Georgia Promise Scholarship · 2026–27 school year · Last verified August 12, 2026

Best Private Schools That Accept Georgia Promise Scholarship in 2026–27

363 unique private schools appear on Georgia's current participating-school list. We counted them one by one from the state's own list, dated April 23, 2026. They sit in 124 Georgia cities. We also verified 2026–27 tuition at ten listed schools. In that sample, tuition runs from $7,485 to $39,500 before mandatory fees.

The best private schools that accept Georgia Promise Scholarship are not one fixed ranking. The best school is the one that teaches your child's grade, sits close enough to drive, will admit your child, and leaves a bill you can actually pay.

Here's the part that changes what you do today.

The application window open right now closes August 31, 2026 — and it is not for this fall. It's for spring 2027. Spring applicants get half a year of funding, up to $3,250 before any administrative withholding, starting on or around January 1. Not $6,500. And in this window, only households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level can be awarded.

Many pages you'll find today still lead with "$6,500." For anyone applying this month, that number is off by half.

We'll show you the exact income line for your household size, the real tuition gap at ten named schools, all 363 schools on the state list, and the one question to ask before you accept a dollar of financial aid — because getting that one wrong can cost you the scholarship entirely.

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### 🗓️ Current window — verified August 12, 2026 Open now: August 1–31, 2026. This application is for the spring 2027 semester, and it is limited to households at or below 400% of the federal poverty level. Under GESA's current live FAQ, your child must stay enrolled in public school through the fall 2026 semester, then withdraw after that semester ends and before spring scholarship funding begins. Next window: November 1–30, 2026. It is also for spring 2027 and carries the same income restriction and half-year funding limit. Sources: GESA's current program page, 2026 application periods, and the Family Handbook PDF linked by GESA, checked August 12, 2026. Program notices change — confirm on the official site before you act.

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🔎 Find Georgia Promise schools near you and see what you'd still owe

No email is required to see results. Tell the finder five things:

1. Your ZIP code or city
2. Your child's grade for 2026–27
3. The most your family can pay out of pocket
4. How far you're willing to drive
5. Whether you are planning around spring 2027 half-year funding or a later full-year award

You'll get back:

• Participating schools whose GESA-approved grade range includes your child's grade, sorted by distance
• Published tuition for that grade, taken from the school's own website — or "not published, call them" when the school doesn't post it
• Your gap three ways: at the full $6,500, at $6,175 as a conservative full-year scenario if GESA applies the entire permitted 5% reduction, and at $3,250 for a half-year award
• Whether the school posts financial aid information and a deadline
• What still has to be confirmed by phone before you commit
• A three-school shortlist you can copy or print

Nothing gets sent to any school unless you pick that school and say yes.

Can't use the finder? Jump to the full crawlable list of all 363 schools.

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The 30-second version

Three schools, same state list, same scholarship. This shows why "best" depends on your family — not on a ranking. Tuition verified on each school's own site, August 12, 2026.

→ See the income line for your household size — it decides whether you can be awarded in the window that's open now.

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What does "accepts the Georgia Promise Scholarship" actually mean?

Answer: On this page, a school "accepts" the Georgia Promise Scholarship when it appears on the Georgia Education Savings Authority's list of participating private schools. The Georgia Promise Scholarship is an education savings account, or ESA — the state puts money in an account you direct, instead of paying a school automatically. Being on the list means the school met the state's participation rules. It does not mean the school has an open seat, will admit your child, or will cover your full tuition.

There are two Georgia school lists floating around, and mixing them up is the single most common mistake we see. They come from different agencies and answer different questions.

If you've been staring at a list of public schools wondering why none of them are private — that's why. You were looking at the eligibility list.

Four separate questions have to get a "yes" before a school is real for your family:

1. Is it on GESA's current participating list? Our directory below answers this.
2. Does GESA's list include your child's grade? Then confirm the school is actually accepting that grade now.
3. Will the school admit your child, and is there a seat? Only the school can answer. Nobody else.
4. Can you cover what's left? Our gap math answers this.

Most pages answer question one and stop. That's the gap we're filling.

Before you use the school list: basic student eligibility

The school directory only matters if the student can qualify. Under GESA's current rules, the student generally must:

• Be enrolled in a Georgia public school now and have attended a Georgia public school for the prior two consecutive semesters, or be entering kindergarten
• Live in the attendance zone of at least one public school on GOSA's current eligibility list; the child does not have to attend that exact listed school
• Have a parent who has lived in Georgia for at least one year
• Meet the 2026–27 age rule: age 5 through 20 on September 1, 2026, or through age 21 for a student in special education; a kindergartner must be 5 but younger than 7 on that date
• Leave ordinary public school before using scholarship funds for the funded semester; the regulations preserve one narrow exception for part-time enrollment in a GESA-approved college and career academy

Active-duty military exception: Odyssey says students in active-duty military families do not have to meet the two-consecutive-semester public-school rule or the parent's one-year Georgia-residency rule.

Use the official GESA pre-screen and application page before you pay a school deposit.

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How do you find the best private schools that accept Georgia Promise Scholarship?

Answer: Start with Georgia's current participating list, remove the exact duplicate, filter by your child's grade and driving distance, then compare school-published tuition, mandatory fees, admissions status, and the type of financial aid offered. As of the state list dated April 23, 2026, 363 unique private schools across 124 Georgia cities are approved to receive Promise tuition payments. Of those, 339 are marked "Accredited" and 24 are marked "In Progress."

The state's list gives each school's city, address, approved grade range, accreditation stage, and accrediting agency — but no tuition, seat, aid, or refund information.

We downloaded the state's eight-page PDF and parsed every row. Here's what came out of it.

What the state's list looks like when you actually count it

Our count from GESA's participating private schools list dated April 23, 2026. These are our calculations, not a headline number published by the state.

The duplicate is Community Christian Academy in Adel. It's listed twice, identically. Small thing — but it's the kind of thing you only find by reading all eight pages, and it's one reason old news counts do not match the current file.

Who's actually accrediting these schools — and why it matters

Seven approved accrediting agencies show up on the list.

Here's the honest read: SAIS appears on only 40 rows — about 1 in 9 — while GAC appears on 156, nearly half the list. That does not rank school quality. It tells you the Promise list reaches far beyond the small group of famous, high-tuition independent campuses many families picture first.

If your plan starts with one famous $30,000-a-year school, confirm that school is actually on the list before you build the rest of the plan.

The grade cliff nobody mentions

We counted how many listed schools have a grade range that includes each grade. The number drops hard as kids get older.

A 5th grader has 324 listed options. A senior has 229. That's 95 fewer schools — a 29% drop — just because of the grade on the form.

If you have a high schooler, widen your driving radius from the start. If you have a rising kindergartner, you're shopping in the deepest part of the market. FOX 5 Atlanta reported, using state data, that kindergarten students made up 38% of first-year participants.

What "In Progress" accreditation means

Twenty-four schools on the list — about 1 in 15 — are marked "In Progress" instead of "Accredited." That's allowed. Under the program regulations approved in May 2026, a school in that status has up to two school years to finish accreditation. If it does not finish, or later loses accreditation, GESA removes it from the authorized list.

It's not automatically a red flag. Plenty of good young schools are mid-process. But it is a real question to ask: "Which agency, what stage, and when do you expect to be done?" If the school comes off the authorized list, future Promise tuition payments cannot be sent there.

Our directory flags every one of these, so you're never guessing.

Full crawlable list of 363 participating private schools

The list below is alphabetical. Grade ranges, accreditation stage, and agency come from GESA's April 23, 2026 PDF. We removed the one exact duplicate. A row does not prove there is a seat, that the school still teaches every listed grade, or that your child will be admitted.

📂 Download the normalized data: CSV · JSON. Both files include the address, GESA grade range, accreditation stage, agency, source date, duplicate-handling note, and source-correction note. We corrected one obvious ZIP-code error in the state PDF: Fusion Academy Alpharetta is shown as 22301, while the school's official campus page gives 30009.

→ Find participating schools near me — filter the 363-school list by city, grade, and what you can pay.

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How much money do you actually get — and when does it land?

Answer: The Georgia Promise Scholarship provides up to $6,500 per student for the 2026–27 school year, normally spread across four quarterly installments. GESA may reduce account funding by up to 5% for administration. Families approved from the third or fourth application window receive funding only for the second half of the school year, beginning on or around January 1. GESA's live FAQ also uses a $3,250 award in its rollover example, which matches half of the $6,500 maximum.

That last sentence is the whole ballgame this month, so let's put it in a table.

Window dates come from GESA's 2026 application-period notice. The Family Handbook linked on GESA's current site gives the half-year rule, and GESA's live FAQ uses a $3,250 award in its rollover example.

The three numbers to plan around

• $6,500 — the full-year maximum set for 2026–27.
• $6,175 — our conservative full-year planning number if GESA applies the entire permitted 5% reduction to a $6,500 award.
• $3,250 — half of the $6,500 maximum and the amount used in GESA's live rollover example. GESA has not published a separate net amount after any administrative reduction for a half-year award.

The 5% reduction is permitted, not guaranteed. For a full-year plan, budgeting around $6,175 gives you room if GESA applies all of it.

Beginning in 2026–27, there is also a Quarterly Opt-In. You must confirm for each funded quarter that your child is not enrolled in public school. You cannot spend that quarter's money until the opt-in is done. A late-window student who begins in Quarter 3 only completes the Quarter 3 and Quarter 4 opt-ins.

One more thing worth knowing: the regulations include a process for reducing awards if appropriated money is not enough to fund every approved account. "Up to $6,500" means up to.

Money you don't spend

Up to 50% of the amount awarded for that school year can roll into the next year. If you're awarded $6,500, the most that carries over is $3,250. If you're awarded $3,250 for a half year, the most that carries over is $1,625. If the account goes unused for two straight school years, or your child graduates, the account closes and the leftover returns to the state's general fund.

One warning about timing

The money is funded by quarter. Private schools bill on their own schedule — often monthly starting in July, sometimes with a deposit due in the spring. Those two calendars do not match. We'll walk through exactly how that plays out further down, because it's where families get hurt.

→ Check the income line for your household size — two rows down, and it's a yes-or-no answer for the window open now.

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Is there an income limit for the Georgia Promise Scholarship?

Answer: Income is not a flat year-round cutoff for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, but it controls which windows can consider you. Families above 400% of the federal poverty level can only be considered in the first two windows of the year. In the third and fourth windows — August and November — only households at or below 400% FPL are considered. Income also sets your place in line if there are more eligible applicants than funded accounts.

We did the math for every household size. These are the 2026 federal poverty guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for the 48 contiguous states, multiplied by four.

Poverty guidelines from the 2026 HHS notice in the Federal Register. The 400% column is our calculation.

