📢 IMPORTANT CHOOSE ACT CLARIFICATION FOR HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES
We need to clear up some confusion regarding Alabama's CHOOSE Act because there continues to be a misunderstanding about the $7,000 award versus the $2,000 homeschool award / $4,000 family maximum.
These are NOT the same funding category, and receiving a homeschool CHOOSE Act award does not mean that you have $2,000-$4,000 available to pay tuition or enrollment fees to any homeschool, cover school, church school, umbrella school, or private school you choose.
Here is the difference:
🏫 THE $7,000 PARTICIPATING SCHOOL AWARD
The up-to-$7,000 CHOOSE Act award is for a student who is ENROLLED IN A PARTICIPATING SCHOOL.
That means the school itself must participate in the CHOOSE Act program and meet the requirements established for participating schools.
This is the category under which qualifying tuition and school fees may be paid through the ESA.
Simply attending or enrolling with a private school, church school, cover school, umbrella school, homeschool organization, or similar program does NOT automatically make that school a CHOOSE Act participating school.
If the school is not an approved participating school, a family cannot simply use the $7,000 participating-school tuition benefit there.
🏡 THE HOME EDUCATION AWARD
Students participating in a home education program, including homeschool programs, receive a different award:
💰 Up to $2,000 per participating student
💰 Maximum of $4,000 per family
For example:
1 homeschool student = up to $2,000
2 homeschool students = up to $4,000
3 homeschool students = still a maximum of $4,000 for the family
4 homeschool students = still a maximum of $4,000 for the family
The homeschool ESA is intended to help families purchase qualified educational goods and services through approved Education Service Providers.
Depending upon the provider and whether the expense qualifies under CHOOSE Act rules, eligible expenses can include things such as:
📚 Curriculum
📖 Textbooks
📝 Workbooks and instructional materials
💻 Certain computers and educational technology
✏️ Approved educational supplies
👩🏫 Private tutoring
🧪 Educational courses and instruction
🧠 Certain educational therapies
📋 Testing and assessments
🎵 Certain educational lessons and electives
…and other qualifying educational expenses allowed by the program.
⚠️ HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART:
Having a $2,000 or $4,000 HOME EDUCATION ESA DOES NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN THAT MONEY CAN BE USED TO PAY YOUR COVER SCHOOL OR HOMESCHOOL ENROLLMENT FEE.
Please do not confuse the home education award with the $7,000 participating-school award.
They are two separate classifications.
The $7,000 amount is associated with students enrolled in a CHOOSE Act participating school.
The $2,000-per-student, $4,000-per-family amount is the home education program award and is used for qualifying educational expenses through approved providers.
A school does not become a "participating school" simply because one of its families receives CHOOSE Act funds.
Likewise, receiving a CHOOSE Act homeschool award does not change your homeschooling status or magically convert your cover school into a participating school.
📌 PLEASE ALSO UNDERSTAND:
Your CHOOSE Act approval is between your family and the CHOOSE Act program.
Your enrollment with a homeschool/cover/church school is a separate matter.
If a school tells you that it does not accept CHOOSE Act funds for enrollment, you should not assume that your $2,000-$4,000 homeschool ESA can be used to pay that school's enrollment fee simply because the expense is education-related.
The type of provider and the type of expense BOTH matter.
✅ QUICK VERSION
$7,000 = student enrolled in a CHOOSE Act participating school
$2,000 per homeschool student = home education ESA
$4,000 = maximum home education award per family
The homeschool award can be used for approved educational expenses such as curriculum, materials, tutoring, technology, courses, testing, and other qualifying educational services.
It is NOT a blanket $2,000-$4,000 school-tuition voucher that can be handed to any cover school or homeschool program.
We completely understand why families are confused. The different award amounts are discussed under the same CHOOSE Act program, and without reading the definitions carefully, it is very easy to assume that everyone approved has money available for "school."
That is simply not how the two categories work.
Before making plans based on CHOOSE Act funding, please verify both:
✅ That the provider is approved for the type of purchase you are making
AND
✅ That the particular expense is an eligible CHOOSE Act expense
Please share this with other Alabama homeschool families because there is a LOT of confusion surrounding the difference between the $7,000 participating-school award and the $2,000/$4,000 home education award. ❤️