Published 8:47 am Tuesday, February 25, 2025
By Tommy Murphy
The new Georgia Promise Scholarship Program, signed into law in 2024, will allow families to pursue educational programs through nonpublic schooling, including private school and home study.
That means students can receive state funds to leave public school (or forgo attending as a new kindergartener) to go to private schools like LaGrange Academy or even non-secular schools like Lafayette Christian Academy.
The funds can be used for private school tuition and fees, required textbooks, tutoring services, curriculum, physician/therapist services, transportation services, and other approved expenses.
To be eligible, the student’s parents must have lived in Georgia for at least a year. The student also needs to have previously been enrolled in a public school for at least two consecutive years or be a new kindergartener.
The students also have to live in the attendance zones of a school performing in the bottom 25% academically, according to the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement.
Callaway Elementary and Clearview Elementary school zones are currently on that list. The students do not have to attend Callaway or Clearview Elementary but need to live in those zones, so Callaway Elementary, Callaway Middle, or Callaway High School are all eligible. Students attending Long Cane Middle School, Gardner Newman Middle School and even Troup High or LaGrange High are potentially eligible because of Clearview depending on their exact address.
The program would potentially offer up to $6,500, which can be used for tuition, tutoring or even transportation.
The program funds won’t completely cover tuition at LaGrange Academy but it would heavily subsidize it, especially for the early years. Kindergarten tuition starts at $8,250, so the state funds would cover almost all of it, said Dr. John Mehaffey, Head of School for LaGrange Academy.
Tuition does increase at LaGrange Academy for older students, but even for seniors at $11,770, it covers more than half of their education, he said.
Mehaffey said he believes that the program will potentially increase enrollment at LaGrange Academy.
“I think sometimes in our community, Troup County and the surrounding area, tuition is the deterrent. I think this would definitely be able to help some of our families over that,” Mehaffey said.
“With any state program like Georgia Goal or other scholarship granting organizations, it’s important to understand how independent schools and tuition work and what amount of money goes towards tuition and then have a conversation with those families about the remaining amount. We do have our own financial aid packages. We have Georgia Goal and other things that we’re able to offer,” he said.
LaGrange Academy has created a website with information and frequently asked questions about the new Georgia Promise Scholarship program. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/LaGrangeGeorgiaPromise.
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