If you're close to the line, read this

GESA lists the most recent federal 1040 as its main proof-of-income document. The current handbook also lists SNAP, Medicaid, TANF, LIHEAP, SSDI, and SSI records as approved alternatives.

We found no public GESA instruction that says which year's poverty guideline is matched to a given tax return or which exact tax-return line controls the comparison. The difference is real: the 2025 400% line for a family of four was $128,600. The 2026 line is $132,000. That's $3,400 of daylight.

If you're within a few thousand dollars either way, email GESA at help@mygeorgiapromise.org and ask before you plan around it. Get the answer in writing. We're chasing the same answer and will post it here when we have it.

You'll also see other sources describe 400% FPL as a hard ceiling for the whole program. GESA's current materials describe it as both a spring-semester restriction and a priority rule. We follow GESA, because it's their program. But if you're above the line, do not apply in August or November and assume an exception will appear.

Where you stand in line

Awards are not first-come, first-served. Nothing is decided until the window closes. If more eligible families apply than there are funded accounts, GESA works down this order:

1. Returning students already in the program
2. Siblings of current participating students
3. New students at or below 400% FPL
4. Students who were in the program before, left, and are reapplying
5. New students above 400% FPL

Whichever group the money runs out in, the final funded spots in that group are selected by random draw.

Is the program going to run out of money?

It could, and no honest page can promise otherwise. Georgia's signed FY2027 budget appropriates $100 million to the Promise Scholarship program for the fiscal year that began July 1, 2026. If every account received the full $6,500, that amount would cover 15,384 full awards, with $4,000 left over, before accounting for any other program costs. Reduced awards and half-year awards can increase the number of funded accounts.

That is not the same as a guaranteed account count. Actual awards, administrative withholding, rollover balances, and half-year funding change the math. If eligible demand exceeds the money available, the priority order and random draw above control the result.

FOX 5 Atlanta reported, citing Georgia Student Finance Commission data, that more than 7,600 students used the scholarship in its first year. The 2026–27 appropriation was set at $100 million to support the next year of use.

Your real risk is not only the state budget. It's also the calendar, the school seat, and the tuition gap.

If you're at or below the line: → Check your eligibility on the official Georgia Promise site — the state's own pre-screen costs nothing.

If you're above the line: this window isn't yours, and we'd rather you know now than waste an evening on paperwork. Your next eligible chance is one of the first two 2027 application windows. Exact 2027 dates are not posted yet. The May 2026 regulations require GESA to publish the following calendar year's application periods by December 15. Do not withdraw your child from public school while you wait. → Check the official Georgia Promise site

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Does the Georgia Promise Scholarship cover full private school tuition?

Answer: Sometimes for tuition alone, but not always for the full bill. For example, Westwood Schools publishes 2026–27 K5 tuition of $6,455, which sits just under the $6,500 full-year maximum. Its separate family and student obligations can still push the all-in cost above the award. In our ten-school verified sample, grade-specific tuition ranges from $7,485 to $39,500, and mandatory fees can come on top.

Here's the answer in real dollars, at real schools.

The verified tuition gap — ten schools on the state's list

Every school below appears on GESA's April 23, 2026 participating list. Every tuition figure came from that school's own website, checked August 12, 2026.

Gap columns are our arithmetic. These are examples chosen to show a broad price range — not a ranking, not the ten cheapest, and not the full statewide tuition range. Tuition changes by grade and year. Confirm your child's exact grade and all mandatory fees with the school.

Read it as a percentage and the picture sharpens. At Westwood, a full award covers about 87% of grades 1–5 tuition. At Windsor Academy, 76%. At Pinecrest, 33%. At Swift, 16%.

Now apply the half-year rule. If you're applying in the window that's open now, that Westwood number drops from covering 87% to covering about 43%.

The fees are not a rounding error

Tuition is the sticker price. It is not always the bill. From the same schools' own materials:

• Windsor Academy charges a $400 per-family registration fee, plus a matriculation fee listed at $300–$400.
• George Walton Academy adds grade-based technology fees and a one-time $960 new-family facilities fee.
• Deerfield-Windsor lists a $325 new-student registration fee, a $1,000 family fund assessment, and books and uniforms on top.
• First Presbyterian Day School charges a separate $700 technology fee for grade 5.
• Benedictine Military School lists mandatory enrollment, lunch, technology, and security fees totaling at least $2,350 before any senior graduation fee.
• Westwood Schools lists registration, building, technology, SCRIP, and raffle obligations that can move your real cost meaningfully.

At Benedictine, that $2,350 in fees is more than 72% of a $3,250 half-year award. Ask every school for the all-in number in writing. Not tuition. The number you'll actually pay.

One school where the normal math doesn't apply

Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School is on the participating list, and it doesn't work like the others. For specified incoming 2026–27 groups, the school publishes a family contribution between $350 and $3,000 and says its corporate work-study program earns about 60% of the cost of educating each student.

The school also says applications for the 2026–27 school year are closed. We are not going to run a "tuition minus $6,500" calculation on this model, because neither the school nor GESA has publicly explained how Promise funding interacts with the work-study contribution. If Cristo Rey is on your future list, ask both of them in writing before you count on anything.

🟡 The honest part

The Georgia Promise Scholarship does not make every private school on the state's list affordable. If your heart is set on a campus with a $20,000-plus price tag, $6,500 covers about a third or less — and in this window, about a sixth or less. Worse, one common way Georgia families close a private-school gap is a Georgia GOAL award or another student scholarship organization award, and taking one of those makes your child ineligible for Promise. You get one or the other. Not both.

