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As other states consider expansion, Governor Ivey says school choice ensures ‘EVERY student’ receives a quality education

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey is praising the Republican Party for adding “universal school-choice” to it’s official policy platform at the 2024 Republican National Convention. The platform calls for expanding parental rights and school choice, promoting career training and “patriotic” civics education, and beefing up student discipline.

The Associated Press reported on the news and asked “What would that mean for students?”

“The term can mean different things to different people,” the report said, “from erasing school boundaries, to open enrollment, to being able to curate your child’s individual curriculum, to parental control over K-12 course content.”

Ivey reacted to the report on social media saying, “It means EVERY student — no matter the zip code, no matter the school — receives a quality education. #alpolitics”

Ivey led the effort during the 2024 legislative session to pass expansions to school-choice in the Yellowhammer State. The governor signed the CHOOSE Act earlier this year, which creates $7,000 ESAs for eligible students to use toward education expenses beginning in 2025-26 school year. It will be available to all students by the 2027-28 school year.

RELATED: Alabama leads the nation in educational freedom in 2024 after Governor Ivey signs school choice bill into law

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee spoke also promoted school choice this week during a speech at the RNC Tuesday.

“They attacked parental rights,” Lee said. “Republican Governors fought back for a parents’ right to choose their own child’s education. President Trump was right when he said that school choice is the civil rights issue of our time.”

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

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