BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama’s education landscape experienced profound changes in 2024, preparing the state for a pivotal year.

The introduction of education savings accounts led to a shift in school choice and offers families more flexibility next fall.

Lawmakers also began grappling with the financial realities of a post-COVID funding cliff and rethinking how schools are funded statewide. Meanwhile, the first round of reading support for third graders under the Literacy Act didn’t go as badly as some had feared, giving hope for a nationwide improvement in literacy. In higher education, the year brought the closure of a historic college and a significant milestone in student loan forgiveness for Alabama residents.

Here’s a look at the key moments shaping Alabama education in 2024.

Alabama expands school choice through education savings accounts

Alabama lawmakers addressed a growing trend in school choice this year with the passage of the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act. The CHOOSE Act allows eligible K-12 students access to a $7,000 Education Savings Account (ESA) to pay for eligible education expenses, including private school tuition at participating schools. Homeschoolers can receive an ESA of $2,000, up to $4,000 per family.

Starting next fall, students from families whose adjusted gross income is less than 300% of the federal poverty level will be eligible for an ESA. The Legislature provided $100 million to fund the first round of ESAs and will continue to fund ESAs at a minimum of $100 million per year. In two years, starting with the 2027-28 school year, all families will be eligible regardless of income.

Seventeen states now have ESAs, according to the school choice advocacy group EdChoiceand more than half of these programs are concentrated in the Southeast. Research suggests that in states with universal ESAs Most participants were already enrolled in private school. Critics argue that this shifts private education costs onto taxpayers, while supporters see it as a step toward educational freedom.

Alabama does not regulate private schools, leaving an incomplete picture of private school enrollment. However, The Private School Review estimates that 82,000 students attend 470 private schools nationwide. Enrollment varies by county, ranging from just 1% of students in Blount and Marion counties to an estimated 34% in Choctaw County.

Families interested in an ESA can apply between Thursday and April 7th. The Alabama Department of Revenue administers the program and maintains a list of participating schools And Education service provider on his website.

Third grade reading skills are increasing, and now so are lower grades

School officials celebrated that third-grade reading scores improved significantly in the spring, with nearly 49,000 students — 91% of the state’s 53,500 third-graders — performing well enough to advance to fourth grade. This represents an increase from 2023, when 43,400, or 83%, of the 52,500 third graders met the benchmark.

But the celebrations were dampened by critics, including some members of the state board, who argued that the reduced score was too low and did not reflect actual grade-level ability. Reading experts weighed in on these concerns, noting that students who were between the cut score and grade level proficiency still needed additional support as they transitioned into fourth grade.

In October, after months of discussions, the state board approved a plan to increase the cut score over the next three years.

The stakes were higher this year as the Alabama Literacy Act, first passed in 2019, took effect for the first time, allowing third-graders to be held back due to reading disabilities. Although the test results attracted widespread attention, passing the test was not the only path to fourth grade. Students had the opportunity to attend free summer reading camps hosted by their school district and take tests again later in the summer. This second test helped another 1,300 students advance, leaving 3,500 to find another path.

Preliminary data released in August showed just over 1,800 third-graders were held back due to reading difficulties.

After federal COVID relief dollars are spent, Alabama schools are facing a funding cliff

With nearly $5 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds now spent on education, Alabama schools and colleges face the difficult question of what comes next. Officials and lawmakers are grappling with how to address the remaining financial shortfalls and their impact on education.

K-12 schools received $3.1 billionwhile Colleges and universities had access to $1.5 billion through three rounds of emergency funding passed by Congress. The funds helped stabilize schools during the pandemic, but their impact on performance and long-term outcomes remains unclear.

While some schools and Colleges are still spending money Their final amounts are in, deadlines have passed, and federal and state auditors are reviewing how the funds were used. The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts has already reported cases in which K-12 schools did not follow the rules for tenders and purchases.

When institutions submit budget requests for the coming year, lawmakers will have more than $500 million in additional tax revenue at their disposal, but it won’t come close to replacing lost federal support.

Emergency funding authorized under the CARES Act, the CRRSA Act, and the American Rescue Plan involved complex and changing rules. With federal money no longer on the table, Alabama schools must now focus on how to maintain the progress made during the pandemic while addressing critical budget shortfalls.

The funding formula for K-12 schools could be revised

Alabama lawmakers are considering updates to the state’s 30-year-old K-12 school funding formula. Past and current research shows that the state formula does not provide enough funding, nor is it distributed in a way that best meets the needs of students.

A joint legislative commission is studying the adoption of a weighted student formula to improve academic outcomes, with input from Bellwether, a nonprofit organization focused on improving education systems. Weighted student formulas provide more financial assistance to students with greater needs and challenges, such as those experiencing poverty, disabilities, or those learning English. While discussions have already begun, decisions on the basic funding amount and the specific weight distribution are still undecided.

Bellwether emphasized the flexibility the formula provides, allowing school leaders to direct targeted resources where they are needed most for students.

Skeptics question whether Alabama can afford this change without raising taxes, but finance officials say the state has enough money in reserve accounts to finance a phased-in rollout over five years and beyond.

The commission is expected to meet again in late January to develop recommendations and enact legislation to adopt the weighted student formula. If implemented, Alabama would join 44 other states, including Tennessee and Mississippi, that already use weighted formulas.

Higher education: Birmingham-Southern College closed, student loans forgiven in Alabama

Two major events stood out in Alabama’s higher education landscape in 2024: the closing of Birmingham-Southern College and relief for more than 15,000 Alabamians who had a combined $1.2 billion in student loan debt forgiven by the Biden administration.

In May, Birmingham-Southern College closed its doors after 168 years. Although the college needed $38 million to stay open, its efforts to secure funding failed. Alabama lawmakers, led by former BSC Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, have created a loan program to help colleges in financial trouble. The authority to make this loan rested with Treasurer Young Boozer, who rejected the request – not once, but twice.

Birmingham-Southern’s financial problems didn’t happen overnight. Some pointed to 2017 as a turning point The college halved its tuition to attract more students. While this bold move initially garnered attention, it ultimately highlighted the challenges facing many small colleges.

The closure of the university is not an isolated case. Spring Hill College in Mobile, which also halved your 2021 tuition fees – Marion’s Judson College the same year shut down – keep fighting with it declining revenue from tuition fees. These trends highlight the growing pressure on smaller colleges to adapt or risk closure.

Amid these challenges, there is some good news for higher education in Alabama. Enrollment at both two- and four-year colleges has increased steadily since 2022, bucking the national trend of declining postsecondary college enrollment.

Another bright spot was progress in addressing student loan debt. More than until October 15,000 Alabamians benefited from the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, collectively receiving over $1.2 billion in federal student loan debt relief. However, this only represents a fraction 657,200 Alabamians owed $24.8 billion in federal student loans as of Sept. 30.

The PSLF program, signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2007, has been criticized for its high denial rate – 99% of applications have been rejected by 2021. However, reforms have addressed procedural problems, leading to a dramatic increase in approvals. Since then, more than one million borrowers have had $78 billion in student loan debt forgiven through PSLF.

The broader impact of federal student loan forgiveness goes beyond public sector workers. Since Biden took office, nearly $180 billion in student loan forgiveness has been granted to nearly five million borrowers.