If a premium campus is your top priority, this may not be your program, and we'd rather say so than waste your August. Compare the tax-credit scholarship route instead, and start with our state-by-state tuition gap research to see what that trade actually looks like.

But here's why that limitation is the whole point for many families reading this.

The Promise Scholarship is a flat account that follows your child. It isn't a discount one school decides whether to give you, and it isn't tied to one campus's financial aid committee. If tuition doesn't use all of it, eligible account money can also pay for items such as approved curriculum, tutoring by a Georgia-certified educator, eligible occupational, behavioral, physical, or speech-language therapy, and up to $500 a year of transportation to an approved provider.

A tuition discount at one school is a discount at one school. A flexible education account is a plan.

→ Estimate your gap for your child's exact grade — add the fees and see the real number.

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Can I use the Promise Scholarship with the school's financial aid or a GOAL scholarship?

Answer: A student receiving the Georgia Promise Scholarship cannot also receive the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship or a scholarship, tuition grant, or other benefit from a student scholarship organization, including Georgia GOAL. But GESA's Private School Handbook says a school may combine Promise with its own aid from philanthropic or other school-controlled sources. School-funded discounts and payment plans are a separate matter.

This is the section we'd read twice if we were you, because the phrase financial aid can mean two completely different things.

• School-funded aid can be allowed. GESA says a private school may stack Promise with its own aid from philanthropic or other sources or subsidies.
• SSO-funded aid is not allowed. If the aid comes from a student scholarship organization such as Georgia GOAL, you cannot receive it together with Promise.

So the state's documents do not ban all private-school financial aid. They draw a funding-source line that many award letters do not make obvious.

The one question to ask, in writing

Copy this. Send it by email so you have a record.

"Is the tuition assistance you're offering my family funded by a student scholarship organization? Please answer in writing."

If the answer is yes, you have a choice to make, not a stack to build. If the answer is no — it is the school's own money, a sibling discount, a church-member rate, a military discount, or a payment plan — that can be compatible with Promise under GESA's current handbook.

We can't tell you how any individual school funds its aid. That's the school's answer to give. Get it before you accept an aid award, not after.

What the state does protect you on

Worth knowing, from the program regulations approved in May 2026: a participating private school cannot charge you higher tuition or unique fees just because your child uses the Promise Scholarship, and it cannot withhold its ordinary discounts on that basis. If a school quotes you a "voucher rate" that's higher than its normal written rate, ask for the fee schedule and point to the regulation.

→ Copy the aid question and the rest of the school checklist

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Does being on the list mean my child gets in?

Answer: No. Georgia's program regulations allow participating private schools to keep their existing admissions policies, creeds, and curricula. Families apply and enroll with the school separately. Appearing on the state's participating list is not an acceptance, and it does not mean the school has an open seat in your child's grade.

Here's what the state and school statuses do — and don't — mean.

The five statuses families mix up

You need all five. Statuses 1 through 3 are the state's business. Statuses 4 and 5 are between you and the school.

Selecting a school inside the Odyssey portal identifies your intended school for program purposes. It is not an application to that school. It is not an enrollment. If you only do that step, your child does not have a school.

What to do about it

• Apply to two or three schools, not one. The whole plan collapses if your only choice says no.
• Ask directly whether there's an open seat in your child's grade, or a waitlist, and record the date they answered.
• Ask whether your deposit is refundable if funding or admission does not come through.
• Do not withdraw from public school on the assumption a seat exists. More on the timing next.

→ Open the 10-question school checklist — print it and take it to the call.

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What's the exact order of steps, and where do people get burned?

Answer: Families check eligibility, apply in an open window, wait for a final approval status, keep the child in public school through the current semester when required, secure private-school admission separately, follow Odyssey's program opt-in timing, withdraw before the funded semester starts, complete each required Quarterly Opt-In, and direct tuition payments through the portal. Most purchases made outside the program system are not reimbursed; transportation has a limited reimbursement path.

Follow the order. This is where good plans go sideways.

1. Check eligibility. Use the state's pre-screen tool.
2. Apply in an open window. Nothing is finally awarded until the window closes.
3. Watch the status carefully. "Eligible" is not the same as "Approved." Read that twice.
4. Apply to private schools separately. Their application, their timeline, their decision.
5. Keep your child in public school for the required current semester. For August 2026 applicants, GESA's live FAQ says the child stays through fall 2026.
6. Get a written admission and payment plan from the school. Do not treat a portal selection as a seat.
7. Follow Odyssey's program opt-in instructions when prompted. Do not guess at the withdrawal date.
8. Withdraw after the current public-school semester ends and before the funded semester begins. For August applicants, that means after fall and before spring 2027.
9. Select and confirm the school in Odyssey. The school confirms the annual tuition amount.
10. Complete the Quarterly Opt-In for each funded quarter and each participating child. No opt-in, no spending access. Odyssey says the opt-in confirms the child is not enrolled in public school; the regulations preserve the narrow approved college-and-career-academy exception described above.
11. You initiate the tuition payment. The state does not push it to the school for you.

Timing conflict to know: GESA's live FAQ says a student must remain in public school through the end of the current semester and withdraw before the scholarship semester. One shorter line still present in the current handbook says to withdraw after the award letter. For an August applicant, those lines can point to different dates. Do not withdraw during fall based on the shorter line. Get written instructions from GESA or Odyssey before you act.

