The CHOOSE Act, explained for autism families

1. What the CHOOSE Act is

The CHOOSE Act — the Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education Act of 2024 — is run by the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR). It creates education savings accounts (ESAs), which are refundable income-tax credits, to help pay for an eligible K-12 student's education. The money is held and spent through a digital-wallet platform called ClassWallet; you don't get a check and there is no reimbursement — purchases are made directly through the platform to approved providers.

• $7,000 per student enrolled in a participating (private or approved) school.
• $2,000 per student in a home-education program — capped at $4,000 per family.

Sources: chooseact.alabama.gov and the official CHOOSE Act Parent Guide (PDF). Accessed November 4, 2026.

3. Who qualifies

A student must be an Alabama resident in grades K-12 (kindergarteners must reach the state's age cutoff — turning 5 by September 1 of that school year). The income rule has changed over time, so this is the part to verify most carefully:

• Earlier cycles (through 2026-27) required household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. For the 2025-26 year that was about $77,460 for a family of three and $93,600 for a family of four (based on 2024 federal poverty guidelines).
• Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, the income cap goes away — the program opens to all Alabama K-12 students regardless of household income. Income may still be used to rank applicants after the priority groups above.

Because the current program funds a limited number of accounts each year, qualifying and applying are two different things — the priority order decides who actually gets an award when more families apply than there are accounts.

Sources: CHOOSE Act Parent Guide (PDF) (income table) and chooseact.alabama.gov (no income requirement beginning 2027-28). Accessed November 4, 2026.

4. What ESA funds can — and can't — pay for

Funds can only be spent through ClassWallet with approved providers (called Education Service Providers, or ESPs) and on items on ALDOR's approved-expense list. The list that matters most to autism families is the therapy category. Approved uses include:

• Educational therapies for students with disabilities — delivered by a licensed or accredited practitioner — explicitly including Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision therapy, and dyslexia/dysgraphia therapies. Fees for the initial evaluation are also approved.
• Tuition and fees at a participating school; fees for its after-school or summer education programs.
• Private tutoring (in person or online) and approved online learning programs in core subjects.
• Curriculum, textbooks, workbooks, and instructional materials for the student's own use.
• Assistive / special-needs software such as dictation or braille-translation programs.
• Computers (under $1,200, limited to one every two years per student, approved by ALDOR or required by a licensed physician) and technological aids (capped at $500 per year per student).
• Standardized/college-admissions test fees and prep; some contracted public-school-district services.

Not covered includes things like child care, before/after-school care, food, transportation, uniforms, field trips, athletic/sports fees, insurance, and late or fundraising fees. A parent also can't be paid as the provider for their own child, and your family is responsible for any cost above the ESA balance.

Source: CHOOSE Act Parent Guide — Approved Expenses (PDF). Accessed November 4, 2026. The approved-expense list is updated by ALDOR, so confirm the current year's list before you plan a purchase.

5. How a CHOOSE Act ESA interacts with your child's IEP or 504

This is the question many autism families ask, and it deserves a careful answer rather than a confident wrong one. Two things to understand:

• Your child's IEP or 504 plan is often what documents the “special needs” status used for the reserved-priority group, so keep it current and have a copy ready when you apply.
• Moving a child from public school to a private or home setting can change the special-education rights that come with public enrollment. The free, legally-mandated services in a public-school IEP (FAPE under IDEA) generally follow public enrollment; private-school and homeschooled students are served under different, more limited rules. An ESA can help pay for private services, but it is not a drop-in replacement for an IEP's entitlements.

Before you change your child's placement, ask your school district's special-education office and the CHOOSE Act program directly how your specific decision affects your child's services and rights — and consider talking with a special-education advocate or attorney. This page can't give you that individualized legal answer.

Not sure what FAPE, IDEA, IEP, or 504 mean? · or see how to start a free school evaluation if your child doesn't have an IEP yet.

6. How and when to apply

Applications are submitted online through the official program site during a set window each year — it is not open year-round, and missing the window means waiting for the next cycle. The pattern in recent years has been: apply in the winter/early spring, award notices by email in the spring, and funds available to use starting in July for that school year. For the 2027-28 cycle, the Alabama Department of Revenue states the application window opens January 4, 2027 and closes at midnight on March 31, 2027, with eligibility notices by email in mid-April and funds available July 1, 2027. The 2027-28 cycle is open to families at all income levels(awards are given by priority tier, with students with special needs in the top tier).

Have these ready: your most recent Alabama income-tax return, a state-issued ID, your child's birth certificate, and — to be counted in the special-needs priority — your child's IEP or 504 documentation.

• Apply and read the official rules: chooseact.alabama.gov
• Program background from the state: revenue.alabama.gov/choose-act

Add the application window to your deadline tracker so it doesn't slip by — the window is short and it does not reopen if you miss it.

Sources: chooseact.alabama.gov (application window and required documents) and the CHOOSE Act Parent Guide (PDF), and revenue.alabama.gov (2027-28 application window). Accessed November 5, 2026. Dates can shift from year to year — always confirm the current cycle on the official site before you rely on it.