Governor Ivey announces CHOOSE Act applications open for Alabama families

MONTGOMERY – Gov. Kay Ivey announced Jan. 2 that applications for the CHOOSE Act, the state’s new Education Savings Account (ESA) program that supports the success of K-12 students across the state, are open.

Families can apply online for the 2025-2026 school year at the CHOOSE Act website, chooseact. alabama.gov. The application process will be open through April 7, 2025, with award notifications scheduled to be sent to families in May 2025.

“Alabama families can start the new year with a great opportunity for school choice in their communities,” said Governor Ivey, who championed and signed into law the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act in March 2024. “The CHOOSE Act will help our Alabama students receive the highestquality education possible by giving greater flexibility to families to pursue educational options that meet their individual needs. It is a wonderful opportunity to make the future of Alabama stronger than ever.”

The CHOOSE Act is managed by the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) and provides ESAs to eligible K-12 students to help pay for school tuition, tutoring, educational therapies and other qualified education expenses at approved education service providers (ESPs) across the state. Funding for eligible students includes: $7,000 per eligible student enrolled in a participating school.

$2,000 per participating student enrolled in a home education program (this includes an individual or group program, homeschool, co-op, etc., and is capped at $4,000 per family).

In this first year of the program, the first 500 ESAs will be awarded to participating students with special needs, with a second priority awarded to participating students who are dependents of active-duty service members enrolled in or assigned to a priority school.

Remaining ESAs will be awarded for participating students based on each family’s adjusted gross income, not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty level for the preceding tax year (e.g., a family of four making less than $93,600).

Once approved, students can begin using their ESA funds for approved expenses in July 2025.

Alabama families can apply today for an ESA on the program’s website, https://classwallet.com/ alchoose/, which also has information and resources about the initiative, including eligibility information, FAQs and detailed guides for parents and ESPs.

For more information, visit chooseact.alabama. gov.