BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Alabama House lawmakers Thursday approved a record education budget that will invest $12.2 billion into public and private schools, two- and four-year colleges, and educational initiatives in other state agencies and nonprofit organizations.
House education budget chairman Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, described the budget package as “transformative,” highlighting historic funding initiatives, bipartisan collaboration, and a shift in how state funds are allocated to K-12 schools.
He emphasized that the FY26 budget proposal includes major new investments, such as the RAISE Act, which directs additional state funds to schools based on student needs, the CHOOSE Act, which funds education savings accounts, and shifting funds from multiple state agencies into the newly created Department of Workforce.
“We had a lot of things in the budget, but the good news was we had adequate reserves,” Garrett said. Almost $2 billion was pulled from those reserves, much of it for new initiatives.
He praised the bipartisan process, noting that both Republican and Democratic caucuses were thoroughly briefed ahead of the vote — including an unusual joint meeting — to ensure everyone understood the budget’s complexities.
Garrett credited the Alabama Commission for Evaluative Services for identifying areas where unspent funds could be redirected, allowing lawmakers to support new priorities without expanding the overall budget.
“We’ve limited budget growth for years,” Garrett said, referring to a spending cap implemented by lawmakers.
Garrett ran through a list of new initiatives, some focused on expansion and others on meeting emerging needs.
“We set up the new career tech program – a $100 million grant program for regional career tech centers,” he said. “We had PEEHIP increases that we needed to cover – that was important to our education employees. We passed legislation for workers compensation and for parental leave.”
The education budget package includes four separate bills:
- Senate Bill 112 – $9.9 billion Education Trust Fund budget
- Senate Bill 114 – $1.3 billion Advancement and Technology Fund appropriation for K-12 and higher education
- Senate Bill 113 – $524 million supplemental appropriation
- Senate Bill 111 – $455 million from the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund for K-12 initiatives
Lawmakers for the first time drew money from the Educational Opportunities Reserve Fund. Garrett said the reserve was created specifically to fund education initiatives, and both the RAISE Act and CHOOSE Act – which fund education savings accounts for students in public, private, or homeschool settings – rely on that funding in this year’s budget.
The Department of Early Childhood Education is looking at a $12.4 million increase, with $12 million of that going for new First Class Pre-K programs. Garrett said the increase will fund an additional 30 First Class Pre-K classrooms, serving about 46% of the state’s 4-year-olds.
The largest new expenditure is $101.5 million for the CHOOSE Act, the state’s new education savings account program. The allocation in the FY26 budget is for the 2026-27 school year.
For the 2025-26 school year that starts in August, lawmakers included a $50 million appropriation from the supplemental allocation to add to $50 million set aside in last year’s supplemental bill. In addition to that $100 million total, lawmakers added an $80 million transfer from the EORF. Garrett said the full $80 million transfer may not be needed, but he wanted the program to fund as many qualified applicants as possible this first year. More than 36,000 applicants are vying for an ESA.
K-12 education will see big increases for two learning initiatives lawmakers approved in recent years supporting foundational math and literacy skills. Total funding for the Alabama Numeracy Act is $95 million, up $27 million over the current year’s budget.
The Alabama Literacy Act is a part of the Reading Initiative, which will see a $9.1 million increase to bring total funding to $152 million.
Summer reading and math camp programs will receive a $14.4 million boost to a $17.3 million total. Previous summer programs, which districts are required to provide to struggling elementary students, have been paid for with federal pandemic relief funds, which are no longer available.
Community colleges will see a $35 million increase, including:
- Prison education – $22.8 million, up by $3.7 million over the current year,
- Dual enrollment – $44.4 million, up $3.8 million
- LPN programs – $4 million, up $1 million
- Adult education – $15 million, up $500,000
Four-year colleges and universities will see a $111 million, or 6.6% increase over last year’s budget, with most of the increase going toward operations costs. Individual colleges are looking at budget increases of 5.7% to 9.4%
Higher education overall will see a $160 million increase over the current budget, including $9.5 million more for student financial aid:
- New scholarship program for Alabama Law Enforcement Officers’ families – $8 million,
- Three student aid programs will see increases of $500,000 each
Other agencies will also see increases, including the Department of Mental Health, which will see an increase of $5 million, or 6% more than the current year’s budget. Community provider rates for mental health care will see a $2.5 million, or nearly 60% increase over the current year’s $4.3 million budget.
Here’s a look at the split between higher education, K-12 education and other education spending when the total package is combined. Click here if you’re unable to see the table below.
The House did make changes to the Senate’s version, but Garrett said he expects the Senate to concur with what the House passed Thursday. That could happen as early as next Tuesday. If the Senate concurs, the budget will go to the governor for final approval.