The Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education (CHOOSE) Act of 2024

Students are eligible to participate in the CHOOSE program if they are residents of Alabama between the ages of 5 and 19 and have not yet graduated the 12th grade. Children up to the age of 21 who would qualify for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act are also eligible to participate in the program. Students must be lawfully present in the United States. Parents and/or custodians must also be residents of Alabama and lawfully present in the United States. Students may not participate in the Alabama CHOOSE program while receiving funds through the Alabama Accountability Act or the Alabama Education Scholarship Program. For program years beginning January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2026, the credit is available to parents of students whose family has an adjusted gross income not exceeding 300% of the Federal Poverty Level for the preceding tax year ($93,600 for a family of four in 2024–2025). Beginning January 1, 2027, and for years to follow, the credit shall be available to the parent of an eligible student, without income limitations. The legislature has established a priority for awarding the tax credits. The first 500 tax credits awarded annually are reserved for the parent of an eligible student with special needs. Priority is given to the parent of students participating in the program, siblings of participating students, and next to dependents of active-duty service members participating in the program who are enrolled in or assigned to a priority school as defined by the state, and finally based on the family’s adjusted gross income as a percentage of the Federal Poverty Level. The Department of Revenue is required to award a tax credit to a parent for any other eligible student in a family who is a sibling of a student previously awarded an education savings account. _(Last updated July 14, 2024)_

Parents may use funds for eligible students in one or more of the following categories: tuition and fees at participating schools; textbooks; fees for after-school or summer programs provided by a participating school; private tutoring; curricula; instructional materials; tuition and fees for nonpublic online learning; educational software and applications; fees for standardized and nationally norm-referenced testing, college admissions tests, and advanced placement exams and related prep courses; education services and therapies for students with disabilities from a licensed or accredited practitioner or education service provider; and contracted services provided by a public school district including specific classroom instruction. _(Last updated July 14, 2024)_

The Alabama legislature has appropriated $100 million across multiple appropriations bills to fund the education savings accounts, with an additional $1 million appropriation given to the Department of Revenue to fund the program’s administration. A section of the Act states the intent for an annual appropriation of at least $100 million to fund the education savings accounts. The Alabama legislature has appropriated $180 million to fund accounts, with an additional $1 million appropriation given to the Department of Revenue to fund the program’s administration. The maximum number of participants who are funded for the program depends on which kinds of students use it, because the maximum account value is different for participants attending a private school ($7,000) versus being home-educated ($2,000). If all private school ESA students receive the maximum ESA amount, about 25,714 students could participate. If all home-educated ESA students receive their maximum amount, then 90,000 students could participate. There is a $4,000 cap per family, meaning that no more than two home-educated siblings may receive ESA funding in a given year. At the conclusion of each academic year, unused funds are returned to the CHOOSE Act Fund. _(Last updated June 23, 2025)_

This program has not been challenged in court.