BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Fewer students are seeking Alabama CHOOSE Act education savings accounts for the first time this year, even though the total number of applications grew.
The Alabama Department of Revenue received 29,986 new applications for the 2026-27 school year, down from 36,873 last year, when every applicant was new to the program, according to information from the department.
The overall total still rose to 48,927 because 18,941 students applied to renew.
That makes the new-application numbers important. They offer a clearer look at fresh interest in the program than the overall total, which now includes families already in the pipeline.
The CHOOSE Act provides state-funded education savings accounts that families can use for certain education expenses. Students attending participating public or private schools are eligible for $7,000 ESAs, while homeschool students are eligible for $2,000, up to $4,000 per family.
The applicant breakdown matters because applications are only the first step. Looking separately at new and renewal applications gives a better picture of who is trying to enter the program, who is trying to continue and whether the program is reaching families who were not already using private school or homeschool options.
Final eligibility, award and activation numbers will show who actually receives and uses the public funds.
Among new applicants, one-third currently attend private school, 27% attend public school and 25% are homeschooled.
Nearly 3,900 new applicants, or 13%, did not report where they currently attend school. It’s unclear why they didn’t report that information, but ALDOR has said families will provide that information before a student is awarded and activates an ESA.
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Students seeking to renew are more concentrated in private school and home education programs.
Just over 60% of applicants who want to renew are currently enrolled in private school. Nearly 31% of renewals are from students in home education programs.
While numbers from ALDOR show that 646 renewal applications are from students who attend public schools, ADN’s most recent numbers did not show any ESA recipients for the 2025-26 school year attended public school. Last year’s categories differed from the new data, making a direct comparison difficult.
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The racial breakdown also differs between new and renewal applicants.
Black students make up a larger share of new applicants than renewal applicants, while white students make up a larger share of the renewal pool.
Compared with Alabama’s public school population, CHOOSE Act applicants are more likely to be white and less likely to be Black. Public school enrollment is about 50% white and 32% Black, while CHOOSE Act applicants are 67% white and 23% Black.
Alabama does not collect statewide private school or homeschool enrollment data, making it difficult to know how closely the applicant pool matches students enrolled in either of those school settings.
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The numbers are not yet broken down by poverty level. That won’t happen until eligibility is determined. That means it is not yet clear whether this year’s applicants follow the same income pattern as the program’s first-year recipients.
For the 2026-27 school year, lawmakers increased CHOOSE Act funding to $250 million.
ADN estimates that funding every applicant could cost between $208 million to $275 million, depending on whether students use ESAs for private school, public school or homeschool expenses.
The actual cost will depend on which students are deemed eligible, how many activate their accounts and whether they use the ESA for private school, public school or homeschool expenses.
Award notifications started going out April 15. Award and activation numbers will show whether the students who receive and use ESAs look different from the broader group of families who applied.