GA Special Needs Scholarship

Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program

The Georgia Special Needs Scholarship provides eligible special education students with school choice opportunities. Foundations for the Future Elementary School is an approved GSNS Private School. Please refer to the GA Department of Education website for further information.

Steps for determining student eligibility for a Georgia Special Needs Scholarship in 2010-2011

The following applies if you are interested in the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program for the 2010-2011 school year for the first time:

• Verify your child's eligibility for the 2010-2011 school year. Note IEP stands for Individualized Education Program. In order to qualify for the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program a child must meet the following requirements:
  • The student's parent currently resides within Georgia and has been a Georgia resident for at least one calendar year; and
  • The student has spent the prior school year (2009-2010) in attendance at a Georgia public school in grades K-12 and was in attendance on both the October 2009 and March 2010 FTE counts; and
  • The student had and was served under an IEP written by the public school in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations at any point during the 2009-2010 school year.
  • There are no exceptions to the eligibility criteria.
• If your child qualifies and the calculator finds a match, a potential scholarship award sheet will generate. See the Award Calculator on the GA Dept of Education website.
• The scholarship award sheet is proof of your child's eligibility for the program. You must print the award sheet and make copies of it. Always keep a copy for your records since it is proof of your child's eligibility. You will not be able to go to the website in subsequent years to reprint it.

The following are Not Eligible for the Program:

• Toddler and Pre-K students are not eligible. Students must complete one school year in grades K-12 in a Georgia public school before they are eligible for a scholarship.
• A home school operating under O.G.C.A. 20-2-690 is not eligible to enroll scholarship students.
• Residential Treatment Facilities are not eligible to enroll scholarship students.
• Department of Juvenile Justice Schools and students are not eligible for the scholarship.