CHOOSE Act Renewal: How to Keep Your Alabama ESA Year After Year

The Renewal Window

For 2026–2027, the renewal portal opened December 15, 2025, more than two weeks before new applicants could apply starting January 2, 2026. Both portals closed at midnight on March 31, 2026. The 2026–2027 parent guide says renewal details for 2027–2028 will be provided in early 2027.

Log into your existing account at chooseact.alabama.gov during this window. You'll re-verify your Alabama residency and re-affirm program compliance. If your address changed during the year, upload updated proof of residency.

Why You Shouldn't Skip a Year

When requests exceed appropriations, prior participants and their siblings receive Tier 2 priority, after the Tier 1 special-needs set-aside and before Tier 3 military dependents and Tier 4 income-ranked applicants. A first-time applicant may still qualify for Tier 1 or Tier 3.

If you skip a year, you do not meet the prior-year participation criterion for Tier 2 in that cycle, though you may qualify for another priority tier. ALDOR's published allocation order for 2027–2028 and beyond retains Tier 2 priority for students awarded in the prior academic year and their siblings.

What Changes at Renewal

Most of your original information carries forward. You'll need to confirm:

• Current Alabama residency — same documentation types as your initial application (utility bill, license, lease)
• Student enrollment status — still on the home education or private school track
• Income verification — your AGI must still fall at or below 300% FPL for the applicable tax year (this requirement sunsets for 2027–2028)
• Program compliance — you haven't enrolled the student full-time in a non-participating public school or received Alabama Accountability Act scholarship funds

If a child has graduated, moved out of state, or turned 19 (21 for students with documented disabilities), they're no longer eligible and won't carry over at renewal.

Adding Siblings

Renewal is also when you add younger siblings who've reached school age. Siblings of current participants receive Tier 2 priority alongside the renewing student. A sibling is defined as a child sharing at least one parent through birth, adoption, or marriage who can be claimed as a dependent.

Remember the family cap: home education awards stay at $2,000 per student with a $4,000 household maximum, no matter how many siblings you add.

The Renewal Timeline

The Alabama CHOOSE Act ESA Parent Guide includes a renewal checklist with the exact documents to update each year and a timeline you can print and pin to your planning board.

See more Alabama guides →