Alabama CHOOSE Act: How to Use Your ESA for Reading Tools That Actually Work

What is the Alabama CHOOSE Act?

You got the email. Your family was approved for the Alabama CHOOSE Act. There's money sitting in a ClassWallet account with your child's name on it--and now you're staring at a list of approved spending categories wondering where to start.

You're not alone. The Alabama CHOOSE Act is brand new, and most families are figuring it out for the first time. The program launched in 2025, applications for the 2026-2027 school year opened in January, and there's a wave of parents asking the same question: How do I actually use these funds to help my child?

If reading is on your radar--because your child is struggling, because you want to track their progress, or because you simply want to know where they stand--this guide will walk you through what the Alabama CHOOSE Act covers, how the money works, and one specific way to put those ESA dollars toward reading tools that give you real, measurable data on your child's fluency.

The CHOOSE Act stands for Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education. Signed into law in 2024, it created Alabama's first education savings account (ESA) program. The idea is straightforward: eligible families receive state funds deposited into a ClassWallet account, and those funds can be spent on approved educational expenses--curriculum, tutoring, instructional materials, therapies, and more.

For families enrolled in a home education program (homeschool, co-op, or similar), the Alabama CHOOSE Act provides $2,000 per student, capped at $4,000 per family. Families whose children attend a participating private school receive $7,000 per student. The money doesn't come to you directly. It flows through ClassWallet, Alabama's designated platform for managing ESA funds, and every purchase goes through an approval process to verify it falls within the program's guidelines.

The Alabama CHOOSE Act fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30, which is worth noting because it doesn't match a typical school calendar. Your funds are available within that window, and any approved purchases during that period count toward the current fiscal year.

Who qualifies for the Alabama CHOOSE Act?

For the 2026-2027 school year, eligibility requires three things: your child must be in grades K-12, they must be an Alabama resident, and your household's adjusted gross income (AGI) can't exceed 300% of the federal poverty level--roughly $93,600 for a family of four based on 2025 guidelines. When demand exceeds available funding, the program prioritizes students with special needs, siblings of current participants, and dependents of active-duty service members. Starting in 2027-2028, the income requirement goes away entirely--every Alabama K-12 student will be eligible regardless of family income.

Applications for the 2026-2027 year opened January 2, 2026, and close March 31, with award notifications going out around April 15. If you haven't applied yet and think you qualify, time matters. The Alabama Department of Revenue's CHOOSE Act page has the application portal and full program details.

How Alabama CHOOSE Act funds work with ClassWallet

ClassWallet is the platform Alabama uses to manage every CHOOSE Act transaction. Think of it as a dedicated spending account where you browse approved vendors, submit invoices, and track your balance. You can't withdraw cash or transfer funds to a personal account. Every dollar must be spent through ClassWallet with an approved Education Service Provider (ESP).

When you find a product or service you want to use, the process typically looks like this:

1. Find an approved vendor -- Browse the ClassWallet marketplace or visit an approved vendor's website directly
2. Get an invoice -- The vendor provides a ClassWallet-formatted invoice with the correct spending category
3. Submit through ClassWallet -- Upload the invoice under the appropriate category (Curriculum and Instructional Materials, Tutoring, etc.)
4. Wait for approval -- ClassWallet reviews the submission, typically within a few business days
5. Access begins -- Once approved, your child gets access to the product or service

The spending categories matter. Each vendor is approved under a specific category, and submitting an invoice under the wrong one can delay or deny your request. For reading tools and educational software, the most common category is Curriculum and Instructional Materials.

Why reading assessment belongs in your Alabama ESA spending plan

With $2,000 per student to work with, most homeschool families are thinking about curriculum first. That makes sense--math programs, science kits, and language arts materials add up fast. But there's a category of spending that often gets overlooked: assessment tools that tell you whether your curriculum is actually working.

Here's the problem. You can spend months working through a reading curriculum and still not know if your child is making progress at the rate they should be. Are they reading at grade level? Are they falling behind? Are they ahead? Without a consistent way to measure, you're guessing--and guessing creates anxiety.

Reading fluency--specifically, how many words your child reads correctly in one minute--is one of the strongest predictors of overall reading ability. It's the metric that schools use, that reading specialists track, and that research consistently links to long-term academic success. The formal term is oral reading fluency (ORF), and the measurement is called words correct per minute (WCPM).

The point isn't that you need to become a testing expert. The point is that a regular reading assessment--even once a week--gives you something no curriculum alone can provide: hard data on whether your child is growing.

Using Alabama CHOOSE Act funds for reading fluency tools

Reading assessment tools fall squarely under the Curriculum and Instructional Materials category in ClassWallet. That means your Alabama CHOOSE Act ESA funds can cover them--and at a fraction of what most families spend on tutoring or curriculum packages, a reading assessment tool can be one of the highest-value items in your ESA budget.

For context: a single hour of private reading tutoring in Alabama typically costs $40-80. A full year of a reading assessment and practice platform can cost less than two tutoring sessions. That's not to say tutoring isn't valuable--it is. But if you're looking for a way to stretch your $2,000 and get consistent, ongoing data about your child's reading, assessment tools deliver outsized value per dollar spent.

ReadingFluency is an approved ClassWallet vendor in Alabama, listed under Curriculum and Instructional Materials. At $99 per student per year, it gives your child unlimited 60-second reading assessments with AI scoring, a Skills Lab for targeted practice on trouble words, AI-generated reading passages matched to their grade level, and a parent dashboard that tracks progress against research-backed benchmarks. The enrollment process takes about 2 minutes, and you get a ClassWallet-formatted invoice immediately--no waiting, no back-and-forth.

