In a move aimed at supporting military families, the Georgia Senate passed Senate Bill 124 (SB 124) last week, allowing children of active duty military parents to access the state’s new private education tuition subsidies without first attending a low-performing public school.

The bill passed with a 37-16 vote. The Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, a $6,500 annual private education subsidy often referred to as a voucher, began accepting applications this month. The program, passed into law last year, generally requires students (excluding rising kindergartners) to attend a public school ranked in the bottom 25% to qualify for the assistance. SB 124 waives this requirement for military families, acknowledging the frequent relocation inherent in military service. “They move frequently, so this legislation makes these kids eligible for private tuition help from the state,” explained the bill’s chief sponsor, Sen. Shawn Still, R-Johns Creek.

This is the second bill passed by the Republican-majority Senate in recent weeks aimed at expanding access to the voucher program. Last week, Senate Bill 152 (SB 152) passed, exempting natural-born and adopted children of parents who have fostered a child at any point in the last ten years from the low-performing school attendance requirement.

Both bills now move forward for further consideration.