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Choose Act: Q&A regarding recently passed school choice legislation
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March 14, 2024By Rob Herbst
The Catholic Week
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act into law on March 7, making Alabama the 14th state in the nation to provide families with an education savings account option.
The school choice legislation will provide funds for those seeking to send the children to a school of their choice, regardless of private or public.
Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi and Bishop Steven J. Raica of Birmingham recently penned a letter supporting the CHOOSE Act and the Archdiocese of Mobile Office of Catholic Schools also expressed support for the legislation.
Below is an interview with Archdiocese of Mobile Superintendent of Catholic Schools Chad Barwick aimed to provide insight into the CHOOSE Act.
Q: Explain what the CHOOSE Act does and how does it work?
A: The CHOOSE Act is now a law on the books and beginning with the 2025-26 school year, parents will have the ability to send their kids to a participating school of their choice with the help of $7,000 allocated to an educational spending account. At its start, the funds to provide this ESA will be no less than $100 million
Q: Who is eligible?
A: For the first two years of the program, students meeting an income threshold will be eligible to attend their school of choice. At the beginning of the program, that is defined as a family of four making just under $95,000 a year. There is a preference given for the first 500 seats to students with special needs.
After the two-year ramp up, the income threshold will be removed, but priority acceptance will go to those with higher economic need.
Q: When can families begin to participate and is there anything they need to do?
A: We are working on marketing materials to explain the program at the same time that the rules are being written for enacting the law. We are watching for these guidelines to be crafted by the Department of Revenue soon. We have all next school year to spread the word and to prepare, but we are prayerful that our families will find the process easy.
Q: Will all Catholic schools in the archdiocese be participants?
A: All of our schools fit the definition of a participating school in that we offer nationally normed tests and are accredited by a national group. Thus, we are excited that all of our schools will participate.
Q: What are the specific impacts this will have on our Catholic schools?
A: The CHOOSE Act should not add many new protocols or mechanisms for our schools. Once an award is approved to a family, it is a matter of the Department of Revenue applying the ESA to a participating school. The new law doesn't change our admissions policies or the values that make us a Catholic school. It really is a solid law providing parents with the ability to select a school that fits their child's needs.
Q: Along with our Catholic schools, discuss the impact the CHOOSE Act has on homeschool families in our archdiocese.
A: Homeschool families also benefit from the CHOOSE Act in that families can be reimbursed for $2,000 of approved educational expenses per child, up to $4,000. It should be a boost to most school types. Incidentally, it also allows transfer from public to public. Let's say a parent believes a city school is a better option for their child, they could use part of the ESA grant to pay for "out of city" tuition many schools charge for transfer students, often around $1,500.
Q: One criticism by some is a perceived negative impact on public schools. How would you respond to that criticism?
A: I would say that the funds providing these opportunities are separately held and do not affect the funding or calculation for funding public schools. The CHOOSE Act provides a philosophical shift that seeks to free parents from being locked to a school because of their zip code. The thought is with increased competition, students and schools will both benefit and improve.
