Political leaders across the Yellowhammer State are excited to celebrate National School Choice Week this year as CHOOSE Act goes into effect.

The CHOOSE Act, which stands for the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students’ Education Act, was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Kay Ivey last year, and it allows qualifying students to receive $7,000 annually for an Education Savings Account that may be used for tuition to private, parochial or Christian schools or $2,000 in expenses related to home schooling.

RELATED: Alabama’s new school choice program sparks early rush – over 2,800 applications in first day

“Ensuring every student in every zip code receives a quality education is our primary goal in Alabama,” Gov. Kay Ivey said on X Monday. “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.”

Alabama is proud to celebrate School Choice Week!

Last year, during my state of the state address, I made passing education savings accounts — the CHOOSE Act — my top legislative priority.

I swiftly signed it into law, and now…CHOOSE Act applications are open! #alpolitics pic.twitter.com/lvYVoXOi9Z

— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) January 26, 2025

According to the Alabama Department of Revenue, more than 2,800 applications had been submitted for 4,800 children for Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) on the first day the program was opened for applications.

“Decisions about a child’s education should be made by the people who know them best and love them most,” said U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn). “I’m proud to recognize and celebrate this week as National School Choice Week.”

Decisions about a child’s education should be made by the people who know them best and love them most.

I’m proud to recognize and celebrate this week as National School Choice Week. pic.twitter.com/9psN4sPbbe

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) January 26, 2025

State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) said that she hopes the school choice program continues to grow.

“So I am a big advocate for that program,” DuBose said Friday on WVNN. “We have had over 14,000 students already sign up. I think we have room for maybe 16,000 students. We’ve allocated $100 million to that program, which, in the whole scheme of things, considering we spend billions and billions on education in our state, it’s just a drop in the bucket. So I hope we can continue to double that every year.”

In this first year of the program, the first 500 ESAs will be awarded to participating students with special needs, with a second priority awarded to participating students who are dependents of active-duty service members enrolled in or assigned to a priority school. Remaining ESAs will be awarded for participating students based on each family’s adjusted gross income, not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty level for the preceding tax year (e.g., a family of four making less than $93,600).

Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee