Alabama Legislature boosts school choice funding by $80M after high demand

Alabama lawmakers are nearly doubling school choice funding in the upcoming state budget, from $100 million to $180 million, to help meet the high demand for scholarships.

Legislators revised the state’s education budget, which Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to sign, after the newly inaugurated Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) program received nearly 37,000 applications for the upcoming school year.

“We have received applications from all 67 counties and from a wide range of families,” Ivey, a Republican, posted on X after applications closed in early April. “Clearly, taxpaying Alabama families want school choice!”

The tax-credit scholarships are worth up to $7,000 per student for tuition at an approved private school. Homeschool families can also receive up to $4,000 for expenses.

Lawmakers had planned to fund about 14,000 scholarships, but the new money will raise that number to 25,000, covering a significant number of students who applied.

The program is currently limited to low- and middle-income families but will expand to include all students in 2027-28, although priority will be based on household income.

Alabama was the 11th state to pass a universal school choice program.

Texas will become the 16th state when Gov. Greg Abbott signs a $1 billion school choice program into law Saturday.

In total, 36 states and the District of Columbia have some type of school choice program.