The five traps

Trap 1 — Withdrawing early. If you pull your child out before the program's required public-school period ends, you can lose eligibility. It feels like momentum. It's a mistake.

Trap 2 — Paying out of pocket first. Most purchases made outside the program system are not reimbursed. Transportation has a separate limited reimbursement process. Do not hand a school a $1,500 deposit expecting Promise to make you whole. The regulations allow a limited reservation payment: subject to available funding, GESA may pay up to $1,000 before the academic year starts to reserve a seat for an admitted student. It comes out of later account payments, and only one is allowed per student per school year. If the student does not attend, the school must return it to GESA. Because the rule is written for the period before the academic year starts, do not assume it applies to a spring 2027 entry. Ask Odyssey in writing before you count on it.

Trap 3 — The calendar mismatch. Your money is controlled by funded quarters. Your school may bill monthly or want a chunk up front. If you're on half-year funding, your first funded quarter begins around January. Get the school's payment schedule in writing. Then ask Odyssey whether the reservation-payment rule applies to your semester and see whether the remaining bill will work.

Trap 4 — Missing the Quarterly Opt-In. Beginning in 2026–27, money can sit in the account while spending access is blocked. Odyssey says you must complete the opt-in for each funded quarter and each child.

Trap 5 — The switching rules. Odyssey's own guidance is specific: only approved private schools can receive tuition payments, only one tuition payment can go to one school per quarter, and you can send tuition to a new school only if a payment has not already gone out for that quarter. Translation — once you pay a school for a quarter, you cannot send another tuition payment to a different school in that same quarter. Pick carefully.

→ See Odyssey's official tuition-payment steps

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Where are the Georgia Promise schools near me?

Answer: Participating private schools appear across 124 Georgia cities, but they cluster heavily in a handful of metros. Atlanta has 33 listed schools, Savannah 21, and Augusta and Macon 14 each. Many rural areas have few nearby choices, which makes travel distance a real limit for some families.

Search by ZIP and driving distance, not by city name. Your best option might be twenty minutes into the next county.

The biggest clusters

Our count from the April 23, 2026 state list after removing the exact duplicate.

The top four cities alone hold 82 schools — about 23% of the entire unique list in four places. The remaining 281 are scattered across 120 other cities, often one or two per town.

Which means: if you live in rural Georgia, this program can still work, but the honest constraint is the drive.

About that transportation money

The program covers eligible transportation to and from an approved provider, capped at $500 per year. That's real money and worth claiming. It is also about $2.78 per school day across a 180-day year. It will not fund a 45-minute daily commute. Budget accordingly.

If nothing nearby fits

Don't force it. A bad-fit school forty minutes away helps nobody. Your options:

• Widen the radius in our finder to 50 or 75 miles and see whether a workable school appears.
• Treat online claims carefully. GESA's Family Handbook lists tuition and fees at non-public online learning programs as a possible expense, while Odyssey's current tuition guidance says online tuition and any offering involving live online instruction are not allowed in the Marketplace. Those two official sources do not line up cleanly. Do not assume an online program is payable just because a school name appears on the list. Ask GESA and Odyssey to confirm the exact offering and payment path in writing.
• Consider home study. Families can choose a home-study educational method and use funds for eligible marketplace goods and services, but a home-study account cannot use the private-school tuition payment function. Our Georgia Promise homeschool curriculum guide walks through that path.

→ Still not sure what's realistic where you live? Run the Georgia school finder, widen the radius, and compare the real gap before you give anyone your contact information.

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Which schools fit my child's grade, faith, or learning needs?

Answer: The state's participating list confirms each school's GESA-approved grade range, accreditation stage, and accrediting agency. It does not confirm current seats, religious affiliation, educational model, or student support services. Verify those details against the school's own current materials and in writing before you rely on them.

We only tag a school with a category when the school's own site supports it. Here's how we handle each type.

By grade

Use the counts above. Then confirm two different things: that GESA's current list includes your child's grade and that the school is accepting students in that grade now. A school can remain approved for a grade while admissions are closed or the grade is full.

By faith and school model

The list is genuinely varied. Catholic, Baptist, non-denominational Christian, Seventh-day Adventist, Islamic, Orthodox, Episcopal, Lutheran, and secular independent schools participate. So do Montessori schools, classical academies, international schools, a military school, microschools, and one-on-one academies.

Important and often misunderstood: the regulations do not require a participating school to change its creed, admissions policies, employment policies, or curriculum to accept Promise money. A faith-based school stays a faith-based school. That's a feature if you want it and a dealbreaker if you don't — either way, know it going in.

For dyslexia, ADHD, and language-based learning differences

Two schools on the list specialize here, and both are honest about their price:

• The Swift School in Roswell says it serves K–8 students with language-based learning differences and publishes K–2 tuition of $39,500. GESA's April 23 list, however, starts Swift's approved Promise grade range at grade 1, not kindergarten. Do not assume Promise can pay Swift kindergarten tuition unless GESA updates or confirms that grade.
• The Walker School's New Avenues Dyslexia Program in Marietta publishes program tuition of $38,810. The participating-school row is The Walker School; New Avenues is the program, not a separate listed school.

A full-year award covers about 16% of either published amount. We're not going to pretend otherwise.

But specialized fit can be worth more than the gap. If the right program means your child learns to read, that's not a line item. Ask about need-based aid — just remember to ask the SSO question first, because at these price points the aid package is exactly where the stacking rule bites.

