HB295 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Ernie YarbroughRepresentative

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to education; to establish the Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Act relating to K-12 education; to secure the fundamental constitutional rights of parents to direct the education of their children; to create the PRICE Program; to establish a three-year phase-in period; to provide definitions; to establish the roles and responsibilities of the Parent Advisory Board, the Commissioner of Revenue, and the Department of Revenue; to create a process for granting education savings accounts; to establish funding mechanisms for the costs of education savings accounts and the administration of the program; to specify qualified expenses; to create requirements for education service providers; to establish an auditing, denial, and appeal mechanism for expenses, parents, participating students, and education service providers; to provide safeguards against any additional state control over or interference with nonpublic schools, their students, and their families; and to provide for legal remedies.

Summary

HB295 creates the Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Act, establishing Education Savings Accounts and a three-year phased program to let parents direct their K-12 children’s education with safeguards for nonpublic schools.

What This Bill Does

It establishes the PRICE Program and two state funds (the PRICE ESA Fund and the PRICE Administration Fund) to finance ESAs and program administration. It defines eligible expenses, requires participating nonpublic schools and education service providers to register, issue receipts, and participate with auditing, denial, and appeal processes, plus potential removal for misuse. It begins with a three-year phase-in of eligibility starting in 2024-25 and expands in 2025-26 and beyond to include more students. It also preserves nonpublic school autonomy, limits state control over nonpublic schools, creates a Parent Advisory Board, and allows legal action to enforce the act.

Who It Affects

• Parents/guardians of eligible students who may apply for an ESA, manage funds for qualified expenses, renew annually, and participate in or be affected by the Parent Advisory Board; they are subject to program rules and audits.
• Eligible students and their families who receive ESA funds to pay for approved education-related goods and services, may transfer between participating schools, and must follow the program’s documentation and reporting requirements.
• Education service providers and nonpublic schools (private, church, parochial, and home-based programs) that may participate and receive ESA payments; they must register, provide receipts, follow program rules, comply with audits, and can be barred for misuse.
• Public schools/districts and state agencies (including the Department of Revenue and Department of Education) as potential participating schools or administrators; they handle deposits, maintain records, share information as allowed, and oversee program administration.

Key Provisions

• Creates the Parental Rights in Children's Education (PRICE) Program and two funds: the PRICE ESA Fund (for depositing ESA funds) and the PRICE Administration Fund (for program administration).
• Sets a three-year phase-in for the PRICE Program, starting with 2024-2025 eligibility rules and expanding in 2025-2026 and beyond to cover more students.
• Defines key terms such as assigned public school, eligible recipient, participating student, nonpublic school, education service provider, and qualifying expenses.
• Establishes the Parent Advisory Board with a chair (the Commissioner, nonvoting unless a tie) and four parent members from specified education categories; includes appointments by the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and House/Senate leaders, plus minority leaders, with terms and conflict rules.
• Creates funding mechanisms for ESAs, including annual appropriations to fully fund projected ESA deposits, with funds remaining in the ESA Fund year-to-year and not reverting at year end.
• Requires periodic ESA deposits (no later than August 1 each year) and allows carryover of unused funds, with rules on renewal and continuation of ESAs.
• Authorizes a wide list of qualifying expenses (tuition, curriculum, services, tutoring, postsecondary costs, devices, software, transportation, uniforms, exams, etc.) for which ESA funds may be used; prohibits personal deposits into an ESA and limits certain payments (e.g., tutoring cannot go to an immediate family member).
• Imposes auditing and accountability measures, including random annual audits, potential denial of payments, program suspensions, and appeals; allows referral to the Attorney General for fraud and misuse; provides for legal remedies and private actions.
• Affirms safeguards for nonpublic schools, limiting additional regulation by the state and preserving school autonomy; ensures the act does not expand regulatory power over nonpublic education.
• Requires public schools to provide participating students’ records to ESAs in accordance with privacy laws; sets policies for out-of-district options and transfer procedures between participating schools.
• Provides for miscellaneous operational provisions, including registration procedures for education service providers, online information dissemination, help resources, and transparency requirements for the PRICE Program.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.