School Choice Legislation Introduced

On the heels of the CSE Day rally supporting choice in education, the Student Opportunity Scholarship (SOS) school voucher program was introduced in the Alabama Senate on Tuesday, April 11, 2000. Senate Bill 549 is sponsored by Sen. Bill Armistead (R-Columbiana) along with Senators George Callahan (R-Mobile) and Jabo Waggoner (R-Vestavia).

S.B. 549 establishes a state-issued scholarship plan that would provide parents the means to choose public or private K through 12 schools for their children. The plan would apply to students who are zoned for any public school that the state Department of Education has had on “alert” status for two years because of low achievement test scores.

Since last fall, Alabama CSE has been working to educate the public about the benefits of school choice by hosting town hall meetings across the state. “School choice introduces the free market principle of competition to education,” said Alabama CSE Director Toby Roth. “Additionally, school choice reaffirms the critical role of potential involvement in our children’s education.”

For more information on S.B. 549 and the issue of school choice, please contact Alabama CSE at (334) 263-5066, toll free at (877) 273-8678, or e-mail us.