list of approved tests by that date. As of October 2, 2026, the 2027 application periods have not been published, and we’ll update this guide when they are. In 2026 the family windows fell in March, May, August and November, but don’t plan around those months until GESA posts the new dates.

Two other things will change before then:

• A new school list. State law requires the list of schools in the lowest 25 percent to be published by December 1 each year. The next one is due by December 1, 2026, and it applies to the next year’s windows. A school can join or leave the list, so check your address again when it is posted. Once a student is accepted, the Family Handbook says the student stays eligible even if the zoned school later drops off the list.
• Next year’s amount. The Family Handbook says funding amounts “may increase or decrease in future years based on the state’s education funding formula,” and next year’s amount has not been announced. Our amount guide covers the 2026-27 figures.

5. Who can apply, and the documents to gather

In short (Georgia Code § 20-2B-22(a)): a parent has lived in Georgia for at least a year, with a military exception; your child meets the public-school enrollment rule or is eligible for public kindergarten; you live in a listed school’s attendance zone; and your child doesn’t receive the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship or a student scholarship organization benefit. The parent also agrees to teach “at least the subjects of reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science,” not to enroll the child in a public school, and to use the funds only for qualified expenses. Our eligibility guide covers each rule, including Odyssey’s 2026-27 age limits.

Georgia Promise is a general scholarship. It has no disability tier, no IEP priority and no extra amount for a disability; the only special-education rule is that a special education student may stay eligible until age 21.

Several children can go on one application. A sibling added later needs a new application or the recertification step, according to GESA’s Family Information Sheet (June 9, 2026).

6. After you apply: decisions, priority and appeals

Decisions come after the window closes. GESA’s Family Handbook says “Approvals will not be made until after the application window closes,” and GESA’s program timeline lists the status steps: Eligible → Under Review → Approved – Awaiting Opt-In → Approved.

Applying on the first day doesn’t move you up, because GESA’s rules say decisions are not made on a first-come, first-served basis. If applications exceed the money available, the regulations set this order:

1. participating students;
2. siblings;
3. families with household income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level;
4. former participants who are reapplying;
5. new applicants above 400% of the federal poverty level.

Random selection is used within the last group that can be considered.

Appeals

If your child is found ineligible, you can appeal. Under the regulations, an appeal must be started within 60 calendar days after the application window closes, and supporting documents are due within 30 calendar days of the written notice of the reason. The program’s requirements and the law itself can’t be appealed. The homepage lists a separate appeals address: help.ga@withodyssey.com.

7. Keeping the scholarship: opt-ins, recertification and testing

An award is not the last step. These are the yearly tasks that keep your child in the program:

The Quarterly Opt-In (new for 2026-27)

Before spending in each quarter, the parent confirms in Odyssey: “my student is not in public school and will not attend public school while using scholarship funds for this quarter.” Until you do, you can’t pay tuition or make Marketplace purchases with that quarter’s funds. Odyssey’s Quarterly Opt-In FAQ has the details. Funds arrive in four quarterly payments of up to $1,625 each for the 2026-27 school year (July, October, January and April).

The annual test and the June 30 upload

Under the regulations, students who are not at a participating private school “shall annually complete a nationally norm-referenced test approved by the Authority or a state-wide assessment.” You upload the “test date, test type/name, student scores, and a PDF/image of the official test results,” and “The annual deadline for uploading testing documentation is June 30th.” GESA’s Testing 101 guide (July 23, 2026) lists approved tests, including the ACT, Pre-ACT, CLT, i-Ready, TerraNova 3 / NEXT, CTP, Georgia Milestones, NWEA MAP, Stanford 10, STAR, Iowa, SAT and PSAT. If your child takes a state test through a school district, the regulations say the district may not charge for state test materials but may charge for the cost of one-to-one accommodations.

Two more rules protect the account: funds may not be paid to family members or businesses they own, and a parent who does not follow the program’s rules “shall forfeit the account” (Georgia Code § 20-2B-22(h)).

8. If your child goes back to public school

Under Georgia Code § 20-2B-22(d), a student stays eligible until the student returns to public school, graduates, or turns 20 (21 for special education students). So returning to public school ends eligibility. That includes charter schools; the only exception is part-time enrollment in a college and career academy approved as a service provider. Moving within Georgia does not end eligibility, but leaving Georgia does.

If you are thinking about re-enrolling, ask the program’s support team about timing and about any remaining balance first. For a child with an IEP, the law is direct. Georgia Code § 20-2B-22(e) says: “A participating student’s resident school system shall not be obligated to provide services to such student that would be required if such student were enrolled in such school system unless the student reenrolls in the resident school system.” For questions about your own child, talk with your school district, a Georgia Parent Mentor or Parent to Parent of Georgia. Our guide to Georgia Promise and your child’s IEP explains more.

9. A checklist for the months ahead

1. Check your home address against the current school list. Any listed elementary, middle or high school zone counts.
2. Gather your photo ID, proof of residency, income document and your child’s public-school records for the last two semesters.
3. Ask the program’s support team when to withdraw from public school. Don’t withdraw early.
4. Apply between November 1 and November 30, 2026, starting at mygeorgiapromise.org.
5. After the window closes, watch your child’s status in Odyssey; appeal deadlines are in section 6.
6. If approved, complete the program opt-in, then the Quarterly Opt-In for January 1–March 31 before you spend.
7. Plan the annual test early. Recertify by May 31 and upload test results by June 30.
8. Watch for the new school list (due by December 1, 2026) and next year’s application periods (due by December 15, 2026).

If tutoring is part of your plan, Special Ed Resource is an approved provider in the Georgia Promise Scholarship Odyssey Marketplace, and our teachers, who are certified in special education, provide one-to-one online academic tutoring. Promise funds are spent only in the Marketplace, so our guide to paying for tutoring with Georgia Promise explains how orders work. A free consultation is a good place to start planning. We are not affiliated with GESA, the Georgia Student Finance Commission, Odyssey or the State of Georgia.