What to look for in a reading tool before spending ESA funds

Not every reading app or program is created equal, and your CHOOSE Act dollars are limited. Before you commit funds to any reading tool--ours or anyone else's--here's what's worth checking:

Does it measure what matters? Look for tools that track words correct per minute (WCPM), not just comprehension quizzes or time spent reading. WCPM is the metric that reading researchers and specialists use because it captures both accuracy and speed in a single number. A tool that tracks WCPM gives you data you can compare against national benchmarks like the Hasbrouck and Tindal norms.

Does it show progress over time? A single score is a snapshot. What you really need is a trend. Can you see whether your child's reading is improving week over week? Can you compare fall scores to spring scores? Progress monitoring is where the real value lives, especially for homeschool families who don't have a school's built-in assessment cycle.

Does it give you something to act on? Knowing your child reads 72 words per minute is useful. Knowing which specific words they stumble on--and having targeted practice for those exact words--is better. The best reading tools don't just test; they connect assessment results to practice activities that address the gaps they find.

Is it approved for your Alabama ESA? This one is practical. Not every reading tool is an approved ClassWallet vendor. Before you fall in love with a product, confirm it's listed in the ClassWallet marketplace or can generate a properly formatted invoice for the correct spending category. Submitting invoices for non-approved vendors is a common reason for ClassWallet rejections.

Step-by-step: spending your Alabama CHOOSE Act funds on reading tools

Whether you're enrolling with ReadingFluency or another approved reading vendor, the process through ClassWallet follows the same basic steps:

1. Confirm your ClassWallet account is active. After your CHOOSE Act application is approved and funds are deposited, log in to ClassWallet and verify your balance. If you can see your available funds, you're ready to go.
2. Choose your reading tool and get an invoice. Visit the vendor's website, complete their enrollment form, and request (or download) a ClassWallet-formatted invoice. The invoice should list the vendor name, the student's name, the amount, and the service period.
3. Submit the invoice through ClassWallet. Log in to ClassWallet, navigate to the submission area, and upload your invoice under the correct category. For most reading tools, that's Curriculum and Instructional Materials.
4. Wait for approval. ClassWallet typically processes submissions within a few business days. You'll get a notification when the payment is approved.
5. Start using the tool. Once ClassWallet approves the payment, the vendor activates your child's account and you're up and running.

One tip that saves headaches: make sure the invoice category matches the vendor's approved category exactly. If the vendor is approved under "Curriculum and Instructional Materials" but you submit under "Technology," it will likely get flagged. When in doubt, ask the vendor which category to use--a good vendor will tell you without you having to guess.

Making the most of your Alabama education savings account

The Alabama CHOOSE Act gives homeschool families something they haven't had before: dedicated funding for the tools and resources that make home education work. $2,000 per student isn't unlimited, but it goes further than you might think when you're intentional about where it goes.

A few principles that help:

Prioritize tools that give you ongoing value. A $99/year reading assessment platform your child uses weekly delivers more value over 12 months than a $200 workbook that sits on a shelf after month 3. Think about cost per use, not just sticker price.

Balance curriculum with assessment. Curriculum teaches. Assessment tells you whether the teaching is working. Most families over-invest in curriculum and under-invest in measurement--then wonder why they feel uncertain about their child's progress. Even allocating 10-15% of your ESA funds toward assessment tools can dramatically increase your confidence in your homeschool plan.

Keep your receipts and documentation. ClassWallet handles most of the record-keeping, but it's smart to save copies of every invoice and approval notification. The Alabama Department of Revenue can audit CHOOSE Act accounts, and having organized records makes that process painless.

Start with your biggest concern. If reading is the area where you feel least confident about your child's progress, start there. You don't have to solve everything at once. A clear answer about where your child stands in reading can be the foundation for every other instructional decision you make this year.

You can try a free reading assessment right now--no ClassWallet submission needed. When you're ready for a full year of assessments and practice, enroll through our Alabama CHOOSE Act page and get your ClassWallet invoice in under 2 minutes.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Alabama CHOOSE Act?

The CHOOSE Act (Creating Hope and Opportunity for Our Students' Education) is Alabama's education savings account program, signed into law in 2024. It provides eligible families with state funds--$2,000 per homeschool student, $7,000 per private school student--deposited into a ClassWallet account for approved educational expenses including curriculum, instructional materials, and tutoring.

How much do homeschool families get from the Alabama CHOOSE Act?

Homeschool families receive $2,000 per participating student, capped at $4,000 per family. Funds are deposited into a ClassWallet account and must be spent on approved educational expenses through approved Education Service Providers. The fiscal year runs October 1 through September 30.

Can I use Alabama CHOOSE Act funds for reading assessment tools?

Yes. Reading assessment and practice tools that are approved ClassWallet vendors fall under the Curriculum and Instructional Materials spending category. You submit an invoice through ClassWallet, it goes through a brief approval process, and the funds are released to the vendor. ReadingFluency is an approved ClassWallet vendor in Alabama at $99/student/year.

Who is eligible for the Alabama CHOOSE Act in 2026-2027?

For 2026-2027, students must be in grades K-12, be Alabama residents, and their household adjusted gross income cannot exceed 300% of the federal poverty level. Applications opened January 2, 2026, and close March 31, 2026. Starting in 2027-2028, the income requirement is removed and all Alabama K-12 students become eligible.

What's the difference between $2,000 and $7,000 CHOOSE Act amounts?

Students enrolled in a participating private school receive $7,000 per student. Students in a home education program (homeschool, co-op, or similar) receive $2,000 per student with a $4,000 family cap. The funding amount depends on the type of educational setting, not income level.

How do I apply for the Alabama CHOOSE Act?

Visit the Alabama Department of Revenue's CHOOSE Act page to access the application portal. The 2026-2027 application window runs from January 2 through March 31, 2026. Award notifications are sent around April 15. Returning families can renew starting December 15.