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Some Answers About the Alabama Accountability Act from New Reports Mandated by Law

The first full round of new reports required as a results of changes made to the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) in 2015 are in. Those reports answer a lot of questions, but some questions remain unanswered about the effectiveness of the program. For basic information on the...
Posted On Oct 02 2016
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Alabama’s A-F School Grading System Is Almost Ready

This December, Alabamians will finally see letter grades linked to accountability measures for each of our nearly 1,400 public schools. Plans are being finalized for the A-F school grading system, and the most recent draft, assumed to be final, was presented at September’s state...
Posted On Sep 14 2016
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The Numbers Are In: SGOs Are Paying More than the State to Educate Students

On average, scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs) paid $5,742.09 per students to attend one of the 155 schools participating in the program during the 2015-2016 school year according to reports filed by the SGOs with the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR). By contrast, the...
Posted On Aug 02 2016
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MAP: The “Failing” Public Schools & the AAA-Participating Schools

According to Alabama’s lawmakers, they created the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) to allow parents to choose better educational options for their children. Getting a look at what choices there are, looking at where the non-public schools participating in the AAA’s...
Posted On Feb 25 2016
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The Alabama Accountability Act Basics. UPDATED.

Big changes were made to the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) last June. This is the mostest newest-ly* updated information available. First, the big picture. The AAA is comprised of two major parts: (1) flexibility for public schools and (2) school choice for parents....
Posted On Nov 11 2015
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The Private Schools That Receive Tax-Credit Scholarship Funds

Sometimes it takes seeing things on a map to get a clearer picture. So here’s a map showing where Alabama’s 62 56 “failing” public schools are and where the 137 private schools receiving scholarships under the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) are.* Hover...
Posted On Oct 27 2015
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Which Schools Have Received SGO Scholarships

Because of the new quarterly reporting requirement enacted in SB71 during the 2015 regular session, we now know where students who are using scholarships made available through the Alabama Accountability Act are attending school. Here’s the spreadsheet reflecting the...
Posted On Oct 23 2015
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New Numbers Posted on AAA Scholarship Recipients

The 2014 calendar year numbers are out, showing that nearly 5,800 students received scholarships through the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA). Just under 1,100 of them would otherwise have attended a “failing” public school. While these numbers are helpful to know,...
Posted On Sep 02 2015
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Get Connected: Duncan Kirkwood Talks School Choice in Alabama

Duncan Elliott Kirkwood believes that all families should have the same types of choices for their child’s education, regardless of the family’s income or zip code. Kirkwood, Alabama Director for the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO),  joined me for a...
Posted On Jul 28 2015
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Tax Credit Scholarships Under the Alabama Accountability Act

[UPDATE: I jumped the gun on the Governor signing SB71. It did happen on June 10, though. Appreciation to the astute reader who questioned the accuracy of that statement. We apologize for the error. Here is a post updating the basics of the AAA after SB71 was enacted.] Changes to...
Posted On Jun 07 2015
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What We Know About the AAA’s Nonpublic Participating Schools

Changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. Here is a link to the update. Under the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA), scholarships paid for with state tax dollars that weren’t required to be collected are awarded to students to attend nonpublic participating schools....
Posted On Apr 27 2015
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The Alabama Accountability Act – More Changes

UPDATE: Changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. Here is a link to the update. The Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) changed again as it made its way through the House Ways and Means Education committee last Wednesday. The committee added two amendments (here and here), which...
Posted On Apr 20 2015
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Education Bills Up for Debate in Committees on Wednesday

As of the end of Day 11 in Week 5 of the 2015 session, we are following 100 education-related bills. A total of 782 bills have been filed. Here’s a look at the agendas for committee meetings on Wednesday, April 8, in the Alabama legislature. UPDATE 9:00 p.m., April 7: Room...
Posted On Apr 07 2015
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Legislators, Influencers and Policymakers in Their Own Words

If you want to hear Alabama’s legislators, influencers and policymakers in their own words, Alabama Public Television’s (APT) Capitol Journal is must-see-TV. During the legislative session, host Don Dailey interviews legislators, influencers and policymakers for his...
Posted On Mar 27 2015
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The Alabama Accountability Act – Proposed Changes

UPDATE: Final changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. This post has not been updated. Changes are coming to the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) in 2015. SB71 was introduced last week by Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston) and will be up for a public hearing during the Senate...
Posted On Mar 10 2015
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Wednesday’s Legislative Committee Meetings Packed with Education Bills

Wednesday’s legislative committees will be abuzz with lots of education bills. School choice, school intervention, curriculum directions….it’s all there. [Hope no one expects me to call them back tomorrow.] Here’s the Senate Education and Youth Affairs...
Posted On Mar 10 2015
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Changes to “Failing” School Definition Proposed

Senate Bill 71, sponsored by Senator Del Marsh (R-Anniston), proposes changing lots of the pieces of the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA), including how a “failing” school will be defined. Here is what the proposed definition looks like. (Slashes indicate the words...
Posted On Mar 03 2015
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Questioning Education Reform in Alabama

Two of Alabama’s most outspoken advocates for public education, Jefferson County Superintendent Craig Pouncey and Larry Lee, shared their concerns about current education reform efforts in Alabama at the Tuesday night meeting of the Over the Mountain Democrats. Pouncey and...
Posted On Feb 25 2015
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Timeline: The Alabama Accountability Act

UPDATE: Changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. This post has not been updated. The timeline below takes you through the birth of the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) in 2013 through January 5, 2015. Useful information as we await the Alabama Supreme Court’s decision...
Posted On Jan 08 2015
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About School Choice

The news is once again buzzing over school choice. But do you know about all of the different types of school choice? The Alabama Federation for Children recently released a study performed by McLaughlin and Associates claiming that 65% of Alabamians favor the concept of school...
Posted On Dec 29 2014
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The Alabama Accountability Act: The Basics

UPDATE: Changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. Here’s the link to the update. The Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) is nothing if not controversial. The Flexibility/Tax Credit/School Choice bill is used as a club by various political groups to beat up on their opponent,...
Posted On Dec 07 2014
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The Alabama Accountability Act: Who Is Eligible for Scholarships?

UPDATE: Changes were made to the AAA in June 2015. This post has not been updated. The Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) of 2013 provides eligible students needing money to change schools the opportunity to apply for and receive scholarship money through Scholarship Granting...
Posted On Nov 06 2014
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Scholarship Granting Organizations: What Do They Do?

With the Alabama Accountability Act’s provisions entering the second school year, here is a little better look at Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) and what role they play in assisting students who choose to attend nonpublic participating schools (see this for more...
Posted On Jul 18 2014
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Number of Nonpublic Schools Participating in AAA Grows

The number of students using options provided through the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA) aren’t yet publicly available, but with the 2014-2015 school year opening in the next few weeks, here’s an update on which nonpublic, a.k.a. private, schools have agreed to take...
Posted On Jul 16 2014
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Nonpublic K-12 Schools No Longer Regulated by State Department of Education

Nonpublic schools, which include private, church and home schools, are no longer subject to licensing or other regulations by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) effective July 1, 2014. Unless they intend to enroll students eligible to transfer from public schools...
Posted On May 18 2014
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