HB565 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Danny GarrettRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Higher education, College and Higher Education Excellence and Results (CHEER) Act established, bonus funding for eligible institutions authorized based on achievement of performance goals and objectives

Summary

HB565 creates the CHEER Act to award bonus funding to Alabama higher education institutions based on meeting defined student-success and workforce-outcome goals.

What This Bill Does

It establishes the CHEER Fund and an Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Coordinating Committee to decide how much bonus funding eligible institutions receive each year and to distribute those funds. Eligible institutions include Alabama’s public universities and colleges in the Alabama Community College System; funding would start in a future fiscal year after legislative appropriations. Institutions earn bonuses based on weighted performance categories such as student success, completion, retention, alignment with high-demand and high-wage fields, and research/innovation, with data accuracy required to avoid funding reductions. Premier research universities can use bonus funds for research enhancements, equipment, and related needs, and the act supersedes existing outcomes-based funding programs.

Who It Affects

• Eligible higher education institutions in Alabama (the listed universities and Alabama Community College System colleges) would receive bonus funding based on performance.
• Students, especially higher-need and adult learners, as outcomes improve through program supports and funding.
• The Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and the Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Coordinating Committee, which administer and oversee the program.
• Premier research universities may use bonus funding to boost research expenditures, infrastructure, and related activities.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the College and Higher Education Excellence and Results (CHEER) Fund to provide bonus funding to eligible institutions.
• Creates the Outcomes-Based Higher Education Funding Coordinating Committee to set data rules, define performance categories, and oversee funding.
• Lists eligible institutions (state universities and community/technical colleges) and defines terms like eligible students, high-demand fields, and employment outcomes.
• Requires annual data collection, verification, and reporting; allows reductions or withholding of funds for faulty data.
• Requires funding to begin in the fiscal year starting Oct 1, 2026 (contingent on appropriations) and to be distributed according to a funding multiplier.
• Provides for use of funds, including allowanced use for premier research universities to increase research capacity and outputs, while other institutions use funds to improve student outcomes.
• Supersedes and replaces existing outcomes-based funding programs with the new CHEER framework.
• Sections establish criteria, data collection, and measurement of student success, workforce alignment, and research/innovation; sets an effective date of June 1, 2026 for the act.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 on Mar 3, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Education