If your child has an IEP or 504 plan

Verify all of this before you commit:

• Exactly which services the school provides, and who delivers them
• Whether those services are included in tuition or billed separately
• The student-to-specialist ratio
• Whether your child's needs fit the school's admission profile
• Whether the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship is the better path — and remember, you can't take both

Under federal IDEA rules, a child placed in private school by a parent does not have an individual right to receive every special-education or related service the child would receive in public school. Some private-school students receive equitable services through the local district, but not every child receives every service. Ask specifically and get the service plan in writing.

→ Filter schools by grade, location, and verified cost

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The 10 questions to ask every school before you pay anything

Answer: Before committing to a participating private school, get written confirmation of current program participation, grade availability, total cost including mandatory fees, financial-aid source, payment timing, support services, and refund terms. A short email exchange can prevent a listed school from becoming an expensive surprise.

Ten minutes on the phone. Save it, print it, take notes right on it.

1. Are you currently active for Georgia Promise for 2026–27? Lists can change. Confirm at the source.
2. Are you accepting applications for my child's grade?
3. Is there an open seat right now, or a waitlist?
4. What do you need from us — transcripts, testing, interviews, recommendations?
5. What is total tuition for this specific grade?
6. What mandatory fees aren't in that number? Registration, enrollment, technology, books, lunch, uniforms, athletics, fundraising obligations, graduation.
7. Can you send a written all-in estimate after Promise funding and any school aid?
8. Is your financial aid funded by a student scholarship organization? This is the one that can cost you the scholarship.
9. When do you expect payments, and when do we owe the rest? Especially if funding starts in January.
10. What happens to our deposit and tuition obligation if funding, admission, or enrollment changes?

Copy-and-paste email

Subject: Georgia Promise cost and seat questions for [child's grade] Hello, We are considering [School Name] for our child in [Grade] and may use the Georgia Promise Scholarship. Please confirm in writing: 1. Whether you are currently active for Georgia Promise for 2026–27 2. Whether you have a seat or waitlist in [Grade] 3. The full tuition and every mandatory fee for that grade 4. Your deposit, payment, refund, and withdrawal terms 5. Whether any aid you may offer us is funded by a student scholarship organization 6. Whether your payment schedule can work with a spring 2027 Promise award that begins around January Thank you.

No download gate. Print this section or copy it into your email.

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What are the real limits, and who should skip this program?

Answer: The main constraints are the tuition gap at higher-priced schools, separate school admissions, limited nearby options in some rural areas, quarterly payment timing and opt-ins, a $500 annual transportation cap, and the rule against combining Promise with an SSO scholarship or the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship.

Straight list, no softening:

• It may not cover full tuition. Verified tuition gaps in our ten-school sample range from $985 to $33,000 at the full $6,500 maximum.
• Being on the list isn't admission. Schools keep their own policies.
• A seat isn't guaranteed. We show "not verified" rather than pretending we know.
• You generally must leave public school for the funded period. The regulations preserve one narrow exception for part-time enrollment in a GESA-approved college and career academy. That is not permission to stay in ordinary public school and use Promise for tutoring.
• Funding and spending are quarterly. Beginning in 2026–27, you must complete a Quarterly Opt-In before spending each funded quarter.
• Most outside purchases are not reimbursed. Transportation has a limited reimbursement path.
• Transportation help is capped at $500 a year.
• You can't combine it with Georgia GOAL, another SSO benefit, or the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship.
• Your child will be tested annually using a state assessment or an approved nationally norm-referenced test. Participating private schools administer and report testing for their Promise students.
• You must recertify by May 31 every year, or you're removed and must reapply under the rules then in effect.
• The school list changes. The next private-school application window runs October 1–31, 2026. Approved schools may be added later; schools can also lose accreditation and come off.
• Withdrawal terms can bite. First Presbyterian Day School's published schedule, for example, reaches a 100% tuition obligation from the first day of the third quarter. Ask before signing.
• Online is not a safe assumption. GESA's Family Handbook lists non-public online learning programs as a possible expense, but Odyssey says online tuition and offerings involving live online instruction are not allowed in the Marketplace. Get the exact program and payment route confirmed in writing.

Who should look somewhere else

We'd rather send you to the right place than keep you on the wrong page.

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One family's experience

We looked for real, attributable parent voices instead of writing our own. We also separated what each source can tell you from what it cannot prove.

A Richmond County mother whose children used the Promise Scholarship told WRDW in May 2026 that she'd seen gains in their "confidence in learning" and confidence in public speaking.

At Go Christian Academy in Douglasville, where FOX 5 reported 24 students enrolled using the award, a school official said the program was "allowing people to make this choice that wouldn't have had it before."

And for balance, because you deserve both sides: Verdailia Turner of the Georgia Federation of Teachers publicly criticized the program as sorting families by class and race and argued it may help middle-income families more than the lowest-income families it was promoted to serve.

These are individual accounts and opinions, not evidence of typical results. Nobody's experience predicts your child's.

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How we built this page

Answer: This page combines GESA's participating private-school list dated April 23, 2026 with tuition published on individual school websites, the program regulations approved in May 2026, GESA's handbooks and live FAQs, Odyssey payment guidance, 2026 HHS poverty guidelines, and Georgia's signed FY2027 budget. We do not rank academic quality because we found no public, comparable outcome dataset across all 363 schools.

