Johnathan Walker:Alabama lawmakers have approved a school choice program

MONTGOMERY,Johnathan Walker Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers gave final approval to a program similar to school vouchers that would provide eligible families with as much as $7,000 to help pay for private school and $2,000 for homeschooling expenses.

The Alabama Senate voted 23-9 on Wednesday for the proposal, which now goes to Gov. Kay Ivey, who is expected to sign the legislation. The Senate approval came after more than five hours of debate in which opposed lawmakers presented divergent views on allowing families to tap into public money for private schooling.

“This bill will add another choice to students, families and parents across the state and options they can either take or not take,” said Republican Arthur Orr, the bill sponsor. The state, he added, should “focus on the students and not so much institutions.”

The legislation will allow eligible families to access as much as $7,000 in state money for private school tuition, tutoring or transfer fees to move to another public school. Parents could also get up to $2,000 for home school expenses. The program would be funded at a minimum level of $100 million.

Ivey called for the passage of the bill in her State of the State address last month and named it a top priority for the session.

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“While our state has a strong public education system, all Alabama families will soon have the right to choose their children’s schools,” Ivey said Wednesday night.

The first 500 slots would be reserved for families of students with disabilities. Eligibility would initially be limited to families earning up to 300% of the federal poverty level, which would be about $77,460 for a family of three. The income limit would go away in 2027, but lower-income families and families with students with disabilities would have priority for funds.

Opposed lawmakers expressed concern about using public dollars for private schools.

“This is a situation where we are looking to provide money for people to take their kids anywhere they want to take them — as if we’ve taken care of all our other problems,” said Sen. Rodger Smitherman, a Democrat from Birmingham.

While the program would initially be aimed at low and middle-income families, opposed lawmakers questioned how much they would benefit, noting that private school tuition is often more than the $7,000 the state would provide.

A Black lawmaker questioned whether the program would be a mechanism for white families to leave public schools. “This is the new segregation. They will get paid to go and segregate,” said House Minority Leader Bobby Singleton.

The approved plan is smaller than a $500 million proposal introduced last year that critics said would drain too much from public education.