Education

Open Enrollment School Bill Advances

MONTGOMERY -- A bill to require Alabama school systems to adopt open enrollment policies to accept students outside their districts cleared its first vote on Tuesday. Some education groups spoke against Senate Bill 365 by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, who pledged to work with them as the bill moves forward. Marsh, a school choice advocate, said the state has to provide more educational options for families. He said 47 states have open enrollment policies. “It basically says you’re not limited by your ZIP code where you’re going to school,” Marsh told the Senate Education Policy Committee. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Legislature Sends Alcohol Delivery Bill to Governor House Passes CA Prohibiting Legislative Changes Within Six Months of Elections Distracted Driving Bill Fails Bill Increases Tax Credit Limit for Accountability Act Donors

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Would Let K-12 Students Enroll in Any School in the State — For a Fee.

Senate Bill 365 by Sen. Del Marsh, R-Anniston, says that starting in the 2022-2023 school year, students from outside a system can enroll in its schools. A student enrolling in a school outside of his or her district of residence “shall pay the enrolling school district an amount that is equal to the per student share of the net local tax revenue” as determined by the State Department of Education. Local school boards would be required to adopt application processes and “shall consider” giving low-performing students from failing schools, as determined by the Alabama Accountability Act, enrollment priority. Marsh filed the bill, called the Open Schools Act, on Thursday. It’s been assigned to the Senate Education Policy Committee, and a public hearing is set for 10:45 a.m.Tuesday. Read more. More from the Legislature this week: Bill Increases Tax Credit Limit for Accountability Act Donors

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill Increases Tax Credit Limit for Accountability Act Donors

Legislation in the Alabama State House would increase the allowable tax credit for individuals and corporations that donate to private school scholarships through the Alabama Accountability Act. The 2013 law allows for tax credit-funded scholarships for families leaving the state’s lowest-performing public schools. There also is a separate $30 million-per-year scholarship fund for private school tuition. Businesses and individuals who donate to the fund receive income tax credits — money that would otherwise go to the state education budget. Scholarship granting organizations, or SGOs, collect and distribute the money to low-income families. Those students are not required to come from failing schools. House Bill 559 by Rep. Charlotte Meadows, R-Montgomery, does not change that $30 million cap but expands the allowable credit from 50% of an individual’s tax burden to 75%, capped at $75,000. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Advancement and Technology Fund Could Send $282M to K-12, Higher Ed

Alabama K-12 schools and colleges could receive about $282 million this year separate from the state education budget or any federal relief money flowing to them. Senate Bill 193 would allocate money through the state’s Advancement and Technology Fund, which can be spent on one-time purchases in tech, capital improvements and a few other select expenses. The proposal that passed the Senate distributes nearly $76.3 million to higher education institutions and nearly $206 million to K-12. For the smallest school systems, it’s several hundred thousand dollars. Mobile County, the state’s largest K-12 system, would get $14.8 million. Every school’s proposed allocation is listed in the bill approved by the Senate and now in the House. Schools would receive the money this summer. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

$7.6B Education Budget Moves to House

MONTGOMERY — The Alabama Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a record-setting $7.6 billion education budget for 2022. The proposal includes a 2% across-the-board cost of living pay increase for K-12 and community college employees and two other more targeted pay increases for teachers. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives. The Senate also approved Senate Bill 327 to create a program to offer increased pay to middle and high school math and science teachers who meet certain qualifications. Additional money would also be available to those teachers who work in hard-to-staff schools. Read more. Read complete legislative coverage

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

COVID-19 Relief for Alabama Education Totals More Than $4B

Alabama K-12 schools are getting another $2 billion of federal relief funding from the President Joe Biden-pushed American Rescue Plan Act, state officials said Wednesday. That's on top of $1.1 billion schools received from the first two rounds of federal relief. In all, federal relief money to K-12 and higher education in Alabama will total about $4.5 billion in the three approved by Congress in the last year. About $3.2 billion of that is for K-12 alone, with much of it going directly to local school districts, according to Kirk Fulford, deputy director of the Legislative Services Agency’s Fiscal Division. “The investment of these funds is going to be critical,” Rep. Bill Poole, R-Tuscaloosa, said during a presentation Wednesday to the House education budget committee. Read more.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Bill to Increase Charter School Funding Passes Committee

MONTGOMERY — Legislation advanced Wednesday to change how local tax dollars fund charter schools, a move proponents say is needed to make their funding more equal to that of traditional public schools. Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, sponsored the 2015 legislation that allows charter schools in the state. “Over the last five years, we’ve learned some things we need to tweak,” Collins told Alabama Daily News. Read more. Also in the Legislature Alabama to Receive $4B From Biden Relief and Stimulus Plan Senate Kills Lottery, Gambling Legislation Bill to Limit Executive Branch Spending Advances House Passes General Fund Budget that Increases Funding for State Agencies Bill Stalled That Would Increase Penalties for Rioting State Budgets, Legislative Authority, Gambling Bills in State House This Week Public Records, Hairstyle Discrimination, Marijuana Among Issues Before Legislature

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Samford Names New President to Replace Retiring Westmoreland

Samford University’s board of trustees named a new president Wednesday. Beck A. Taylor, now president of Whitworth University, will succeed Andrew Westmoreland effective July 1. Westmoreland is retiring as president, a post he has held since 2006. Taylor will be the university’s 19th president. Read more.

by BirminghamWatch

Bill to Delay Rules That Would Fail Third Graders Who Don’t Read Well Enough Advances

A bill that would delay by three years a provision to require holding back third graders who don’t read at a sufficient level received unanimous support in the Senate Education Policy Committee on Wednesday. The provision is in the Alabama Literacy Act, which was approved by lawmakers in 2019. It aims to increase reading skills in young students. The act currently requires that, starting at the end of the 2021-2022 school year, third grade students demonstrate specific reading skills before being promoted to fourth grade. Smitherman’s bill delays that retention requirement until the 2024-2025 school year. He said the delay is needed because the COVID-19 pandemic led to remote learning for many students, and they’re not getting the educational support they need. He also said teachers haven’t been able to get the training they need. Read more. More from the Legislature This Week: Bill to Close ABC Stores Gets Committee Approval Concealed Carry, Law Enforcement Checks, Jail Issues Taken Up Thursday by Legislature Ban on Curbside Voting Passes, Special Session Bill Dies Monuments Bill Killed; Lawmaker Calls Members Racist House Passes Business-Friendly State Emergency Bill Read complete legislative coverage.

by Mary Sell, Alabama Daily News

Some Parents Worry About In-Person Standardized Testing During the Pandemic

Education leaders in Alabama say there will be no virtual option despite COVID-19. Read more.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM