This week, families and educators across Alabama are joining their counterparts nationwide to celebrate National School Choice Week, a movement highlighting the importance of giving families more options in how and where their children are educated.
Events across the state — including rallies at public schools — aim to raise awareness about Alabama’s growing range of choices, from public charter schools to new education savings accounts.
Bridging the gap
Gov. Kay Ivey has made expanding school choice a big part of her education platform, while also calling for lawmakers to put more money into public schools and invest in bridging education with Alabama’s workforce needs. As in previous years, Ivey issued a proclamation recognizing National School Choice Week.
“Ensuring every student in every zip code receives a quality education is our primary goal in Alabama,” Ivey said. “Expanding school choice, most recently through the implementation of our CHOOSE Act, will give more families the flexibility to choose an education that best suits their child’s individual needs. And when a child succeeds, the state succeeds. Like I say, strong students lead to a strong Alabama.”
While Alabama was slow to embrace school choice, in the past decade, lawmakers have expanded choices beyond traditional public, private and homeschool options to multiple choices among programs, offering families greater flexibility.
School choice supporters emphasize the need for families to be able to choose where their child is educated, particularly in areas with underperforming schools. Critics, however, worry that as state education funds follow students to options outside of traditional public schools, already poorly funded public schools will face even greater challenges providing quality education.
Read full story and timeline of key school choice expansion in Alabama.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Trisha Powell Crain and originally published by Alabama Daily News. It is reprinted with permission.
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