Alabama House passes $10 billion education budget

The Alabama House of Representatives passed a package of education funding bills Thursday, including a nearly $10 billion 2026 Education Trust Fund budget (ETF).

SB 112, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, allocates $9.9 billion for K-12 schools and higher education, a 6% increase over the current budget. The House Ways and Means Education Committee approved the budget on Tuesday.

“This was an important budget. I think the members understood it, but the work got done,” Garrett said.

The budget also includes $135 million for the CHOOSE Act, a voucher-like program that will award students with funds to be used for education-related expenses, including private school tuition. The program was initially slated to get $100 million, but Garrett said that because of the nearly 37,000 applications there needed to be more money for qualifying students. 

“We have had such an enormous response to the application process. So there were a lot of moving pieces here,” Garrett said after the House adjourned.

The program is currently limited to special needs students and those making under 300% of the poverty line, about $79,950 for a family of three. The program will be open to all applicants starting in 2027, without any income limits. About two-thirds of the 37,000 applicants for the program this year are already in private school or homeschooled.

The budget also includes a $99.2 million increase for the Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan. There are no pay raises for education employees in the budget. 

Garrett said they also had to allocate funds for educator workmen’s compensation and paid parental leave.

“So we had a lot of things in the budget, but the good news was we had adequate reserves. We had limited our budget growth every year for the past several years,” he said.

The budget passed 103-0 with a House committee substitute. It moves to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee. The Senate approved the budget on April 10.

Garrett said one of his priorities in the budget is continuing to invest in public education in the state. SB 305, also sponsored by Orr, allows the Legislature to appropriate additional funds to schools based on student needs. The House added an additional $58 million to begin the transition to the new model. The bill passed 103-0. It goes to Gov. Kay Ivey to be signed into law. 

SB 111, also sponsored by Orr, would appropriate $375 million over three years for that transition, which aims to get more money to students with particular needs, including children in poverty and English Language Learners. 

“Every district can report how many students they have that are in the poverty definition, how many are in special education, how many are English as a second language,” he said. “And what we will do is allocate this additional pot of money to those districts based upon that weight.”

Rep. Phillip Ensler, D-Montgomery, supported the weighted funding model. Under the legislation, Montgomery County Schools will receive $7.7 million with most coming from the 2.5% weight for poverty.

“I know students in Montgomery Public Schools are going to be better off because of this,” Ensler said.

The bill passed 103-0 with a House committee substitute that added $80 million to the Education Opportunity Reserve Fund for the CHOOSE Act. It goes to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee. The Senate adjourned Thursday before final approval of the budgets, so its consideration was not possible Thursday.

The House also passed SB 113, also sponsored by Orr, which is the $524 million 2025 supplemental appropriation for education. It passed 103-0 with a House committee substitute that added funds for various needs. It also passed with a floor amendment from Garrett that changed language to clarify funding for dual enrollment programs. It moves to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee. 

The House also passed SB 114, also sponsored by Orr, which is the $1.25 billion supplemental appropriation for the Advancement and Technology budget. It passed 103-0 with a House committee substitute that added a $100 million grant to create career technical programs in areas of the state that do not have one already.  It moves to the Senate for concurrence or conference committee.

Garrett said that he hopes the creation of the programs will improve Alabama’s labor participation rate. The state ranks 47th in labor participation at 57.8%, according to the U.S. Joint Economic Committee.

“These initiatives that we’ve undertaken, through improving education, through increasing the Career Tech opportunities and collaboration with community colleges, all of that,” he said. “If that drives that labor participation rate up, the state is in a really good position.” 

House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, commended the budget committee and Garrett for their work on the budget. 

“This was a great deal. Chairman Garrett did outstanding. His committee works hard, and the work showed that today,” Ledbetter said.