March 4, 2024 Group Watch: AL House Passes School Choice Bill
The Alabama House passed the CHOOSE ACT, making education savings accounts, or ESAs, one step closer to reality. Lawmakers discussed the bill for four hours before voting 69-34 to approve it. Six Republicans joined the chamber’s 28 Democrats in voting no. The bill would provide eligible families $7,000 in state tax dollars per student to pay for the cost of educating their child in a participating school or for other eligible expenses. ESAs would become available at the start of the 2025-26 school year. The state would prioritize support for low-income families and students with disabilities first, and then gradually phase in options for eligible families at the start of the 2027-28 school year. Families who homeschool their children could receive $2,000 per child, up to $4,000 each year, for eligible expenses. Thirteen states currently have some form of education savings accounts or ESAs.
