Alabama鈥檚 public school enrollment could see its largest decline in 40 years, Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey told members of the Alabama State Board of Education on Thursday.

Enrollment in the state鈥檚 K-12 schools in the 2024-25 school year , a slight increase over 2023-24. The department did not release numbers Thursday for the 2025-26 school year, but Mackey said Thursday only about 12 schools have seen growth in enrollment while other districts have seen numbers decline.

About 5,000 students have been unenrolled from public schools in the state with roughly 3,000 students total taking funds to go to a private school.

The CHOOSE Act is a voucher-like program that offers families up to $7,000 per qualifying child for education related expenses including private school tuition. The program currently operates under income caps scheduled to be lifted next year.

鈥淲e know a portion of [the students] took CHOOSE Act dollars and we鈥檙e working with the governor鈥檚 office and the Department of Revenue to figure out exactly what that number looks like,鈥� he told board members.

The department is expected to release final numbers next Friday.

The loss of students is a nationwide problem. In May, the that there would be a decline in public school enrollment, due to growth in private and charter school enrollment and the general aging of the population. Nationwide, public school enrollment is expected to fall by 7.6% by 2031. Alabama鈥檚

Mackey said Thursday he was mostly concerned with the 2,100 students who were enrolled last year that never showed up for school.

鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 transfer to private school, they didn鈥檛 go to home school, they didn鈥檛 go to school in another state. They just disappeared,鈥� he told the School Board of Education.

Mackey said local superintendents have reported to him that a majority of the unaccounted students are Hispanic.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 know if they鈥檙e still living in this state, just not going to school. If they have moved to another state, they did not enroll in school in that state,鈥� he told the board. 鈥淚f they left the country, we don鈥檛 know if they are documenting students or undocumented, because, as you know, that鈥檚 something we are not allowed to ask, and we don鈥檛 ask under federal law.鈥�

According to the , about 12% of students enrolled in Alabama public schools are Hispanic.

Mackey said getting these students back in school is important for their progress.

鈥淚f those students all come back to us in January and they missed a semester of instruction, we鈥檙e going to teach them, but we鈥檙e going to pick them up where they are,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would implore, publicly, [for] parents to get them back in school. The sooner they get back in school quicker, we can catch them up and move them forward.鈥�

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

Alabama schools are set to implement a new system to prevent vaping by public school students in the coming academic year.

, sponsored by Rep. Barbara Drummond D-Mobile, requires the Alabama State Board of Education to create a model policy for local boards of education to adopt by November.

鈥淸Drummond] wanted an anti-vaping law, so we were able to work with her on something that鈥檚 not too overwhelming for the districts, but they are all going to have an anti-vaping policy,鈥� State Board of Education Superintendent Eric Mackey told members of the board in a meeting on Tuesday.

Under the proposed policy, students who are caught vaping once will have their parents contacted and students who are caught vaping twice will have to take a state approved vaping awareness, education and prevention class which includes a curriculum created in collaboration with the Drug Education Council.

The topics covered in the proposed curriculum presented to board members include health consequences, peer pressure, nicotine and addiction, resources to quit vaping and common misconceptions about vaping among others.

According to the , the media branch for the Children鈥檚 of Alabama hospital, nearly 20% of high school students in 2023 said they had vaped.

Some board members at Tuesday鈥檚 meeting questioned the need for the vaping law.

鈥淎s an educator, parent and grandparent, I don鈥檛 quite understand the focus on this and bifurcating or separating from the other common concerns in every discipline policy,鈥� said Wayne Reynolds, who represents District 8 on the board. 鈥淲hy would you separate what you鈥檙e doing to a child caught vaping and contacting the parents than any other child in the discipline policy?鈥�

District 1 Representative Jackie Zeigler raised concerns about children moving onto other drugs like Fentanyl and Xylazine or tranq and pushed for broader language in the law to prevent having to add resolutions to add other specific items such as marajuana into the law.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think by labeling it does any justice,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e need to make it broader so these things fit into it so we don鈥檛 have to come back and say, 鈥榥ow we have [THC] gummies, and now we have vaping.鈥欌��

Mackey agreed that the law is more specific than most Alabama Department of Education policies, but because it鈥檚 the law they have to follow it and said the board is 鈥渂eing no more restrictive than the law requires.鈥�

Beginning in the 1995 school year, Alabama schools were required to have a and the states every county and city school system must have drug abuse and education courses in their curriculum.

The Alabama State Board of Education will vote on the model policy for the law next month.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey said Thursday that job losses could result from the loss of federal funds in the near future.

