2026 State of the State Address

The 2026 Regular Session of the Alabama Legislature officially began on Tuesday, January 13, 2026. 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.

This is Governor Ivey’s final and record-breaking 10th legislative session as governor. A+ Education Partnership is so grateful for Governor Ivey’s incredible leadership on education and her laser focus on the needs of students. As you can see below, the impact of her tenure will be felt for years to come. You can read the full speech when it is posted here.

Governor Ivey began her remarks on education by summarizing the record progress that Alabama has made in education during her tenure as governor.

• Alabama has gone from 52nd to 32nd in 4th-grade math and from 49th to 34th in 4th-grade reading. Alabama is ranked first in the nation in math recovery and third in reading.
• Became a top-five state for computer science education
• Significantly increased our First Class Pre-K classrooms
• Achieved Alabama’s highest-ever College and Career Readiness rate
• Tied for the lowest percentage of chronic absenteeism in the country

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

Education Trust Fund: Governor Ivey announced that her proposed budget is the largest ever. We will publish more details later this week on our Budget Watch.

Literacy and Numeracy Acts: Governor Ivey credited these landmark laws for the remarkable growth that Alabama has seen and stated, “We are making wise investments in policies that work like the Literacy and Numeracy Acts.” These laws, the Literacy Act passed in 2019, and the Numeracy Act passed in 2022, have helped to provide literacy and math coaches, high-quality instructional materials, and high-quality professional learning for elementary teachers to ensure every child receives a high-quality literacy and math education.

Turnaround Schools Initiative: Governor Ivey celebrated the success of her turnaround school initiative, which has supported 15 of the state’s chronically low-performing schools since 2022. She mentioned that they would graduate the current group of schools and welcome a new cohort of schools to the initiative. During her speech, she recognized students from Washington K-8, who received a standing ovation for the school’s record growth, growing from a D to a B during their time as a turnaround school.

Teacher Pay Raise: Governor Ivey shared that she proposed a 2% pay raise for both teachers and state employees. The last teacher pay raise was in the 2024 legislative session.

Limiting Screen Time for Children 5 & Younger: Building on the FOCUS Act of 2025, which banned cell phones during school hours for students, Governor Ivey shared the commitment to expanding screen limits to all children ages 5 and under. The bill will be championed by Representative Jeana Ross and Senator Donnie Chesteen.

K-12 School Safety Efforts: Governor Ivey proposed an additional $50 million for K-12 school safety.

The CHOOSE Act: During the 2024 legislative session, Governor Ivey called for an expansion of school choice through the CHOOSE Act. This created state-funded education savings accounts (ESAs) to provide parents funding to send their child to a private school, another public school or homeschool. The Governor recommended increasing funding for this program to $250 million for the 2027-2028 school year. During the 2025-2026 school year, the CHOOSE Act distributed about $124 million to 23,000 students across the state.

Athletics and School Choice: Governor Ivey announced that Chairman Garrett and Senator Clyde Chambliss will be introducing a bill that would allow students receiving CHOOSE Act funding to participate in athletics immediately, rather than waiting a year as required by the Alabama Athletic Association’s existing guidelines.

As always, we will update you with more information as it becomes available. Sign up for the Gist for the most up-to-date information, and check out our A+ Policy Portal for accessible info on student-centered, research-based education policy.