New API report reveals hurdles and hopes for universal school choice in Alabama

Published by the Alabama Policy Institute 2023-2024 Educational Freedom Report in Alabama. According to the group, some of the data collected shows why implementing and achieving universal school choice in the state has proven difficult, but it is not worth solving. It is said that this is a certain issue.

The report found that traditional public schools remain by far the most popular form of schooling in Alabama, with 73 out of 1,360 schools, even though a significant portion of them are in or near failure. It showed that there were 5,884 students.

This is in part due to a “slow rollout” of charter schools (17 in the state since 2015), according to API, and because magnet schools are not universally accessible to district-specific students, effectively leaving This is also due to limited choices.

Additionally, there are currently only two private school choice programs offered in the state: the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) and the Educational Scholarship Program.

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AAA is a refundable tax credit program, but it is limited to students transferring from, or assigned to, a failing public school to a non-failing public or private school.

The educational scholarship system is also a tax-deductible scholarship system. 2,611 scholarships were awarded in the 2021-2022 academic year and 2,829 scholarships were awarded in the 2022-23 academic year, but less than 1 percent of AL students took advantage of the scholarships was.

API explained why universal school choice is central to its mission.

“Alabama’s public schools continue to fall below the national average. Our leaders are committed to increasing state funding (statewide K-12 funding has increased by nearly 15% over the past five years). I mistakenly believe that (I did) is the solution to academic success.”

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“One of the tenets of the Alabama Policy Institute's mission is to promote and defend the family as the primary foundation of society,” the group said. “School choice initiatives that recognize and strengthen the role of parents in their inherent responsibility to educate and raise their children are therefore a priority for API.”

“Regardless of the tools involved, the goal of school choice is to give parents agency in shaping the education they see fit for their children,” the organization continued. “Furthermore, the reintroduction and expansion of free market principles has improved and will continue to improve the state's educational landscape.”

“API believes universal school choice is paramount to giving every child in Alabama the opportunity to thrive.”

Austin Shipley is a staff writer at Yellowhammer News.