FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 8, 2026
Birmingham, Alabama
For Full Support
of Alabama’s Universal School Choice Program
From a pastoral perspective, the primary reason for supporting full funding for Alabama’s universal school choice program is Scripture. The Bible clearly places the responsibility for educating children on the family, not the state. Parents are commanded to teach their children diligently, to talk of God’s truth in daily life, and to shape both their understanding and their character. In the Bible, the pattern is consistent. God did not assign the training of children to government institutions. He entrusted it to mothers and fathers. When families fulfill that responsibility, children and societies flourish. When they neglect it, decline follows. De 6:6-7, 11:18-19; Jos 24:15; Judges 2:10 Pr 1:8-9, 22:6; Eph 6:4
In recent generations, however, families have gradually handed this responsibility to the government. What began as assistance has become substitution. Many parents now assume that education is primarily the state’s job, while the home plays a secondary role. This shift has produced consequences that are increasingly difficult to ignore. Scripture warns that when parents fail to train their children, disorder and confusion follow. What we are seeing in education today clearly reflects that very breakdown.
The public education system is struggling, and the data confirms it. National assessments show that a large percentage of students are not reading at grade level by the time they reach high school. Roughly one-third of high school seniors score below basic in reading comprehension, meaning they struggle to understand and analyze what they read. In addition, nearly half of students score below basic in mathematics, indicating serious gaps in foundational mathematical ability. These are not minor deficiencies. They represent failures at the most fundamental level of education.
Many students are being passed along without mastering the skills they need for adulthood, work, and citizenship. These outcomes did not appear overnight, and they cannot be blamed solely on teachers or funding levels.
A major contributor to this failure is family disengagement. Parental involvement has steadily declined. PTA meetings are poorly attended. Communication between schools and homes is weak. Many parents feel disconnected not only from what their children are being taught academically but also from the beliefs and behaviors being shaped within the educational environment.
Education has become something that happens somewhere else, handled by someone else. When families withdraw, accountability disappears. The system then governs itself, protects itself, and resists correction.
As parental oversight fades, the system fills the vacuum with policies, bureaucracy, and political protections. While many teachers are dedicated and capable, the structure often rewards longevity over effectiveness and stability over excellence. Innovation slows. Poor outcomes persist. Parents who want something better for their children frequently encounter obstacles when they attempt to seek alternatives. The system was never designed to adapt to families reclaiming responsibility.
School choice offers a path forward by restoring balance. It does not eliminate public education, nor does it force families into one model. Instead, it recognizes that families are different, children are different, and education works best when parents are engaged and empowered. Private schools, home education, and hybrid programs often provide smaller class sizes, clearer expectations, stronger parental involvement, and greater flexibility. In many cases, students in these settings perform as well as or better than their peers in traditional public schools, particularly when families are actively involved.
The CHOOSE Act reflects this understanding. It allows families who take responsibility for their children’s education to act on that responsibility. Through education savings accounts funded by refundable tax credits, parents may choose private school tuition, educational therapies, curriculum, or home education programs. Instead of forcing families into a system that may not serve their child well, it gives them the freedom to choose what they believe is best.
This is not about abandoning public education. It is about correcting an imbalance that Scripture warned against long ago. When families delegate their God-given responsibility to the state, education weakens. When families reengage, education improves.
Instead of constantly seeking to empower the government system, a government of the people should balance the system by giving the people a greater equal opportunity to choose how to educate their children.
Supporting full funding for Alabama’s universal school choice program allows families to follow the clear command of Scripture to train their children and raise them in a manner they feel is proper, without political influence. It restores responsibility to the home, accountability to education, and hope to the next generation.
Empowering families with a choice in their children’s education is not extreme. It is biblical. It is responsible. The children are our future!
Bishop Jim Lowe
Gatekeepers Association
FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact:
Alabama Policy Institute
205-870-9900 or admin@alabamapolicy.org
