Last verified: October 2026
Is the CHOOSE Act a school voucher program?
Not technically: the CHOOSE Act is an education savings account funded by a refundable state tax credit, not a voucher. A voucher sends a fixed payment to a school; the ESA puts $7,000 into a ClassWallet account the parent directs, which can pay a participating school's tuition but also textbooks, tutoring, therapies and tests.
In everyday Birmingham conversation people still say "voucher," and search engines treat the terms as the same thing. The money is real either way.
How much is it, and who gets it?
It is $7,000 per student at a participating school or $2,000 per home-educated student (capped at $4,000 a family). For 2026-27 it went to families at or under 300% of poverty; for 2027-28 every Alabama K5-12 family can apply. About 49,000 students applied statewide for 2026-27 and more than 34,000 were approved, worth over $174 million.
How many Birmingham-area private schools take it?
66 private schools with addresses in Jefferson or Shelby County are on ALDOR's participating list dated October 23, 2026, out of 102 private schools in our directory. The directory flags each one and shows which federal-survey schools are not on the state list.
What won't it pay for?
Uniforms, transportation, field trips, athletics, child care and aftercare, food, fundraising and graduation fees are all excluded, and families are never reimbursed for purchases made outside ClassWallet. Anything unspent on June 30 goes back to the state.
Voucher vs ESA vs tax-credit scholarship in Alabama
| Type | Alabama example |
|---|---|
| Voucher: state pays a school directly | Alabama has no program by that name |
| ESA: state funds a parent-directed account | CHOOSE Act ($7,000 / $2,000) |
| Tax-credit scholarship: donors fund a nonprofit | Alabama Accountability Act SGOs (up to $10,000) |