BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – In the first year of Alabama’s CHOOSE Act, a small group of private schools are already seeing the majority of their students using the state-funded education savings accounts.
Data obtained and analyzed exclusively by Alabama Daily News from the Alabama Department of Revenue on the 12,500 private school students using ESAs this year show that eight of the 245 participating private schools have more than half of their maximum student enrollment funded through ESAs.
Another 23 schools showed that between one-third and one-half of their students – if they were at maximum enrollment – are covered by ESAs.
At Dyslexia Services of Baldwin County in Robertsdale, ALDOR’s numbers show that 16 students are ESA recipients – 80% of the school’s maximum enrollment capacity of 20 students.
The school specializes in teaching children with dyslexia and Director Susanne Avery is thrilled that the CHOOSE Act has allowed families to access services they couldn’t afford before.
“It opened the door for a lot of kids that couldn’t afford this type of service,” Avery said.
The school, established as a nonprofit tutoring center in 2012 and expanded into a full-time school three years ago, moved into a larger building before the start of the school year after seeing an increased demand for enrollment.
Tuition is $6,500 annually or $675 monthly – within the $7,000 annual limit on the CHOOSE Act – and the school’s after-school tutoring can also be paid for with ESA funds.
Hers is one of only a handful of private schools in Alabama dedicated to serving students with dyslexia. Avery said students generally attend for three years before returning to their previous school.
The CHOOSE Act gives priority to the first 500 ESAs for students with special needs and Avery said that has made a difference for families seeking specialized instruction.
Avery said the word of the new funding has spread quickly.
“I think it’s going to be bigger next year, because I think people are going to be ready for the deadlines,” she said.
Applications for the 2026-27 school year open in January.
Alabama Daily News previously reported 9,600 students attending private schools using the ESAs were in private schools last year.
Other private schools also enroll high percentages of students using ESAs. ALDOR data show that Hope Christian Academy in Oxford and The Rock Academy in Phenix City enroll roughly two-thirds of its maximum students using ESAs.
Several others, including First Assembly Christian School in Ashland and St. James Catholic School in Gadsden, show that about half their potential student bodies are ESA recipients.
Overall, 30 schools enroll 100 or more ESA students, while 35 schools have fewer than 10. Schools enrolling fewer than 20 students do not have to submit annual test results to ALDOR, making 61 schools exempt from that reporting requirement.
While the law describes the ESA as a “refundable tax credit,” it functions more like a voucher – funded through the state’s Education Trust Fund rather than tied to a family’s income tax liability. Funds are managed through ClassWallet and paid directly to schools or other approved providers. Families never handle the money themselves.
A sortable table below lists every participating school, along with the number of ESA students, their share of total enrollment if they reach capacity, and accreditation status. Schools have three years to attain accreditation.
Click here if you’re unable to see the table.
The CHOOSE Act, approved by lawmakers in 2024, created education savings accounts worth $7,000 per student to cover tuition and approved education expenses at private schools. Around 12,500 students are using $7,000 ESAs, though ALDOR will only pay out what actual tuition and eligible costs total. Families are responsible for any remaining costs.
The law also allows homeschooled students to receive $2,000 per child for approved educational expenses, capped at $4,000 per family. Revenue data show 5,900 homeschooled students were awarded the $2,000 ESAs, while 1,300 additional homeschool students applied for funding but did not receive it because their families had already reached the cap.
Combined, the two groups – private and home-school students – account for $99.3 million in ESA funding this year. Lawmakers initially allocated $100 million for the first year of the program but then made another $80 million available, if needed.
The first two years of CHOOSE Act participation are limited by income eligibility – income cannot exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. Lawmakers intend for eligibility to become universal by the 2027-28 school year, if funding allows.
Participation so far appears concentrated in the lower grades. A review of grade-level data shows most ESA recipients are in elementary grades, suggesting families are more willing to commit to private school for younger children as the new funding program takes shape.
The chart below breaks down ESA participation by grade level. The numbers show both “participating” – those who are already enrolled – and “eligible” – those who haven’t yet activated their ESAs – students.
Click here if you’re unable to see the table.
A comparison with the Alabama Accountability Act – Alabama’s first school-choice program, which offers tax credit scholarships worth up to $10,000 per student – suggests little overlap so far. Schools with historically large numbers of AAA recipients did not appear to shift those students to ESAs, possibly because AAA scholarships pay more of the total costs.
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