BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA —Governor Kay Ivey announced that the CHOOSE Act has been fully funded for every approved student for the upcoming school year; over 34,000 Alabama kids have unlocked the ability to exercise educational freedom. It is a huge step forward for our state and a victory that is unmatched when comparing programs from across the nation.
No other state in the country has successfully launched an ESA program and scaled it from zero to over 34,000 approved students in its first two years. Alabama stands entirely alone in achieving this level of success in educational freedom. Historically, state education savings account (ESA) programs operated under an incremental model, implementing highly restrictive eligibility requirements. For example, Arizona’s pioneering ESA program took over a decade of legislative expansions to reach just 12,000 students before opening universal access. West Virginia passed a similar bill in 2021; their program became universal in 2026 after interest hit a 5-year trigger, but it is growing at a much slower rate with 26,000 students submitting applications for the 2026 school year. Florida managed a larger pre-universal scale only by absorbing pre-existing voucher and tax-credit scholarship recipients into new frameworks, rather than scaling a brand-new program from the ground up.
Alabama’s Governor and legislative leadership stepped up to the plate and hit a home-run for Alabama parents and their kids. By establishing an income cap of 300% of the federal poverty level at launch, directing the program from the professionally run and educationally agnostic Alabama Department of Revenue, utilizing a robust digital distribution partnership, and signaling a clear transition to universal access by year three, Alabama managed to capture massive parental demand immediately.
The CHOOSE Act program secured an unprecedented milestone for the 2026–2027 academic year by approving over 34,000 students and deploying $174 million in refundable tax credits to families.
The CHOOSE Act becomes universally available for every family in the state in 2027. Educational freedom is a legacy that will grow and continue to create opportunity for all of Alabama’s kids.FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact: admin@alabampolicy.org
