Alabama’s CHOOSE Act opens more, not all, doors

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Gadsden mom and educator Shataé Martin says Alabama’s new CHOOSE Act has opened doors for families like hers – but it hasn’t yet delivered true choice.

The K-12 education savings accounts established under the law have helped, she said, but also exposed the limits of what Alabama calls “school choice.” For Martin, the CHOOSE Act is “a remedy, not a cure.”

Martin has been searching for the right place for her gifted son to learn. While she’s thankful for the CHOOSE Act, she says the law’s requirements mean she doesn’t have real choice.

“It’s school choice of their choice,” she said, noting the state still ultimately decides which schools qualify to take the annual $7,000 in CHOOSE Act money.

When her son – who she describes as gifted, verbal and curious – began kindergarten in a public school, he quickly grew bored. The school labeled his disengagement as a “behavior issue.”

“They didn’t know how to serve him… They couldn’t meet his needs,” said Martin, who was teaching in a public school herself at the time.

The problem wasn’t the teachers’ intentions, she believed, but the system’s inability to accommodate gifted students or others who don’t fit a standard model.

Determined to find a better fit, Martin “scraped pennies” to send him to a local private school for first grade, where he thrived academically and emotionally.

“It killed us financially,” she admitted. “But it was worth every sacrifice.”

The next year, she began teaching at a public charter school in Birmingham and brought her son with her. Though she believes in public charter schools – praising their “autonomy” and freedom from “red tape” – she still had concerns about rigor.

When the CHOOSE Act launched earlier this year, Martin applied for an education savings account hoping to return him to the Gadsden private school where he’d excelled.

A perfect score on the second-grade standardized reading test confirmed that he needed more of an academic challenge.

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She made plans to use the CHOOSE Act funds at the previous private school, but soon learned that the school couldn’t accept the ESA because it wasn’t accredited by one of the agencies the state requires.

Under the law, participating schools must be accredited by, or in the process of accreditation through, one of six regional agencies or associations including Cognia, the Alabama Independent School Association and the National Council for Private School Accreditation or their accrediting partners. Accreditation serves as a kind stamp of approval that the school is abiding by recognized standards.

According to state data, 189 of the 248 participating private schools are accredited and the rest are in progress.

Martin isn’t alone in hitting that barrier. At least 1,300 public school students applied for CHOOSE Act ESAs but haven’t activated them, meaning they didn’t end up enrolling in a participating private school.

Another 1,300 hoped to use ESAs to attend out-of-district public schools but were unable to, though exactly why isn’t yet known.

As of Oct. 1, Martin works for Black Alabamians for Education, a nonprofit advocacy group supporting parent-led school choice. After completing the group’s Next Level Leaders program, she now leads it, training professionals from various fields to become education advocates.

Her goals stretch beyond any single law. As an educator, single parent and advocate, she represents both the hope and frustration of Alabama’s evolving education landscape – grateful for progress but impatient for deeper change.

For her, true reform means empowering teachers and parents and ensuring that every child – gifted, traumatized or underserved – finds the right fit.

For now, Martin’s son – now in third grade – attends another private school in Gadsden, where “things are going well.”

Some uncertainty lingers. As a single parent earning near the income threshold, she fears that even a modest raise could disqualify her. Lawmakers have promised to eventually remove income limits.

Despite some frustrations, Martin credits the CHOOSE Act with helping her avoid placing her son back in an environment that wasn’t working.

“If school choice right now is a remedy, fine,” she said. “But I’ll keep pushing that choice until I can get parent choice.”