HPP: On January 2, Alabama Governor Kay Ivey declared that the state’s new Education Savings Account (ESA) program, the CHOOSE Act, which promotes the success of K–12 students throughout the state, is now accepting applications.
According to the plan’s supporters, if parents are unhappy with the public school in their district, they will have the opportunity to get financial assistance for a private education.
Opponents of the initiative counter that this is just a means of diverting public monies from public schools to private ones.
“The Choose Act or Creating Hope and Opportunities for Our Students’ Education states that it was created to provide option for parents with students that are zoned for low-performing schools grades K-12th grades,'” Phenix City School Board Chairwoman Yolaunda Daniel stated. “However, realistically, most families in those areas that meet the income limit may still not be able to afford private school fees even with the $7,000 allotted per student.”
For the 2025–2026 academic year, families can now apply online at the CHOOSE Act website. Families will get award notifications in May 2025, and the application period will run until April 7, 2025.
There are not always obvious signs that a private school provides a better education than a public one because private schools are exempt from the same policies and testing requirements as public schools.
The Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) oversees the CHOOSE Act, which offers ESAs to qualified K–12 students to assist with the cost of tuition, tutoring, educational therapies, and other qualified educational expenses at authorized education service providers (ESPs) around the state. For qualified students, funding consists of:
- $7,000 for each qualified kid enrolled in a school that takes part.
- $2,000 for each participating student enrolled in a home education program (up to $4,000 per family and includes individual or group programs, homeschooling, co-ops, etc.).
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Participating kids with special needs will receive the first 500 ESAs during the program’s initial year, while students who are dependents of active-duty service personnel enrolled in or assigned to a priority school would receive a second priority. There are no schools on this list in the Russell County or Phoenix City education systems.
Based on each family’s adjusted gross income, which cannot exceed 300 percent of the federal poverty threshold for the previous tax year (for example, a family of four earning less than $93,600), the remaining ESAs will be granted to participating kids.
Since private schools are not legally required to provide services for students with special needs or disabilities in the same way that state-funded public schools do, they are not required to accept any or all students who apply with special needs if students decide to leave their public school and attend one.
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This means that some schools may end up accepting only the best and the brightest students from the priority schools, depriving public schools of their valued athletes and students while leaving the public school with only those students who require more resources.
In July 2025, students who have been accepted can start spending their ESA funds for authorized costs.
Families in Alabama can apply for an ESA right now on the program’s website, which also offers resources and information on the program, such as FAQs, comprehensive parent and ESP guidelines, and eligibility details.