CHOOSE Act

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The Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education Act of 2024, abbreviated as the CHOOSE Act (Act of Alabama 2024-21) is an Alabama law, passed in 2024, which establishes an income tax credit of up to $7,000 per child for parents who enroll their children in private schools or homeschooling programs.

School voucher or school choice programs have been proposed in the past, with a number of relatively small-scale measures being implemented. In her "State of the State" address in January 2024, Governor Kay Ivey said that signing a "landmark school choice bill" would be her top priority for the upcoming legislative session.

Passage

Several such proposals were expected to be introduced, with the source of public funding to be earmarked for the program, and the degree to which private schools would be accountable for their use of public funds, as the main points of contention. Consensus among advocates, primarily Republicans, solidified around the idea of the state contributing to "educational savings accounts".

The bill that was passed was put forward as House Bill 129, co-sponsored by Danny Garrett (District 44), Nathaniel Ledbetter (District 24), and Terri Collins (District 8). It was introduced to the House Ways and Means General Fund Committee on February 7 and sent back with a favorable report on February 22. It then was considered by the House Ways and Means Education Committee, chaired by Garrett. A substitution introduced by Representative Troy Stubbs (R-District 31) was adopted in that committee before the bill returned to the house on Tuesday February 27.

During that day's session, several packages of amendments were offered. The first change, offered by Joe Lovvorn (R-District 79) stipulated that no provision of the bill would affect eligibility for student athletes. It was adopted by a vote of 74-17. Representatives Arnold Mooney (R-District 43), Ernie Yarbrough (R-District 7), and Ben Harrison (R-District 2), proposed amendments that would remove requirements that the Department of Education would certify "participating schools," reduced reporting requirements, and eliminated a restriction against making payments directly to students or parents. Those amendments were all tabled, and the bill passed the house without them on a 69-34 vote.

Senator Arthur Orr (R-District 3) took up the proposed legislation in his chamber as Senate Bill 61 on February 28. It was scheduled to be debated in the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee on Wednesday March 6, but instead was considered at a specially-called meeting after Tuesday's recess, where it passed the committee 10-3. It proceeded to the full senate the next day. During that session, Senators Rodger Smitherman (D-District 18) and Bobby Singleton (D-District 24) offered amendments which sought to preserve funding for special needs students in public schools and to enhance certification requirements for teachers. Those amendments were voted down. Senator Larry Stutts (District 6) also introduced amendments seeking to prioritize the children of service members and to have surplus ESA funds roll over from year to year unless students became ineligible. His amendments were tabled and the bill passed the senate on a 23-9 vote. Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act into law on March 7.

Provisions

As enacted, the CHOOSE Act...

Any unexpended funds in an ESA would roll over to the next year as long as a student was eligible. Funds remaining when a student became ineligible would revert to the CHOOSE Act Fund.

Analysis

According to an analysis by John Friedenreich of the Alabama Legislative Services Agency, the law would require a $100 million annual appropriation from the Alabama Education Trust Fund to the Alabama CHOOSE Act Fund beginning in 2025, and also require additional work by the Alabama Department of Revenue to implement and administer the program.

References

External links

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