Alabama launches school choice program 

Starting this month, about 23,000 students in Alabama will begin receiving scholarship funds to pay for private school or homeschooling expenses.

The CHOOSE Act, signed into law last year, lets families apply for up to $7,000 per student in education savings accounts (ESAs). Families can spend this money on private school tuition or home education expenses. The state released the funds July 1 for qualifying families.

The Alabama Department of Revenue runs the program; students from all grade levels applied for funding this year.

“Our CHOOSE Act education saving accounts are officially ready to support thousands of Alabama families and students with their unique educational needs,” Gov. Kay Ivey said July 1 in a release. “In just the first year, our state’s ESA program is incredibly popular, providing opportunity, flexibility and choice when it comes to our children’s education. I am excited to see the program in action this year.”

Approximately 23,000 students qualified to use $124 million through the program in the upcoming school year. Families had until June 30 to show proof of enrollment to qualify.

Most approved students already attend private schools and plan to stay there, AL.com reports.

Public schools in Alabama currently enroll about 720,000 students.

Homeschool families can receive up to $2,000 per student, with a maximum of $4,000 per family for eligible costs.

This program puts parents “in the driver’s seat” when it comes to their children’s education, Ivey said.

Qualified families will receive emails from ClassWallet this month with instructions on how to use their funds.

The state will open applications for the 2026-27 school year in January 2026.