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SB10 - Special Needs Scholarship

Senate Bill 10 – Georgia Special Needs Scholarship

Students Receiving Special Education Services

The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Law of 2007 affords parents of students who receive special education services the choice to transfer their child to another public or private school in Georgia.

You may apply to transfer to another public school within the Paulding County School District.  Your application will be evaluated based upon availability of space and/or the ability to implement the student’s IEP as currently written (Grades 1–12). If your application is approved, you will be responsible for transporting your child to and from school. Transportation is not provided. The student will be allowed to complete all grades at that school.  For example, if a student is granted a transfer request to a middle school that serves grades 6-8, the transfer request would apply to the student’s attendance through grade 8. If you wish to apply for school choice at the next school level, another application will need to be filed.

If you choose to transfer to a school outside of the Paulding County School District, please contact the desired school system for information and their application deadlines.

You may also apply to transfer to one of the State schools for the deaf and/or blind operated by the State Board of Education. Acceptance will depend on whether this setting is appropriate for your child’s needs. Transportation is not provided. Please visit the Georgia Department of Education’s website for more information.

If you are interested in transferring your child to a private school in Georgia, you may be able to take advantage of a Georgia Special Needs Scholarship. These scholarships provide funding that can be used to offset tuition costs at participating private schools in the state of Georgia. For more information on the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship and the application process, please visit the Georgia Department of Education’s website. 

 

Eligibility Requirements

To qualify for the Georgia Special Scholarship award with an IEP for the 2025-2026 school year the student must meet the following requirements:

  1. The student's parent currently resides within Georgia and has been a Georgia resident for at least one calendar year however, that the one-year requirement shall not apply if the student's parent is an active-duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year; AND
  2. The student had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) in effect during the 2024-2025 school year; AND
  3. The student spent the prior school year in attendance* at a Georgia public school.

*Prior school year in attendance - the student was enrolled and reported by a public school system or school systems for funding purposes at the time of both FTE program counts, conducted each school year in October and March. See OCGA 20-2-2112 (5)

Prior school year in attendance shall not apply if:

  • The student's parent is an active-duty military service member stationed in Georgia within the previous year; OR
  • The student has been adopted or placed in a permanent guardianship from foster care pursuant to an order issued by a court of competent jurisdiction within the previous year; OR 
  • The student previously qualified for a scholarship as provided in state law.

Please note that previously qualified only waives the prior school year in attendance provision, all other requirements including having an IEP in the previous school year and enrollment in a public school are still in effect. 

 

Application Window

OPENS: January 31, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.

CLOSES: Feb. 14, 2025 at 5:00 p.m.

ATTENTION – APPLY THROUGH PARENT PORTAL

School Choice requests for currently enrolled students in grades K-11 must be made through the Parent Portal under the “More” option from the Index. Simply log in to the Parent Portal, select "More" and proceed with the application.  Parent Portal instructions may be downloaded from the upper right column of this page. 

 

School Choice Options under SB10

Attention parents, under SB 10 for the 2025-2026 school year, the following schools are receiving school choice students: 

ELEMENTARY

MIDDLE

HIGH

Allgood

Austin

Hiram
Baggett

Dobbins

South Paulding

Dugan East Paulding

 

Hutchens

Herschel Jones

 

Poole

McClure

 

Ragsdale

Moses*

 

 

 P.B. Ritch

 

 

 Scoggins

 

 

 South Paulding  

* Moses Middle School will be capped at 50 available seats. If the total number of HB251 applicants is greater than 50, a lottery will be conducted to determine which students will be awarded the available seats.

Parent Portal Instructions

FY25_School_Choice_Parent_Portal_Instructions (PDF)