Choose Act
The CHOOSE Act was signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey on March 7, 2024. The CHOOSE Act makes refundable income tax credits called education savings accounts (ESAs) available to support the success of every K5-12 student in Alabama. In short, the CHOOSE Act provides funds for eligible students which may be used to cover tuition, fees, and other qualified education expenses at approved education service providers (ESPs) in Alabama. The purpose of “School Choice” for states across our nation is to provide alternative ways to increase access to education.
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. Cottage Hill Christian Academy 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:
- Tuition
- Student activity fee and other approved fees (Athletic fees, extended care, senior fees, and some other fees are not approved expenses.)
- Textbooks in approved subjects (all CHCA core courses and electives qualify)
- School supplies
- Private tutoring
- Computers and tablets (up to $1,200 every two years)
- Technological aids (printers, ink, keyboards, etc.; up to $500 per year)
- Fees for standardized tests (ACT, PSAT, AP exams)
- Educational therapies for students with disabilities
To be eligible for the upcoming school year, the following criteria must be met:
- Student must be entering K5-12th grade. K5 students must be five years old by September 1, 2025.
- Student must be a resident of Alabama.
- For the first two years of the program, household income must not exceed the amounts listed below. Starting with the 2027-2028 school year, all students are eligible to apply regardless of household income.
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 or guardians should contact Mrs. Newton or Dr. Johnson 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 CHCA 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. We plan to email the application link to all CHCA families once it is available.
- To apply, families will need the following documents:
- Student’s birth certificate, adoption records (if applicable)
- Verification of Alabama residency (driver’s license, utility bill, etc.)
- Proof of income (tax return documents, W-2 form, 1099 form, etc.)
- A copy of the student’s accommodations plan (for those with special needs) Parents or guardians should contact Mrs. Newton or Dr. Johnson with any questions concerning a student’s accommodation plan.
Award notifications will be sent out from the Department of Revenue beginning May 1, 2025. Families should notify Mrs. Dressler in the Finance Office of their status once award notifications are received.
Once 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 the 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. Payments and purchases will follow these procedures:
- Tuition and fees – CHCA will create an invoice in FACTS for tuition to be due annually in July. The invoice for student activity fees will be due August 15th. Families will request payment from the ESA to CHCA and upload the invoices from FACTS to ClassWallet. The funds will be transferred via ClassWallet to CHCA.
- School supplies, educational technology, textbooks – All purchases must be made through the Class Wallet online Marketplace with their approved vendors. More information about the Marketplace is available on the CHOOSE Act website.
- Private tutoring and educational therapies – Services must be provided by an approved ESP. The ESP will provide an invoice for families to submit for payment from ClassWallet, and funds will be transferred via Class Wallet to the ESP.
Funds will be deposited in the student’s ESA beginning July 1, 2025.
Families who have previously received tuition assistance from CHCA and whose income is within the CHOOSE Act income threshold will be required to apply for the CHOOSE Act first. If the family timely applies for the CHOOSE Act and submits all required documentation but is not selected as a recipient, then the family may apply for FACTS Grant & Aid. The family will be asked to submit the CHOOSE Act denial letter. Tuition assistance received in a prior year from CHCA does not guarantee assistance in future years. Each family is reviewed annually on a case-by-case basis.
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.
No, a monthly payment plan will be set up for the remaining balance.
CHCA enrollment fees are due prior to the 2025-2026 funds being available, and the CHOOSE Act does not allow reimbursements.
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.
A student cannot be the recipient of both AOSF and the CHOOSE Act. However, if the amount received by AOSF for the student’s grade level is less than $7,000, then we suggest applying for the CHOOSE Act.
Unused funds at the end of the school year are returned to the CHOOSE Act Program.