Mackey made the comments after the State Board of Education approved the department鈥檚 $6.4 billion Education Trust Fund budget request for K-12 schools for fiscal year 2026, which lawmakers will consider when the Alabama Legislature meets for the 2025 regular session in February. Lawmakers will have the final word on how much money is allocated.

Mackey said the request included a $52 million line item for 鈥淪truggling Readers Beyond Grade 3.鈥� The superintendent, who did not give an estimate of jobs affected, told reporters that he thinks the number one use for those funds will be to hire reading interventionists.

鈥淎nd a lot of it鈥檚 actually used, being used as replacement money, because they were hiring reading interventionists with federal funds,鈥� he said. 鈥淔ederal funds have gone away, and so they now want to keep their interventionists using these funds.鈥�

Federal funds were provided to school districts and education through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021. The funds, known as Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER), to address needs arising from the pandemic and for ongoing recovery efforts afterward.

Alabama received $3.28 billion in ESSER funds. , 91.55% of the money has been expended. Recipients had until Sept. 30 to commit ESSER funds allocated under ARPA.

Lawmakers

Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, chair of the House education budget committee, said Thursday he could not comment on the budget until he spoke with Mackey about the proposal.

Garrett said that they have talked for years about ESSER funds being temporary.

鈥淪o that鈥檚 been something that鈥檚 not unexpected, and hopefully systems have planned accordingly,鈥� he said.

A message was left with Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chair of the Senate education budget committee.

Mackey said they have given schools money for assessments and professional development, but there鈥檚 a missing piece with the interventionists, who work with students. Certified academic language therapists (CALT) provide intervention for students with written language disorders, including dyslexia,

鈥淭here are many of those children who have reading difficulties, but they qualify for special education services, so they have another layer of service,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut if they don鈥檛 qualify for special needs, then they don鈥檛 have that extra layer, and that鈥檚 where these CALT therapists come in very handy.鈥�

Mackey said he has spoken with several superintendents who have the money to retain their interventionists but will not replace them when they retire. Other superintendents cut all of their interventionist jobs this year, he said.

鈥淪o, we鈥檙e going to see a little bit of both, I think,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ver the next three years, what we鈥檙e going to see is that they鈥檙e going to be fewer employees, basically in the system.鈥�

He said they will regain some number of employees back with the Numeracy Act, which aims to set similar goals for math as the Literacy Act does for reading. The superintendent was hopeful schools would get more money for middle grade reading.

鈥淎s time goes they鈥檒l be able to move to other jobs, but there鈥檚 just no way for the state to really sustain all the money, all the federal money we鈥檙e losing,鈥� he said.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

The Alabama state superintendent said Thursday afternoon that a diploma pathway focused on career readiness should not be used to remove lower achieving students from another diploma pathway.

Speaking to members of the Alabama State Board of Education during a work session, Eric Mackey told board members that students should not be forced to work toward a career-pathway focused diploma known as Diploma B just because they have lower ACT scores than others.

鈥淭here will be no 鈥業f your ACT score is 22 you鈥檙e on Option A, and if it鈥檚 21 you鈥檙e on Option B,鈥欌�� Mackey said. 鈥淎nd if anybody tries to do that, the furor of the state superintendent will come down on them, because that is not the purpose.鈥�

The remarks came in a discussion over the diploma options of 鈥淎鈥� and 鈥淏,鈥� with 鈥淏鈥� meeting a career-focused option required by the Legislature.

sponsored by Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, the chair of the Senate Education Policy Committee, was part of a package of bills focused on workforce development in the 2024 regular legislative session. The legislation requires the board to create a diploma under the law鈥檚 goal of facilitating 鈥渢he development of a career pathways diploma at the K-12 level that would enhance career and technical education opportunities for high school students who plan to enter the workforce immediately after graduation.鈥�

Mackey said that diplomas issued by the schools will not note whether they are the 鈥淎鈥� or 鈥淏鈥� option. Both diplomas require 24 credits.

But the superintendent said he was worried about returning to an old educational model where people sent students to vocational schools just to get them out of the building.

鈥淚鈥檓 telling you, if anybody tries to go back to that, there will be fire raining down on them because that is not what this is about,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is about giving students opportunities.鈥�

Chesteen said in a Thursday afternoon phone call that he agreed with Mackey after the Reflector summarized what was said at the work session.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 one thing to pass a piece of legislation. I think the most important piece to that is the implementation. How is it going to affect the students? And that鈥檚 what I want to monitor very carefully,鈥� he said.

