ClassWallet Approved Expenses: What Alabama CHOOSE Act Funds Can Buy

Two Ways to Spend Through ClassWallet

ClassWallet gives you two payment channels, and understanding when to use each one prevents rejected purchases.

Pay Vendor (direct pay) — used for tuition, co-op fees, tutoring sessions, and therapy services. You upload an itemized invoice from an ALDOR-approved Education Service Provider. The invoice must include the provider's name, address, your child's name, dates of service, and a line-by-line description of charges. Handwritten invoices get rejected automatically.

ClassWallet Marketplace — an integrated portal where you buy pre-approved books, curricula, software, and supplies from vetted national vendors. Amazon purchases are only allowed through the marketplace integration, not through Amazon directly.

What You Can Buy

Tuition and school fees — enrollment fees, academic fees, lab fees, technology fees, and facility fees at participating private schools.

Textbooks and curricula — K-12 textbooks, workbooks, reference books, instructional kits, and complete curriculum packages in core academic subjects.

School supplies — paper, pens, pencils, calculators, binders, art supplies, compasses, protractors, and math manipulatives tied to a curriculum.

Technology — laptops, desktops, or tablets up to $1,200 per student (limit: one device every two academic years). Peripheral tech aids like printers, ink, mice, keyboards, cases, and headphones are capped at $500 per year total.

Tutoring and therapy — academic tutoring, ABA therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, vision therapy, and dyslexia intervention — but only from providers registered as ALDOR-approved ESPs.

Testing — standardized tests like the ACT, SAT, AP exams, and the Classic Learning Test. After-school academic programs from approved ESPs also qualify.

Online courses — virtual learning programs from approved providers.

Co-op and cover school fees — administrative fees from homeschool co-ops or church cover schools, but only if that co-op or school is registered as an approved ESP with ALDOR.

What Gets Rejected

ALDOR and ClassWallet maintain a clear prohibited list. Some of these catch parents off guard:

• Uniforms, athletic fees, and sports camps
• PTA dues, graduation fees, late fees, and cancellation fees
• General reading novels not tied to an academic curriculum
• Office furniture, storage bins, and bookshelves
• Gaming computers, 3D printers, televisions, external speakers, and SMARTboards
• Before/after-school childcare and babysitting
• Field trip fees, transportation costs, and food
• Any instruction provided by a parent or legal guardian — you cannot pay yourself

The Whole-Invoice Rejection Trap

This is the rule that costs families the most time and money: if your invoice includes even one prohibited line item, ClassWallet rejects the entire invoice. A $3,000 private school invoice bundled with a $15 graduation fee gets bounced completely.

Ask your school or provider for a corrected invoice listing only eligible charges before you upload anything. Check every line. One rejected invoice during a busy period could delay your funds for weeks.

Vendor Approval

Providers, tutors, and schools can apply year-round to become approved ESPs. Private tutors need a bachelor's degree, Alabama teaching certification, or national accreditation, plus a background check under Alabama's Child Protection Act.

Before hiring a tutor or enrolling in a program, confirm they're listed in the ClassWallet portal as an approved provider. If they're not, they can apply — but until approval comes through, you can't use ESA funds to pay them.

The Alabama CHOOSE Act ESA Parent Guide includes a pre-submission invoice audit checklist and a category-by-category spending reference you can keep open while shopping through ClassWallet.

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