Riley serving as chairman of opportunity scholarship fund

Almost a year after the implementation of the Alabama Accountability Act (AAA), state leaders have launched a scholarship program to help assist students in failing school districts who face financial challenges.

The AAA gave the parents of students in a failing school the option to transfer to a non-failing public or private school.

The law establishes a tax credit of about $3,500 for any family wishing to transfer their child from a failing school.

The newly created Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund (AOSF) extends that opportunity to families who can’t afford private school tuition and are ineligible to take advantage of the tax credits.

Former Gov. Bob Riley has volunteered to serve as the unpaid chairman of the AOSF.

Riley has been vocally supportive of the idea since it was introduced as a part of the AAA in February 2013.  

“I am extremely proud of the progress our public schools have made. Just recently we learned that Alabama ranks (first) in percentage score increases in Advanced Placement exams over the last five years," Riley said in a letter on the AOSF website. "Despite our progress, there will be some children who will not thrive in their assigned school. It's no one's fault — it's just not the right place for them.”

The AOSF was modeled after the Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP), which helps fund low-income students participating in Florida’s School Choice option.

School Choice has been quite successful since it was introduced in Florida’s A+ Education Plan in 1999.

However, in 2006 the Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling declaring the private school option of the OSP unconstitutional.

Students assigned to a failing school in Florida are no longer offered the opportunity to transfer and enroll in a participating private school, though the option to attend a higher performing public school remains in effect.

Unlike Florida’s program, low-income families in Alabama can use these scholarships to pay tuition or fees at both public and participating private schools.

The AOSF was approved as an official Scholarship Granting Organization in the original language of the AAA and is set up to spend at least 95 percent of its funds on scholarships.

The scholarships are offered exclusively to low-income eligible children in Alabama, though the law does allow the AOSF to award up to 20 percent of its scholarships to students who are already enrolled in private schools.

AOSF scholarships are also awarded directly to families and not to a selected school, giving parents the option to transfer scholarships if a chosen school does not work for their child.

Eligibility for the AOSF is based on household income and size and also dependent on the performance level of a child’s assigned school district.

Maximum incomes levels for each family size are listed on the AOSF’s website, http://www.alabamascholarshipfund.org, and are similar to the guidelines established for free and reduced lunch programs.

In June, the Alabama State Department of Education released a list of 78 failing schools, and officials say 52 students have already used the new law to transfer from those schools to private schools in 2013.

That number is expected to increase as donations are received.

During the month of November, about 600 Alabama businesses and individuals contributed $19.5 million to various scholarship granting organizations.

According to the AOSF website, corporations donating to the scholarship fund will receive an Alabama income tax credit equal to 100 percent of their donations and up to 50 percent of their tax liability.

Individuals who donate will also receive a 100 percent tax credit and up to 50 percent of their tax liability not to exceed $7,500.

As outlined in the AAA, all combined corporate and individual tax credits cannot exceed $25 million annually.

More information for donors, parents and students is available on AOSF’s website.