Governor Ivey Announces CHOOSE Act Family Applications for 2026-2027 School Year

MONTGOMERY – Governor Kay Ivey on Tuesday announced that The CHOOSE Act (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act of 2024) family application portal access date information is available on the program’s updated website, where Alabama families can prepare for the state’s education savings account (ESA) program for the 2026-2027 academic year.

The website provides Alabama families with the latest information about the CHOOSE Act, including eligibility information, an online application for both renewing and new families, program FAQ, important deadlines and parent and education service provider (ESP) guides. The renewing family application portal for the 2026-2027 academic year will open on December 15, 2025, and the new family application portal will open on January 2, 2026. Both application portals close on March 31, with award notifications scheduled to be sent out on April 15, 2026.

“The CHOOSE Act is a great success for real Alabama families and our state’s continued educational growth,” said Governor Ivey. “I am excited for even more Alabama parents to have a greater voice in their children’s education, and I urge parents to apply and choose the education that best suits their children.”

In recent months, the governor featured families from across the state, including the McDades and the Walkers from Montgomery, the Siemenses in Dothan and the Carbonells in Birmingham, and she will continue highlighting real Alabama families positively impacted by this school choice program.

The CHOOSE Act makes refundable income tax credits, called ESAs, available to support the success of eligible K5-12 students across Alabama. An ESA can be used to pay for school tuition, tutoring, educational therapies and other qualified education expenses at approved ESPs. Funding for eligible students includes:

• $7,000 per participating student enrolled in a participating school
• $2,000 per participating student who is participating in a home education program (this includes an individual or group program, homeschool, co-ops, etc. and is capped at $4,000 per family)

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the program is open to new families with an adjusted gross income (AGI) not exceeding 300 percent of the federal poverty level for the preceding tax year. For the 2027-2028 academic year and beyond, the program is open to all families, regardless of income.

The program will prioritize students with special needs, participating students and their siblings and students who are dependents of active-duty service members enrolled in or assigned to a priority school. Remaining ESAs will be available to students based on the family’s AGI as a percentage of the federal poverty level.

For more information about CHOOSE Act Alabama, visit chooseact.alabama.gov.

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