HB72 Alabama 2019 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Artis McCampbellRepresentative

Democrat

Session

Regular Session 2019

Title

Education, school grading system, change designation of a failing school to a challenged school, nonfailing school to a nonchallenged school, State Board of Education required to reflect changes in terminology when amending or adopting rules, Secs. 16-6C-2, 16-6D-3, 16-6D-4, 16-6D-6, 16-6D-8, 16-6D-9 am'd.

Summary

HB 72 would rename the school performance labels from 'failing' to 'challenged' and 'nonfailing' to 'nonchallenged' across school grading and the Alabama Accountability Act, and require the State Board of Education to adopt rules that use the new terms while aligning tax-credit scholarship provisions with the new terminology.

What This Bill Does

It changes the labels used for evaluating and reporting school performance in the grading system and related accountability rules, so a 'challenged' school is used instead of a 'failing' school and a 'nonchallenged' school instead of a 'nonfailing' school. It updates definitions and descriptions in the law to reflect these terms. It renames the tax-credit funding account to the Challenged Schools Income Tax Credit Account, sets how credits are calculated and funded, and continues the scholarship program under the new terminology. It imposes reporting and oversight requirements for scholarship organizations and schools, including data on student outcomes and compliance with health, safety, nondiscrimination, and transparency rules.

Who It Affects

• Parents of students in or moving from challenged (formerly failing) schools, who would be eligible for state income tax credits to help cover costs when transferring to nonchallenged (formerly nonfailing) public or nonpublic schools.
• Scholarship granting organizations and qualifying nonpublic schools, which must administer scholarships, report finance and student data, meet health and safety and nondiscrimination standards, and comply with oversight and reporting requirements.

Key Provisions

• Terminology update: The bill requires using 'challenged school' and 'nonchallenged school' in the school grading system and Alabama Accountability Act, with the State Board of Education reflecting these terms in amended or new rules.
• Amended definitions: Definitions in Section 16-6D-4 are updated to classify schools as challenged or nonchallenged based on performance designations, affecting eligibility and program designations.
• Tax credit program reform: The bill renames the funding account to the Challenged Schools Income Tax Credit Account, sets a $30 million annual cap, and defines how credits are calculated (80% of the average annual cost of attendance or actual cost, whichever is less) and distributed to parents, including conditions for transfers between school types.
• Oversight and reporting: The Department of Revenue and scholarship granting organizations must provide financial and student-learning data, annual and biennial reporting, testing requirements for scholarship recipients, and ensure compliance with nondiscrimination and program integrity rules.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Education