Our process, so you can check our work:

1. We downloaded the state's eight-page participating-school PDF and parsed every row into a structured dataset.
2. We removed one exact duplicate row — Community Christian Academy, Adel — and documented it rather than quietly dropping it.
3. We corrected one obvious source ZIP error. GESA's PDF lists Fusion Academy Alpharetta as 22301; the school's official campus page lists 30009. The original source value remains documented in the correction note.
4. We took tuition only from each school's own current published pages. Never from a tuition directory.
5. We recorded the source and verification date for every tuition figure.
6. Where a school doesn't publish tuition, we say so. We don't estimate.
7. We read the regulations, current program page, handbooks, and Odyssey guidance for funding, stacking, admissions, withdrawal, opt-in, and payment rules.
8. We separated state- or school-stated facts from our calculations. A calculated gap is not a promise from the state or school.

Provider-stated vs. independently checked

Why we ignore third-party tuition numbers

Private-school tuition changes by grade, year, parish status, program, and fee schedule. Third-party directories often flatten those differences or keep old prices. If we can't get a number from the school, you shouldn't plan around it.

What "best" means here — and what it doesn't

We do not rank academic quality. We found no comparable public test-score, growth, graduation, or outcome dataset covering all 363 schools. Inventing a quality ranking without one would be dishonest.

We also don't rank by scholarship dollars received. Enrollment volume and payment timing do not tell you whether a school is right for your child.

What we rank on is fit and transparency: current participation, GESA grade coverage, published cost, fee disclosure, admissions clarity, geographic practicality, and source freshness. A school that's first for one family is a hard no for another. That's not a hedge. That's just how choosing a school works.

No school paid for inclusion or position on this page

No school paid to appear in this article or move up in its directory. We do not accept compensation tied to editorial coverage. Some schools or education providers may pay a flat subscription to receive introductions after a parent chooses them. That payment does not affect which schools we cover, the compatibility criteria, or result ordering.

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✅ What we actually verified

We verified:

• The current private-school list linked by GESA — dated April 23, 2026, all 8 pages, all 364 rows
• 363 unique schools after removing one exact duplicate, across 124 cities
• 339 rows marked "Accredited" and 24 marked "In Progress," across 7 approved accrediting agencies
• Listed grade coverage from kindergarten through grade 12
• The active-duty military exceptions and the 2026–27 age rules published by Odyssey
• The narrow part-time public-school exception for a GESA-approved college and career academy
• The 2026–27 maximum, four-quarter structure, possible 5% administrative withholding, half-year rule, and Quarterly Opt-In
• The August and November income restriction
• 2026 federal poverty guidelines and our 400% calculations
• The rule against stacking with an SSO scholarship or the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship
• The rule allowing a school's own non-SSO aid to work with Promise
• That participating schools keep their own admissions policies and cannot charge Promise families more solely because they use the scholarship
• Published tuition and mandatory-fee details for the ten profiled schools
• Fusion Academy Alpharetta's official 30009 ZIP, correcting the 22301 ZIP in GESA's PDF
• The $100 million FY2027 program appropriation

We did not verify, and do not claim:

• That any school has an open seat in your child's grade
• That any child will be admitted anywhere
• Any individual financial-aid award
• How a specific school funds its aid unless the school states it in writing
• Which tax-return line or poverty-guideline year GESA uses in a close income case
• How Promise funding interacts with Cristo Rey Atlanta's work-study contribution model
• That any listed online offering can be paid; GESA's handbook and Odyssey's tuition guidance conflict
• Academic quality or student outcomes across the full list

Page verified: August 12, 2026 School-list source date: April 23, 2026 Dataset version: 2026-27.2 Next scheduled re-check: September 1, 2026, then after the private-school application window closes October 31, 2026

The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

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Frequently asked questions

How many private schools accept the Georgia Promise Scholarship?

GESA's current linked PDF has 364 rows. One is an exact duplicate, leaving 363 unique schools on the April 23, 2026 list. New schools may be added after later approval periods, including the October 1–31, 2026 private-school application window.

Are all Georgia Promise private schools accredited?

No. On the current list, 339 are marked "Accredited" and 24 are marked "In Progress." Under the May 2026 regulations, an In Progress school has up to two school years to finish accreditation and is removed if it does not.

Does the Georgia Promise Scholarship cover full tuition?

Sometimes for tuition alone. Westwood publishes K5 tuition of $6,455, just under the $6,500 full-year maximum, but separate fees and obligations can still leave a balance. In our ten-school grade-specific sample, the full-award tuition gap runs from $985 to $33,000 before mandatory fees.

What's the deadline to apply in 2026?

The window open now closes August 31, 2026, and it is for spring 2027. One more 2026 window follows, November 1–30, also for spring 2027. The March and May full-year windows have closed.

Why would I get $3,250 instead of $6,500?

Because of the window. GESA says families approved from the third or fourth window receive only second-half funding beginning on or around January 1, and its current rollover FAQ uses $3,250 as the half-year example.

Is there an income limit?

For the August and November windows, yes — household income must be at or below 400% of the federal poverty level to be considered. Using the 2026 HHS guideline, that planning line is $132,000 for a household of four. Income also controls priority if eligible demand exceeds available funds.

Is there an age limit for 2026–27?

Yes. Odyssey says a student who is not in special education must be age 5 through 20 on September 1, 2026. A student in special education may be through age 21. A kindergartner must be 5 but younger than 7 on that date.

Is there an active-duty military exception?

Yes. Odyssey says students in active-duty military families do not have to meet the two-consecutive-semester Georgia public-school rule or the parent's one-year Georgia-residency rule. Military orders may be used when the family does not have a Georgia ID.

Do I have to take my child out of public school?

