Homeschool funding & ESAs in Alabama

Can I get paid to homeschool in Alabama?

Not as a salary. What Alabama offers is an education savings account: the CHOOSE Act (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education) puts about $2,000 per student per year into an account you spend on expenses the program approves, rather than paying you to teach. An ESA comes with conditions — what the money may be spent on, what has to be reported, and in some states whether the child is still counted as a homeschooler. The program details below set those out. Romeschool tracks and organizes what you spend, so a receipt is ready the moment a program asks for one — it never files or submits anything on your behalf. Alabama's homeschool rules require no test or evaluation of their own, so there is nothing on that side to arrange.

Alabama ESA program

What does Alabama require of homeschoolers — and what should I plan for?

Alabama does not require a test or an evaluation, so there is no assessment to arrange. What Alabama asks for — notice, instruction time, testing and records — is set out below, straight from the reviewed rules.

Notice

Yes. Alabama requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: The county or city public school superintendent. Church school: the parent or guardian files the enrollment form, countersigned by the church-school administrator and returned to the superintendent by the parent (Ala. Code § 16-28-7). Private tutor: the certified tutor files the statement of children, subjects and period of instruction (§ 16-28-5). Private school: the school's principal teacher makes the enrollment report (§ 16-28-7). How: Church school: enrollment form signed by the parent and the church-school administrator. Private tutor: written statement of children, subjects, and schedule. When: Church school: one-time at enrollment, with no annual state renewal. Private tutor: each school year. A private school and a private tutor also report under Ala. Code § 16-28-7 — the names and addresses of enrolled children by the end of the fifth day after the local public schools open, then at least weekly for any enrolled child absent without a lawful excuse — and a private school registers with the Alabama Department of Education on or before October 10 each year (§ 16-1-11). A church school files neither of those. Church-school enrollment is the common route; the umbrella, not the state, holds ongoing records. Many umbrellas prepare the form for you, but § 16-28-7 puts the duty to file it on the parent.

Testing or evaluation

No. Alabama does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. No standardized testing is required under any Alabama pathway. Individual church-school umbrellas may set their own testing policy, but that is institutional — not state law. The common claim of required testing in grades 3/6/9 is not in state statute.

Days and hours

Here is Alabama's rule. Private tutor: 140 days/year, at least 3 hours/day between 8am and 4pm. Church-school pathway has no state day/hour minimum.

Records

Alabama requires these records: church-school enrollment form (filed with the local superintendent); attendance register kept by the principal teacher of a church school or private school — every child on the roll and every absence of half a day or more (Ala. Code § 16-28-8); private tutor's register of work, showing each day's hours of instruction and each child's presence or absence (Ala. Code § 16-28-5); and private school: each pupil's certificate of immunization (the 'Blue Card') at entrance, or an exemption under Ala. Code § 16-30-3 (§ 16-30-4). Church schools must notify the superintendent when a child withdraws, and the parent gives that consent at enrollment (Ala. Code § 16-28-7). The attendance register is the school's record and the register of work is the tutor's — where a home program is enrolled in a church school, the umbrella sets how the register is kept.

Full Alabama homeschool requirements →

Common questions about homeschool funding in Alabama

Does Alabama have an education savings account (ESA) for homeschoolers?

Yes. Alabama offers the CHOOSE Act (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education) (about $2,000 per student per year), which independent homeschooling families can use for approved education expenses. Alabama's CHOOSE Act ESA, administered by the Alabama Department of Revenue and paid through ClassWallet, is open to home-education students: $2,000 per student in a home education program, capped at $4,000 per family (a student enrolled in a participating school gets $7,000). For 2025-26 and 2026-27 a family's adjusted gross income must be at or below 300% of the federal poverty level; for years beginning on or after January 1, 2027 that income limit is gone and awards are ranked by priority instead (Ala. Admin. Code r. 810-28-1-.02). Department rules count a homeschool student as a participating student even if enrolled in a church school or co-op (r. 810-28-1-.01(10)), and the annual testing duty in those rules falls on participating schools, not on home education programs. The 2026-27 application window closed on March 31, 2026; the department publishes the next one at chooseact.alabama.gov.

How much is Alabama's homeschool ESA worth?

CHOOSE Act (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education) provides approximately $2,000 per eligible student per year. Awards and eligibility change from year to year — confirm the current amount with the program before you rely on it.

Nationwide grants

• ACT Today! Grant · Autism Care Today
  For U.S. families of a child with an autism diagnosis (priority to household income under $100k).
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific, but useful for therapy costs.
• Dyslexia Services Foundation Grant · Dyslexia Services Foundation
  For low-income U.S. children with dyslexia who cannot otherwise afford treatment (need shown via free/reduced lunch, Medicaid, or SNAP).
  Typically identified through a teacher or provider; not homeschool-specific.
• HSLDA Compassion Curriculum Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For HSLDA members with significant financial need (legal custody of a child 6-19, homeschooling 3+ months).
  You must privately fund your homeschool (not receiving ESA or other public funds).
• HSLDA Disaster Relief Grant · Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
  For homeschooling families (child 6-19) with physical disaster damage in the past 18 months.
• MyGOAL Autism Grant · MyGOAL Inc.
  For the primary caregiver of a child under 18 with autism, with demonstrated financial need.
  Open to any family of a child with autism — not homeschool-specific.
• Our Military Kids Grant · Our Military Kids
  For children (1-18) of deployed National Guard/Reserve members (60+ days) or of post-9/11 combat-injured service members and veterans.
  Funds organized, provider-led activities (not parent-taught core instruction).
• UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Grant · UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
  For U.S. children aged 16 or under with commercial (non-public) health insurance, subject to income guidelines.
  Medical (not education) funding — useful for special-needs homeschoolers' therapy costs.

Full details, amounts and deadlines for every program →