2025 State of the State Address

2025 State of the State Address

The 2025 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature officially began on Tuesday, February 4, 2025. As mandated by the Alabama Constitution, Governor Kay Ivey outlined her priorities for the session in her State of the State Address on the first evening of the session to an audience of lawmakers and state leaders in the Old House Chamber of the Alabama State Capitol. You can read the full speech when it is posted here.

Governor Ivey began her remarks on education by lauding Alabama’s recent progress on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), known as the Nation’s Report Card. Alabama 4th graders went from 49th to 34th in the nation in Reading and from 52nd to 32nd in Math. The Governor credited the Alabama Literacy and Numeracy Acts for this progress and encouraged the Legislature to continue its support.

“We are not just a football state; we are an education state! It is vital to continue investing in programs that deliver results,” she stated.

Here are the education priorities she laid out in her speech:

The Alabama Numeracy Act: Gov. Ivey urged full funding of the Numeracy Act, which provides math coaches, resources, and training for math teachers to ensure every child receives a high-quality math education. Attending the speech were 4th graders from Danville-Neel Elementary School in Morgan County who made the highest math gains in the state last year, a 35 percentage point increase!

  • “Thanks to both the Literacy and Numeracy Acts, our educators are unlocking students’ potential to reach their dreams. As we place hundreds of math coaches in schools and work our way towards full implementation of the Numeracy Act, we are already seeing the results.”

The Alabama Literacy Act: Gov. Ivey urged full funding of the Literacy Act to continue the progress being made in ensuring every child can read on grade level by the end of the 3rd grade.

  • “After its first year of full implementation, the Alabama Literacy Act is proving it is working. The nation’s report card showed our 4th graders, once again, have increased their reading scores — and it is happening across all proficiency levels and demographics.”

Turnaround Schools: Two years ago, the Governor launched her Turnaround Schools Initiative, which targets 15 of the state’s persistently lowest-performing elementary schools and provides them with targeted support.
“Our Turnaround Schools initiative is also delivering real results. Schools that were once among our lowest performing are now outpacing the average growth rate at other schools. Thanks to this initiative, we will no longer have failing elementary schools in Alabama.”

No Phones During School Hours: Governor Ivey stated her full support for a statewide cell phone ban during school hours through legislation carried by Senator Donnie Chesteen and Representative Leigh Hulsey. The legislation will also require local boards to adopt policies on social media and internet safety training. Governor Ivey shared,

  • “According to a recent survey, 72 percent of high school teachers in the country reported that cell phones are distracting students. Schools in our state are already taking action, and we want to support that statewide.” To learn more about cell phone use policy, click here.

Maternity Leave for Teachers: Governor Ivey announced her support for a “good, responsible parental leave bill” carried by Senator Vivian Figures and Rep. Ginny Shaver. To read last year’s legislation, click here.

School Choice: During last year’s State of the State, Governor Ivey called for a big expansion of school choice. The Legislature passed the CHOOSE Act in 2024, which created state-funded education savings accounts (ESAs) to provide parents funding to send their child to a private school ($7,000), another public school ($7,000), or homeschool ($2,000) and commits at least $100 million of state funding for the program each year. The Governor discussed the recent opening of the application process for the 2025-2026 school year, which has seen 18,000 applications that represent students from every county.

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Governor Ivey reaffirmed her support for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which has now delivered over 1 million books directly to Alabama families in all 67 counties.

As always, we will update you with more information as it becomes available. Check out our A+ Policy Portal for accessible info on student-centered, research-based education policy. You can also access our A+ Legislative Playbook to see our recommendations for creating great schools for every child.