Alabama Leaders Back School Choice and Increased Education Opportunities

Alabama State Actions

School choice and the ability for families to create a pathway to a better education is the defining issue for current and future generations of students. During the 2015 legislative session, Alabama’s leaders, including Governor Robert Bentley, Senate President Pro Tempore Del Marsh, Senators Dick Brewbaker and Trip Pittman and Representatives Terri Collins, Bill Poole, Ken Johnson, Ed Henry and Alan Baker, took action to expand educational choice and college and career opportunities for all Alabama students.

SCHOOL CHOICE
In June, Alabama Governor Bentley signed the Alabama Accountability Act expansion (SB 71), which will allow more students to participate in the state’s tax credit scholarship program that serves approximately 4,000 students today. Highlights of the Alabama Accountability Act enhancements include:

AL Session Wrap-Up Quote GraphicCHARTER SCHOOLS
In March, Alabama Governor Bentley signed into law the School Choice and Student Opportunity Act, SB 45, making Alabama the 43rd state in the nation to enact a charter school law. Through this law, Alabama parents and their children have increased freedom and more tools to choose the best education setting for their children. The School Choice and Student Opportunity Act:

BUDGET
Alabama’s education budget for the 2015-2016 school year includes:

DIGITAL LEARNING
Senator Dick Brewbaker’s SB 72 was signed into law, creating a foundation for greater online learning for Alabama’s students. The law requires that every school board adopt a virtual school policy before the 2016-2017 school year. School districts have a range of ways to meet this requirement, including creating their own virtual school, contracting with a vendor, working cooperatively with another school board or university’s online learning system or tapping into the state’s existing ACCESS digital learning system. While school districts like Mobile and Baldwin counties already have digital learning initiatives in place, SB 72 ensures that all school districts provide additional digital learning opportunities to students.

 

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