As a Future Teacher, the CHOOSE ACT is Bad for Education
- Micah Breland
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Every kid gets asked the question countless times: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” For me, from a young age, I knew my answer to this question was that I wanted to be a teacher. Sure, like most kids I went through the firefighter phase, the doctor phase, the mailman phase and a few others that are a little embarrassing. Eventually, however, my goal of teaching stuck with me, and I’ve been working towards it ever since.
I had many amazing teachers in my local public school system as a kid. I saw firsthand the ways they pour into their students with engaging lessons, fun activities and good life advice. It was the impact these teachers made on me that inspired me to pursue education as a career.
As I got older, I had opportunities to learn more about what being a teacher would look like. I had the privilege of working as a camp counselor, VBS leader, peer helper and teacher’s assistant, all with younger children. I also was able to shadow some amazing teachers at my local elementary school and see what they dealt with on a day-to-day basis. All these experiences only amplified my desire to enter the classroom.
I saw firsthand the impact that could be made on children at such a formative stage of life — the same impact that my teachers had on me. I believe I am called to be a teacher so I can continue to make an impact on the next generation in the classroom.
Don’t get me wrong, I realize that my job won’t be easy. I know that teaching comes with challenges, which is why it is so important that teachers be supported at every step in the process. Unfortunately, that is not what we are seeing from the state of Alabama today.
In March of 2024, Governor Kay Ivey signed the CHOOSE Act into law. The program, Alabama’s response to the nationwide right-wing “school choice” movement, provides parents with an up to $7,000 voucher to pay for private school tuition or homeschooling expenses. While the program was supposed to be limited to $100 million per year, it has been expanded and is now expected to cost $530 million by 2028. To be clear, that’s $530 million that would have — and should have — gone to public schools in Alabama.
The worst part is the CHOOSE Act won’t even help the kids it’s claiming to help. While the program was marketed as a way to help kids who are zoned for underperforming schools to get a better education, data showsthe vast majority of CHOOSE Act recipients this year were never enrolled in any public school.
The mission to provide better education to students in underperforming public schools is admirable, but this clearly isn’t the right way to do it. Rather than giving up on underperforming schools, state leaders should invest more into these areas to improve education for all—not just the few who receive a voucher. Furthermore, even the few recipients who are transferring from public schools with CHOOSE Act funds will be hard-pressed to find a private school with tuition below $7000.
The CHOOSE Act has and will continue to lead to a funding problem for public schools in Alabama. This lack of funding is already hitting public schools hard, and it’s only going to get worse as lawmakers continue to increase funding for the program. The shortage of funds will lead to less money and resources for teachers and classrooms, a lack of employee salary increases, and systems being forced to cut staff. Less teachers means larger class sizes and less support in the classroom. Worse still, the schools and systems that will be hit hardest by this cut are the ones that were already in need of more funding in the first place.
Teaching is hard enough as it is. Money being taken from our public schools to subsidize kids who, in most cases, are already not attending public schools is only going to make it harder. Alabama has consistently been ranked at the bottom in education throughout the nation. Maybe if the state looked out for teachers, we would see progress.
My mom was a public school teacher up until the day I was born. She has talked about the problems she faced working in an underfunded public school in Jefferson County. Whether it was behavior problems that needed additional support, facilities that needed repair or materials that were outdated, there was a clear need for more funding for schools and support for teachers from the state.
I’ve wanted to be a teacher for a long time, and I can only hope that state leaders start looking out for teachers, making changes, and repealing the CHOOSE Act for when I finally enter the classroom.
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