Across the Board September: Key Takeaways from the ALBOE Board Meeting

Recapping important State Board of Education policy decisions for you

Here are our key takeaways from the September 11th State Board of Education meeting – and what they mean for Alabama’s students. All board members were present. Click here to see the agenda for the full meeting and work session.

Top 4 Takeaways

1. FY27 Proposed ALSDE Budget

During the work session, the board continued their discussion from the Board Retreat in August on the ALSDE budget request for the Fiscal Year 2027. The board will vote to send the request to the Governor’s office at the October meeting. After the Governor creates her recommended budget, it will be presented to the Legislature during the first week of the 2026 Legislative Session, which begins on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Dr. Mackey shared some highlights:

• Foundation Program: $4.78 billion total. The Foundation Program funds K-12 public schools, including staff salaries and benefits, instructional support, utilities and maintenance, and other costs that schools and districts incur. The board is waiting on more data to develop their request for next year. There is currently no pay raise for educators included in the number.
• Struggling Readers Beyond Grade Three: $52 million, a $42 million increase over FY26. This funding level would support all struggling readers in grades 4-12.
• Parental Leave: $9.6 million, may adjust as we learn from this first year of implementation.
• Transportation Costs: $136 million increase to support new school buses. Dr. Mackey mentioned that the cost of school buses has drastically increased to around $160,000 per bus since he began as superintendent.

For more information about line items to watch, check out our report on the August 2025 Board Retreat.

2. Potential High School Accountability and Assessment Changes

During the work session, the board heard from the Accountability Work Group. This group of ALSDE staff, superintendents, teachers, and others was appointed by Dr. Mackey to review and recommend changes to Alabama’s accountability and assessment system. Today, the group exclusively discussed high school accountability, but in future meetings, they will go over accountability and attendance for K-8th grade students.

The work group shared four options that were discussed for the future of accountability and assessments in the state for both diploma pathways. Currently, the ACT is used to calculate each school’s academic achievement and growth on the State Report Card, with every 10th grader taking the Pre-ACT and every 11th grader taking the ACT. The proposed options aim to accurately record and report student preparedness for college as well as for the workforce on Alabama’s State Report Cards. Based on the working group’s presentation, accountability for high school students could be based on:

• Both the ACT and ACT WorkKeys exams for high school juniors. This option requires all students to take the ACT and ACT WorkKeys exams in their junior year. Students who score a 3 and 4 (above a 19) on the ACT will be considered proficient and ready for college. Students who score a Silver or Gold on the ACT WorkKeys will be considered ready for the workforce. The combined success rate on these exams will be reported for schools and districts on the Alabama State Report Card to determine college and career readiness. Previously, only the ACT counted towards this metric. The ALSDE will be seeking a waiver from the U.S. Department of Education for this option.
• A new ACAP exam for high school freshmen and sophomores. This option would require the ALSDE to develop a new ACAP exam for high school students in their freshman and sophomore years. The scores would be reported for schools and districts on the Alabama State Report Card. The working group shared that this option would be time-consuming and costly to develop, and Dr. Mackey shared that they would need three years to develop the test.
• End-of-course exams for all high schoolers. This option would require the ALSDE to develop new exams that test specifically for Alabama content standards for required courses. The subjects tested could include algebra, geometry, English language arts, and biology. Student success rates on these exams would be reported on the Alabama State Report Card. The working group shared that this option was favored by teachers, but would involve the most testing. Other states have found that end-of-course tests ensure that a course (e.g. Algebra I) is tested in a consistent way across the state, it’s aligned to state standards, and can increase student motivation to do well because it can be tied to their grade.

3. Foundations of Reading Assessment Required for Teacher Certification Undergoing Branding Changes, but Content and Cut Score will Remain the Same

During the meeting, the board approved the state’s shift to the updated Foundations of Reading exam. This change was due to technical changes to the Pearson Foundations of Reading Assessment. This is an exam that aspiring educators are required to take for initial certification in Alabama. The content, structure, item bank, and passing score for the test will stay the same, but the identification number for the test will change from FOR 190 to FOR 890. The assessment will transition to Pearson’s National Evaluation Series, which will provide some additional benefits beyond what Alabama teachers were experiencing before. The exam will now be free for test takers after the third failed attempt, and test takers will have access to a full-length interactive practice exam. New modules to prepare for the exam will be available for purchase, and test takers will receive subject-specific data on their scores.

4. PEEHIP Update: Health Insurance Costs on the Rise

During the work session, Dr. Mackey addressed the recent concerns about the increasing cost of PEEHIP, which is Alabama’s Public Education Employees’ Health Insurance Plan for active public education employees and retirees. This year, the cost of PEEHIP for the state has increased significantly by about 10%. The anticipated cost for the FY27 budget is over $300 million, which would come from the Education Trust Fund budget that also funds the Foundation Program and all education funding in the state. This increase has been attributed to longer hospital stays, the addition of mental health supports, and the increase in costs for prescription medications. 

The next Board meeting will be on Thursday, October 9, 2025, at 10 am in the Gordon Persons Building Auditorium. The work session will follow at 11 am. 

The Alabama State Board of Education usually meets on the second Thursday of each month, with the exception of the July meeting, to discuss important policies, procedures, and changes for Alabama’s K-12 public schools. The Board takes official action during their monthly meeting and then follows up with a Work Session to get updates and discuss future action that will be voted on at the next board meeting. You can watch them live and see old meetings here.