When Alabama passed the CHOOSE Act, it promised families educational freedom. But the Alabama High School Athletics Association’s response—benching students who use school choice for an entire year—turns that promise into a punishment. Gov. Kay Ivey and Speaker Ledbetter are right to push back against this barrier that forces families to choose between exercising their educational agency and athletics.
Last May, Gov. Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act, which empowers families to enroll in an education savings account program to fund and personalize their child’s education. For many kids, that’s simply using the program to attend a private school, while for others, it is building a unique blended learning experience. Regardless of the families’ choice, the decision by the AHSAA to force children who benefit from the program to sit out for a year is wrong.
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Read the full op-ed by Lily Landry, legislative director, on AL.com.
