$8.9 Million Awarded to Alabama's Tax Credit Scholarship Program from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Jan. 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinciding with 2022 National School Choice Week, Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund (AOSF) is celebrating the $8.9 million which been allocated to students on the state's tax credit scholarship program from the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund. These funds will ensure that nearly 3,000 students can continue to access an education that best fits their needs.

AOSF joins its in-state partners in thanking Governor Kay Ivey for her support of Alabama's low-income families and students across the state of Alabama.

"Governor Ivey's support of the program highlights her commitment to Alabama's underserved communities and her focus on improving education options for students whose educational needs have historically been overlooked," wrote Andy Ryan, Executive Director of the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund. 

Governor Ivey's GEER allocation has helped to fill the 2020 fundraising void that impacted the program's scholarship organizations due to the pandemic. Students whose scholarships were reduced because of the pandemic's effect on fundraising will be able to receive full scholarship coverage going forward through direct support from this allocation.

As its recipients attest, the program continues to change the lives of thousands of students in Alabama, producing many first-generation college students and successful members of the workforce who feel more prepared.

Dalphine Wilson, a Montgomery mother whose children are scholarship recipients, spoke of the life-changing gift of a scholarship for her son who "was finally receiving a quality education, with teachers, curriculum, and extracurriculars truly challenging him to live up to his potential." Her son Grant, who "needed to be more challenged", is now taking AP courses and is thriving in his new school environment.

The tax credit scholarship program, which was passed into law in 2013, has served thousands of K-12 students throughout the state. Alabama students qualify for the scholarship program if their household income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty guidelines, with priority going to students zoned to a "failing school" as determined by the State Department of Education. Families may then use the scholarship to attend a private school or a non-failing public school that better addresses their child's educational needs.

Governor Ivey's GEER funding allocation safeguards the education of students on scholarship like Grant and helps the scholarship program continue to change the lives of low-income students throughout Alabama.

SOURCE Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund