Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (Senate Bill 10)

The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship (GSNS) program provides scholarships for qualifying Georgia public school students with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or a 504 Plan in specified areas during the previous school year who meet the requirements to qualify for an award. These scholarship funds may be used to offset the cost of attending a private school that participates in the scholarship program.

Eligibility Criteria to participate in the GSNS is as follows:

• A student have must a parent/guardian who currently lives in Georgia and has been a resident for at least one calendar year.

• A student was enrolled and completed the prior school year in a Georgia public school in grades kindergarten through twelfth.

• A student was reported as attending a Georgia public school by a school district(s) during mandatory student counts conducted in October and March. (Must have been reported for both FTE counts.)

• A student does need to have an active Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or Section 504 Plan to qualify for the GSNS Act. A student with an active IEP must be reported by a school district(s) as a student receiving special education services during the October or March FTE count or in the final Student Record report at the end of the year.

Military families may be exempt from these eligibility requirements by completing the Application Form for Military Students located on the GaDOE Georgia Special Needs Scholarship website.

For more information including the application and timelines, please visit the GaDOE website at http://www.gadoe.org/External-Affairs-and-Policy/Policy/Pages/Special-Needs-Scholarship-Program.aspx

If you have additional questions about the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship, please contact:
Dr. Mandy Condit, Director of Exceptional Student Services, at mcondit@bryan.k12.ga.us or (912) 851-4000.