Fulton offers tuition-based enrollment to out-of-district students

Students living outside the borders of Fulton County Schools can apply to attend one of the district’s high schools this year — for a price.

The district this week began accepting applications for four schools: Fulton Academy of Virtual Excellence; Global Impact Academy in Fairburn; North Springs High School in Sandy Springs; and Northview High School in Johns Creek. Tuition is $11,000 per student per year or $5,500 per semester.

“These schools have space, but we also noticed that these were some of our top-performing schools, and they were underenrolled,” said Fulton’s Chief Academic Officer Brannon Gaskins.

The majority of high school students at all four schools take accelerated courses, such as Advanced Placement or dual enrollment classes. During the 2024-25 school year, Global Impact Academy had a 100% graduation rate. North Springs’ rate was 95% for the same year and Northview graduated 98% of its students. FAVE, an online high school, didn’t fare as well, with a graduation rate of 67.8%.

Like many school districts in Georgia and across the country, Fulton has seen a decline in enrollment and revenue in recent years. District data show 99,819 students were enrolled in Fulton during the 2016-17 school year. In the spring, officials projected 84,856 students would enroll for the 2026-27 school year.

Fewer students mean less state funding, since the school funding formula is based in large part on headcount. That reality has prompted Fulton officials to look for new funding streams. Still, the district hasn’t set a minimum amount of tuition it would like to collect from the initiative.

“In this first year, we’re really trying to work on process to make sure that families that are interested, that there is a supportive process for them to enroll and feel supported,” said Fulton’s Director of Policy Erin Nusnbaum.

Despite the need for higher enrollment and more revenue, applications won’t be rubber-stamped. Applicants need to have a clean discipline record and can’t have been considered “chronically absent,” or to have missed 10% of the year or more, during the last school year. They will also need to submit academic transcripts.

Nusnbaum says accepted students will have to meet certain requirements to stay enrolled.

“The student has to provide their own transportation, they need to maintain satisfactory … attendance rates,” she said. “We monitor their academic performance as well as their behavior.”

Students can be withdrawn for discipline offenses, failing grades in core classes or not being on track to graduate.

The idea of non-residents paying tuition to attend a particular school isn’t new. Several metro Atlanta districts, including Fulton, allow it for schools within their boundaries. For example, a student at one Fulton high school could pay tuition to attend another Fulton high school, as long as that school has room.

Fulton implemented a similar program at North Springs and Riverside High years ago. Some other Atlanta-area school districts offer similar initiatives. The City Schools of Decatur has reupped its tuition program for elementary school students who aren’t Decatur residents. Atlanta Public Schools also allows nonresidents to pay tuition to attend some schools.