Generally yes for the funded period, but August applicants should not pull the child out during fall. GESA's live FAQ says the student stays in public school through the end of the current semester and withdraws after it ends, before the scholarship semester begins. The regulations preserve one narrow exception for part-time enrollment in a GESA-approved college and career academy. Get written timing instructions before acting because one shorter line in the handbook is inconsistent.

Can my child stay in ordinary public school and use the money for tutoring?

No. The college-and-career-academy exception does not create a general part-time public-school or tutoring option. A student generally must leave ordinary public school for the funded period. Returning to public school ends current participation and requires a new application to return later.

Can I combine Promise with a Georgia GOAL scholarship?

No. Receiving a scholarship, tuition grant, or other benefit from a student scholarship organization — Georgia GOAL included — makes a student ineligible for Promise. Ask any school in writing whether its aid is SSO-funded before you accept it.

Can I combine Promise with the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship?

No. A student receiving the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship is ineligible for Promise. Run the numbers and service differences on both before you choose.

Can I combine Promise with a school's own aid?

Yes, when the aid is truly the school's own aid from philanthropic or other non-SSO sources. GESA's Private School Handbook allows that. The funding source matters, so get the answer in writing.

Does being on the state's list mean my child gets in?

No. Participating schools keep their existing admissions policies, and you apply and enroll with the school separately. Selecting a school in Odyssey is not an application or acceptance.

Can a school charge me more because I use the scholarship?

No. The May 2026 regulations prohibit higher tuition or unique fees solely because a student receives Promise funds and prohibit withholding normal school discounts on that basis.

What if the school I want isn't on the list?

It cannot receive Promise tuition payments unless GESA approves it. The next private-school application window runs October 1–31, 2026. Ask the school whether it plans to apply, but do not pay on the assumption approval will happen.

Can I use it for an online private school?

Do not assume yes. GESA's Family Handbook lists tuition and fees at non-public online learning programs as a possible expense, but Odyssey's current tuition guidance says online tuition and any offering involving live online instruction are not allowed in the Marketplace. Those official sources conflict. Confirm the exact school, offering, educational method, and payment route with GESA and Odyssey in writing.

Can I change schools during the year?

Only within payment limits. Odyssey says one tuition payment can go to one school per quarter. You can send tuition to a new school only if no tuition payment has already been made for that quarter and the new school's annual tuition has been confirmed in the portal.

What is the Quarterly Opt-In?

It is a new 2026–27 confirmation required before you can spend each funded quarter. You confirm that the student is not enrolled in public school for that quarter. It must be completed for each participating child.

Do I have to reapply every year?

No, but you must recertify by May 31 each year. Miss it and you're removed from the program. To return, you must apply again and meet the rules in effect then.

What happens to money I don't spend?

Up to 50% of the amount awarded for that year can roll over. A $6,500 award has a $3,250 maximum carryover. A $3,250 half-year award has a $1,625 maximum carryover. Accounts inactive for two consecutive school years, or accounts for students who graduate, close and return remaining funds to the state.

Will my child have to take a test?

Yes, once a year — either a state assessment or a nationally norm-referenced test approved by GESA. Participating private schools administer and report the test for their Promise students. A Promise student who is not attending a participating private school must also test annually, and the family must report the result to GESA.

Could the Georgia Promise Scholarship run out of money?

No one can promise it will not. Georgia appropriated $100 million for FY2027. If every account received the full $6,500, that amount would cover 15,384 full awards, with $4,000 left, before any other program costs. Reduced awards and half-year awards can increase the account count. If eligible demand exceeds funds, GESA uses statutory priorities and a random draw in the final funded priority group.

Which school is academically best?

We don't answer that, because we found no public, comparable outcome data across all 363 schools. Any confident statewide academic ranking built without that data is guessing. What we can tell you is which schools appear on GESA's list, which grades the list covers, what ten schools publish for tuition, how they're accredited, and how far away they are.

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Before you close this tab

If you're at or below the income line and you want this for your child, the move this week is small and specific: run the finder, pick two schools whose GESA range includes your child's grade, call both, and ask the ten questions. Then file the state application before August 31, 2026.

Keep your child in public school through fall. Don't pay anybody anything until you've asked question eight and read the refund terms.

Still not sure which school is realistic? Run the free Georgia Promise school finder — see the school, grade, distance, and gap first. Nothing is sent to a school unless you choose it and say yes.

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By The School Choice Index Editorial Team · About our team Published: August 12, 2026 · Last verified: August 12, 2026 · Dataset version: 2026-27.2 (source list dated April 23, 2026) Found something out of date? Tell us — we correct fast and log every change.

Primary and direct sources

• Georgia Promise Scholarship official site
• Georgia Promise Family Handbook PDF linked by GESA
• 2026 student and private-school application periods
• Georgia Promise Scholarship Program Regulations, approved May 2026
• GESA participating private schools list, April 23, 2026
• GOSA public-school eligibility-list methodology for 2026–27
• GESA Private School Handbook
• Odyssey eligibility and age requirements
• Odyssey tuition-payment guidance
• Odyssey Quarterly Opt-In FAQ
• 2026 HHS poverty guidelines
• Georgia FY2027 final budget, HB 974
• Fusion Academy Alpharetta official campus page
• U.S. Department of Education guidance for parentally placed private-school students with disabilities
• WRDW parent interview, May 2026
• FOX 5 Atlanta first-year participation report, May 2026

The School Choice Index is an independent comparison and research resource for U.S. school choice programs.

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