House committee approves $10 billion education budget; floor vote expected Thursday
An Alabama House committee Tuesday approved a 2026 Education Trust Fund budget with a few changes, bringing it closer to a vote in the chamber.
SB 112, sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, increases the current budget by $543.3 million (5.81%), but a substitute from the Alabama House Ways and Means Education Committee added an additional $17.6 million. That brings the total growth of the ETF to 6%.
'That's the maximum we were allowed to increase the budget because of our secondary cap. Next year, that number will be 5.75% under this current budget,' Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, the chair of the committee, said Tuesday.
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The Senate approved the nearly $10 billion budget on April 10.
Garrett said one of his priorities in the budget is continuing to invest in public education in the state. SB 305, also sponsored by Orr, allows the Legislature to appropriate additional funds to schools based on student needs. The House added an additional $58 million to begin the transition to the new model.
SB 111, also sponsored by Orr, would appropriate $375 million over three years for that transition, which aims to get more money to students with particular needs, including children in poverty and English Language Learners.
The budget also includes $135 million for the CHOOSE Act, a voucher-like program that will award students with funds to be used for education-related expenses, including private school tuition. The program was initially slated to get $100 million, but Orr said that demand for the program led the chairs to increase the allocation.
The program is currently limited to special needs students and those making under 300% of the poverty line, about $79,950 for a family of three. The program will be open to all applicants starting in 2027, without any income limits. About two-thirds of the 37,000 applicants for the program this year are already in private school or homeschooled.
'I realize that there's different opinions about school choice,' Garrett said. 'We have the CHOOSE Act, and we're committed to that. But we are committing more than that funding into the public schools. And I think that what we're doing, especially looking at student needs, is very, very important.'
There are also additional line items for workmen's compensation for educators, SB 1, sponsored by Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville; and paid parental leave, SB 199, sponsored by Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile.
Teachers will receive $1,000 for classroom supplies, and the state will allocate $100 per student for textbooks. Teachers will not get a raise this year, but Garrett said the education community wanted an increase in the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Plan. There is a $99.2 million increase in PEEHIP.
'What we were hearing from the education community was that they really wanted that PEEHIP increase covered, and that's almost $100 million out of the budget,' he said.
The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative will see a 31% ($32.2 million) funding increase while the Alabama Reading Initiative's (ARI) funding would grow by 6.4% ($9 million). The two programs' funds remain unchanged from what the Senate passed earlier this month.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey supported the budget and hopes they pass smoothly.
'I think they've done their homework,' he said. ' They've found the right balance.'
House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, said the House would vote on the ETF on Thursday.
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