The CHOOSE Act, signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey on March 7, 2024, introduces refundable income tax credits known as education savings accounts (ESAs) to benefit K5-12 students across Alabama. These ESAs provide eligible students with funds that can be used to pay for tuition, fees, and other approved education expenses at authorized education service providers (ESPs) in the state. The goal of the CHOOSE Act and similar “School Choice” initiatives nationwide is to offer families more accessible and flexible education options to support student success.
The Alabama legislature passed the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act, otherwise known as the CHOOSE Act, in March 2024. The CHOOSE Act establishes education savings accounts (ESAs) for eligible students, which can be used to pay for a variety of educational expenses. The program will provide $100 million in ESAs for the 2025-2026 school year.
A family can receive $7,000 per eligible student who is enrolled in a participating school. Tabernacle Christian School will participate as an approved Education Service Provider (ESP).
Funds from a student’s ESA can be used for a variety of approved expenses, including the following:
To be eligible for the upcoming school year, the following criteria must be met:
The first 500 ESAs ($3.5 million) will be reserved for students with special needs and their siblings. To qualify as special needs, the parent will need to provide documentation that the student qualifies for and currently receives services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504. Students who currently receive accommodations for documented learning disabilities could fit in this category. Parents should contact our admissions staff with any questions about a student’s accommodation plan or required documentation.
Priority is also given to students who are dependents of active-duty service members who are zoned to a priority school. Priority schools are public schools that received a grade of D or F on its most recent ALSDE school report card.
Even after meeting the needs of students listed in the above categories, it is expected that a large amount of funds will be available for students who are not in the above categories but who meet the income requirements. For that reason, we strongly encourage our current Tabernacle families to apply.
Online applications will open on January 2, 2025. The deadline to apply is April 7, 2025. We encourage families to apply as early as possible. Applications will be available online through the chooseact.alabama.gov website where you can currently check to see if your family qualifies and subscribe for family updates.
Award notifications will be sent out from the Department of Revenue beginning May 1, 2025.
When a student is approved, a digital wallet account will be created within the ClassWallet platform. There will be a separate account for each student approved in each family. Funds will be deposited in the student’s ESA on July 1. All payments and purchases must be made through the Class Wallet platform. There is no reimbursement to families if payments are made outside of this system.
Funds will be deposited in the student’s ESA beginning July 1, 2025.
Participating families are responsible for all expenses exceeding the balance of the ESA account. This includes any balance remaining for tuition and fees that are not approved by the CHOOSE Act, such as athletic fees, senior fees, extended care, and cafeteria charges.
The CHOOSE Act requires that unused tuition be returned to the ESA. The tuition will be prorated over the period July – May and returned to the ESA. The returned funds can then be used for the student at another approved Alabama ESP.
Unused funds at the end of the school year are returned to the CHOOSE Act Program.
