Gov. Kay Ivey joined students at the state Capitol Monday morning to reiterate her focus on school choice.

Ivey has previously expressed support for legislation to create education savings accounts, and said Monday it would be a top priority.

“Providing a solid educational foundation for all children, regardless of their zip code, is critical to the future success of our state,” Ivey said.

Ivey has not yet released details of her plans, choosing to wait until her State of the State address, which is just two weeks away.

Ivey has not yet released details of his plan, but the Alabama Legislature has considered ESA legislation in the past.

A bill introduced in the last Congress by Sen. Larry Stutz (R-Sheffield) failed to gain traction, which he blamed in part on political maneuvering. The bill was introduced in the Senate Education Policy Committee, but after a lengthy public hearing on the bill, Stutz said the bill would need to move to the Education Appropriations Committee before returning to the Policy Committee. I was disappointed. It could reach every member of the Senate.

While these hearings received significant support, primarily from private school administrators and the Eagle Forum, critics such as public school administrators and the Alabama Education Association argued that the bill lacked accountability. , said it would take funding away from public schools.

Proponents of such vouchers say the system is actually auditable in real time, and because federal and local funding is not tied to enrollment, it would not negatively impact public school funding. claims. They argue that based on this allocation, there would actually be more revenue per student because fewer students would leave the school system.

This does not seem to explain why large sums of public money that would have been siphoned off from the Education Trust Fund are currently not being paid to private school students.