Alabama becomes latest state to pass universal school choice following a wave of red states

Republican Governor Kay Ivey on Thursday signed the CHOOSE Act into law, making Alabama the latest state to make universal school choice law.

"Alabama is only the 14th state in the nation to provide families with an education savings account option," Ivey said after signing the legislation.

The education savings account is a school choice model that enables parents to use public funds to cover a variety of education expenses, including private school tuition, instructional materials, and homeschooling costs.

School choice, or providing all families with alternatives to the public schools they’re zoned for, can be expanded through multiple avenues at the state level, including school voucher programs, tax-credit scholarship programs, individual tuition tax credit programs and deductions, and education savings accounts (ESAs). 

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Charter schools, magnet schools, and homeschooling are also forms of school choice programs.

"Our plan will not only work for Alabama families – it will work for the state and will be effective and sustainable for generations to come," Ivey continued. "With the CHOOSE Act, Alabama will now be a leader when it comes to school choice."

Universal school choice made significant gains in the past couple of years when a wave of red states passed legislation into law. More states are looking to join the fold in 2024, a phenomenon experts call a "school choice revolution."

American Federation For Children senior fellow Corey DeAngelis told Fox News Digital recently to look out for Alabama to pass universal school choice legislation because a sea change is underway.

"A school choice revolution has unfolded because the teacher unions overplayed their hand and awakened the sleeping giant: parents --who want more of a say in their kids' education," DeAngelis told Fox News Digital.

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School choice became a salient issue after the COVID-19-induced lockdowns sparked a conversation on the scope of the government’s authority and the type of content that should be taught to children from public school curricula. 

Ten states have passed universal school choice legislation so far, with Arizona leading the charge in July 2022. These measures were made possible because of the GOP trifecta in those states (holding the governor's mansion, the state house and state senate) --a trend across all of the red states that passed school choice legislation. 

North Carolina, however, was the first to do so without a GOP trifecta.

Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Utah, and North Carolina joined Arizona in signing universal school choice legislation and also implemented ESA models like Alabama. West Virginia has an ESA model, as well.  

Oklahoma passed a universal tax credit program and Ohio implemented a universal school voucher program. 

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Indiana’s "Choice Scholarship Program" allows children in low- and middle-income families to receive vouchers to attend private schools. It turned out that 98% of families are eligible, making it nearly universal.

"This win is especially notable because the Alabama Education Association (state-level branch of the National Education Association) gives money to a bunch of Republican lawmakers," DeAngelis said. "Republicans there are apparently now more fearful of a new special interest group, parents, than the teachers union. That's good news for Alabama families. It’s good news for their Republican politicians, too, based on Tuesday's election results in Texas. The GOP is going to become the Parents Party whether the politicians want to or not, because parents are going to hold them to it."

DeAngelis' comments come after a new report showing how teacher unions' political action committees donated to Republicans with a track record of rejecting school choice legislation.