The 2024 Alabama Regular Legislative Session will begin on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. While most of the work of improving student outcomes is done at the school and district level, state-level policy is incredibly important to ensure impactful work can happen in schools every day. At A+ Education Partnership, we feel a deep sense of urgency to ensure that our state policy is addressing the significant disparities in the educational experiences of our students.
While we are encouraged that Alabama schools have made progress in our COVID recovery, we still have a long way to go before every child receives a transformational education. Less than 49% of Alabama students are reading proficiently, including only 33% of Black students and only 36% of students in poverty, and less than 30% of students are proficient in math, including only 13% of Black students and only 17% of students in poverty.
In recent years, Governor Ivey and the Legislature have worked to improve these student outcomes through the passage of the Alabama Literacy Act (2019), the Alabama Numeracy Act (2022), and the Alabama School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act (2023). A+ is confident that these reforms will move the needle for Alabama’s students.
However, in addition to addressing the symptoms, it’s time to tackle the root cause. The formula that Alabama has used to fund schools for the past thirty years is not providing the funding students need to reach their full potential. That’s why beginning the journey of modernizing Alabama’s school funding formula is at the top of our policy agenda this year. Click here to read more and see our full agenda, including a deeper dive into the research behind each priority.
A+ Education Partnership is working to build an Alabama where:
- Every child has the resources they need to be successful.
- Every child has a strong start.
- Every child can read on grade level.
- Every child can do math on grade level.
- Every school has a high-impact principal and effective teachers.
- Every child has access to high-quality, transformative schools.
- Every graduate is college and career-ready and has access to pathways to economic mobility.
This year, A+ is working with decision-makers to take the following legislative action:
- Modernize Alabama’s school funding policy.
- Remove three-cueing from literacy instruction and educator preparation, an outdated strategy not based on the science of reading.
- Implement a Teacher Pathways, Support, and Advancement Pilot program to retain and reward our most effective educators.
- Expand access to high-quality childcare for children from birth through age 3 through tax credits.
We also will work with legislators to make the following investments in the Education Trust Fund budget:
- Ensure that Alabama’s public charter schools receive state funding to make up for the significant gap in local funding.
- Increase investment in the Alabama Literacy Act.
- Increase investment in the Alabama Numeracy Act.
- Increase investment in the Alabama School Principal Leadership and Mentoring Act.
- Increase investment in the Alabama Works Act to build and expand access to high-quality career pathways for students.
- Continue to expand access to Advanced Placement courses.
- Continue to fund Computer Science education.
- Continue to expand access to Alabama’s First Class Pre-K and invest in the Quality Stars Program.
- Expand access to high-quality summer and after-school programs.
Stay tuned for opportunities to learn more about modernizing Alabama’s school funding formula, including the Every Dollar Counts Series, as well as for our Budget Watch blog for the FY 2025 education budget and tracking of other education policy bills moving through the legislature.
I truly appreciate your efforts and would ask that you also prioritize support for comprehensive school safety by advocating for dedicated funding to ensure the presence of a school nurse, School Resource Officer, and a mental health professional in every educational institution. These essential professionals play vital roles in safeguarding our students’ physical and mental well-being by creating a conducive learning environment. Prioritizing their presence ensures timely medical attention, security, and mental health support, contributing to a safer and healthier educational experience for all. Your commitment to this cause would enhance the overall quality of education and foster a secure environment for our students, allowing them to better focus on academics which your group so beautifully advocates.