Georgia Promise Scholarship Vendor Approval, Ed Tech, and Therapy

How the Vendor Approval System Works

The Promise Scholarship operates through a closed marketplace managed by Odyssey. You don't get a debit card or a bank transfer — your $6,500 annual award sits in a digital wallet, and you can spend it on items and services in the Odyssey platform catalog or items GESA pre-approves before purchase.

Vendors must apply for approved status through GESA and Odyssey, submitting credentials that vary by category. A tutoring provider needs Georgia Professional Standards Commission (PSC) certification. A therapy practice needs state medical licenses. A curriculum publisher needs to demonstrate that their products serve core subject instruction.

Once approved, the vendor appears in the Odyssey marketplace with listed products and prices. You browse, select, and the payment flows directly from your Odyssey wallet to the vendor. The platform records every transaction for audit purposes.

Custom Vendor Requests

If you find a provider or product you want that isn't in the marketplace, GESA allows a formal pre-approval request. The process requires you to submit information about the vendor and the specific product or service through the Odyssey portal before making any purchase.

Key points about custom vendor requests:

• Submit before you buy — purchases made before pre-approval are not reimbursable
• Include the vendor's credentials (PSC certification for tutors, state licensure for therapists)
• Describe the educational purpose and which core subject area it supports
• Allow processing time — GESA doesn't guarantee approval timelines, and first-year parents reported wait times ranging from days to months
• Approval is not guaranteed; GESA evaluates whether the item or service falls within the statutory definition of qualified educational expenses

Educational Technology: Mostly Off-Limits

During the legislative drafting of SB 233, explicit language permitting general computer hardware, laptops, and consumer electronic devices was removed from the bill. This means general technology purchases are restricted and typically not approved.

You cannot use Promise Scholarship funds for:

• Laptops, desktop computers, or tablets
• Printers, scanners, or peripherals
• Software or digital services that are not listed in the approved marketplace catalog (these require GESA pre-approval before expenditure)
• Consumer electronics marketed as "educational"

The narrow exception: GESA may authorize a specific device as a specialized educational accessibility tool — for example, assistive technology GESA determines is essential for educational access. But this requires explicit GESA approval on a case-by-case basis, not a blanket category approval.

This catches many families off guard. Other states' ESA programs often include technology as a standard approved expense. Georgia's program deliberately excludes it.

Therapy Services: Approved With Credentials

Licensed therapy services are an approved spending category. This covers:

• Occupational therapy — from a licensed occupational therapist
• Physical therapy — from a licensed physical therapist
• Speech-language therapy — from a licensed speech-language pathologist

The practitioner must be licensed in Georgia and listed (or pre-approved) in the Odyssey marketplace. You can't pay a family member who happens to be a therapist, and you can't pay for services from an out-of-state provider practicing without a Georgia license.

For families whose children have specific learning or developmental needs, therapy services can represent a significant portion of the $6,500 annual award. The $1,625 quarterly disbursement schedule means you'll need to time therapy sessions to match when funds are available in your wallet.

Office Supplies and General Materials

General office supplies — paper, pens, binders, art supplies, craft materials — fall into a gray area. The Odyssey marketplace lists specific approved items within the curriculum and instructional materials categories. An item that's clearly a core curriculum component (a math workbook, a science lab kit) is more likely to be listed than a generic office supply (printer paper, colored pencils).

If a particular supply isn't in the marketplace and you believe it's essential for instruction, the custom vendor request route is your only option. In practice, many families cover general supplies out of pocket and reserve their Odyssey balance for the higher-cost approved categories: tuition, tutoring, therapy, and curriculum packages.

Tracking What You Spend

Every purchase through the Odyssey platform creates a digital audit trail. Invoices flagged for non-qualifying line items trigger automatic holds. If GESA's audit process identifies unauthorized purchases or misrepresented invoices, the consequence is account suspension and potential referral to the Georgia Attorney General under O.C.G.A. § 20-2B-26.

The safest approach: only buy what's clearly listed in the marketplace, and use the pre-approval process for anything borderline before spending.

The Georgia Promise Scholarship Parent Guide includes an itemized breakdown of approved vs. disallowed expenses based on the current GESA guidelines, plus a walkthrough of the custom vendor request process so you can expand your options within the rules.

See more Georgia guides →