The Georgia Promise Scholarship is the Peach State’s new school choice program, allowing families with students in low-performing K-12 schools to use up to $6,500 in state funds on private education, homeschooling, or educational support services. The program, signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp in 2024, is set to roll out funds soon. Still, its outlook has been overshadowed by delays and concerns about the state’s chosen contractor, New York City-based Odyssey, which is responsible for administering the program.
In May 2025, thousands of parents were left in limbo after applying for the Georgia Promise Scholarship, noting alleged concerns and rollout issues with Odyssey’s implementation of the program.
Parents raised concerns that a delay in funding may lead to their children being unable to attend the school of their choice. One parent from Macon, Trayon Walker, reaffirmed this in an interview, stating, "If this is the way that it's going to go, I'm honestly nervous to even get my daughter started."
Georgians are far from alone in experiencing serious issues with Odyssey as a platform and contractor on state school choice initiatives. Families in multiple states have experienced glitches, inflated prices, and made improper purchases using the platform. The company has even gone so far as to pocket interest collected from taxpayer funds.
In Louisiana, hundreds of parents banded together on Facebook to voice their complaints and confusion about Odyssey’s management of the LA GATOR scholarship, the state’s new universal school choice program. One parent stated, “The inconsistency and different answers from Odyssey is wild. Odyssey is the platform and doesn’t seem to know what's going on. (Does) anyone know who to contact that is actually running this and knows something?” Another parent called the program’s administrators “pathetic,” saying “whoever is running the program should be ashamed.”
Problems with Odyssey’s Louisiana rollout appear to be mounting for families in the state. According to the Louisiana Department of Education, Odyssey’s customer satisfaction has dropped by 10 points in recent months – from 97.8% in March to 88.7% in August – as families encountered problems on Odyssey’s platform.
Odyssey won its first statewide contract in 2022 in Idaho, where its management of the state’s Empowering Parents microgrant program was mired in disaster from the beginning.
Most concerning was Idaho's Department of Administration finding that Odyssey actually pocketed nearly $479,000 in interest from its “holding taxpayer funds in an interest-bearing account and retaining those interest earnings” to which it wasn’t entitled, according to the state Board of Education’s chief policy and government affairs officer, as well as “full financial audit” demanded by the governor related to possible improper purchases.
As a result, Odyssey’s contract was terminated in October 2024, just two years after it was first awarded.
Missouri experienced similar issues when Odyssey handled its Close the Gap program, which used federal COVID funds to offer low-income students up to $1,500 for tutoring, computers, summer camps and other academic resources. However, the program was “plagued with cancelled orders, price gouging and a lack of inventory.”
Odyssey set up a marketplace where parents could spend their awards on products provided by approved vendors, yet many were left unable to purchase or receive any products. As one parent told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Why didn’t you work these bugs out before you started telling people about the program? … Nobody is getting anything, and they keep giving everybody the runaround.”
Alongside its troubling record in multiple states, the Washington Examiner reported on allegations of fraudulent activity around Odyssey’s bidding practices. As the Examiner reported, “Odyssey’s business model has been to undervalue services provided at a loss to the company, win the contract based on the price, and eventually procure enough contracts in enough states to make up the lost funds.”
Odyssey’s connections are also quite suspicious. Last year it received a $10 million funding round led by NYC-based Democratic political consultant Bradley Tusk. Tusk is known for advising former NYC Mayor and major liberal donor Michael Bloomberg. Most recently Tusk has and has come out in support of socialist NYC Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and has pledged to help him win the general election.
With all of this in mind, one has to ask why Odyssey has been entrusted by the state of Georgia to manage funding for children’s education?
Governor Brian Kemp and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones have both touted the program as a win for Georgia families and the cause of school choice