Chesteen said 鈥渨e can鈥檛 use it for an easy pathway out for these kids that don鈥檛 score well,鈥� and they need to have a career pathway after they graduate.

Diploma 鈥淎鈥� requires four credits each in English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Diploma 鈥淏鈥� requires four credits in English Language Arts and Social Studies, but two credits in Mathematics and Science. Option 鈥淏鈥� also requires three credits in Career and Technical Education to complete a whole sequence.

鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have kids that score a 32 on the ACT, that want to be Option B because they like working with their hands, and they want to go into robotics or such thing, and we鈥檙e going to have kids with with a 20 ACT, that are strivers, they want to do the Option A,鈥� Mackey said.

The Board intends to announce the intent to adopt the changes in the October meeting.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey said Wednesday that the Alabama State Department of Education鈥檚 computer systems had been breached last month, and that students and employees of the department may have been affected.

Speaking at a press conference in Montgomery, Mackey said  the breach took place on June 17. According to Mackey, the department鈥檚  staff interrupted and stopped the attack.

Mackey said that there 鈥渨as no question鈥� that it was a denial of service attack to encrypt and steal data so they need to be paid off, but said officials were 鈥渟till assessing exactly which data were taken.鈥�

鈥淲hat I would say is that to all parents, and all local and state education employees out there, they should monitor their credit, they should assume that there鈥檚 a possibility that some of their data were compromised,鈥� he said.

Mackey said that the department does not keep direct deposit information.

鈥淲e do have information about which data possibly could be taken because we鈥檙e able to look and see which servers they were not able to get to in the time they were in there,鈥� he said.

A foreign agent may have been involved, Mackey said, but he said that he could not provide more information.

鈥淚 shouldn鈥檛 say I鈥檓 not aware,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not able to answer that.鈥�

According to a statement from the department, the Alabama Attorney General, the Alabama Office of Information Technology and an independent contractor are working with the department to strengthen the cyber defenses and identify which data may have been compromised.

The statement said notification will be made to relevant parties in full compliance with laws and best practices.

The Department has launched a dedicated landing site 鈥� 鈥� and questions and comments can be sent to databreach@alsde.edu.

Mackey said that their websites will be down for 鈥渃ritical updates鈥� beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday evening for several hours.

is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Gov. Kay Ivey Monday reaffirmed her support for creating education savings accounts at a rally on the Alabama State Capitol steps on Monday.

But Ivey and other speakers gave few details of what they would support on the issue, which has already drawn pushback from State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey and other educators in the state.

鈥淚t will be sustainable, responsible and it鈥檚 how we will shape the future of education in Alabama,鈥� Ivey told several dozen people at a rally for 鈥淪chool Choice Week,鈥� a push to expand nontraditional public schools and publicly-funded private school options.

Education savings accounts are similar to vouchers in that they allow the use of money originally intended for public schools to be used for other items, including private school tuition. Vouchers send the money to an educational institution that the student attends. Education savings accounts go to the parents, who can use it for any number of services, including tuition, tutoring and counseling.

Ivey made expansion of education options The Alabama Legislature passed legislation expanding the Alabama Accountability Act, a scholarship program allowing students in low-performing schools to qualify for scholarships to private schools.

The governor told the crowd that her 鈥渢op priority is ensuring education savings accounts bill crosses the finish line.鈥�

What emerges from the session will be up to the Legislature, and likely Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville and Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, the chairs of the legislative committees overseeing the Education Trust Fund budget, which would fund any type of Education Savings Account. Messages seeking comment were left with Orr and Garrett on Monday morning; neither man could be seen at Monday鈥檚 rally.

Sen. Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, filed , which would have allowed roughly $6,900 to follow a student. The bill, filed late in the session, did not become law.

Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, R-Trinity, who filed a House version of Stutts鈥� bill, said Monday that he also supported an expansive education savings account option.

鈥淚t brings the free market back to education,鈥� he said.

Stutts and Yarbrough tend to be some of the most conservative members of the Republican supermajority Legislature.

Yarbrough lined out his plans for 鈥渢rue school choice:鈥� universal for all students; flexible spending ability; protects autonomy of private and home schools, while making traditional public schools鈥� curriculum transparent and is not an 鈥渁ttempt鈥� to increase government spending.

鈥淚 believe that true school choice does not increase the size or scope of government,鈥� he said.

The bill has not been filed as of Monday morning.

Students and parents spoke about their own experiences with education options in the state at the rally also.

June Henninger, a fifth grade student at the private Montgomery Christian School, said that she benefited from her experience at the school. She said she was grateful for her education and her teachers.

鈥淚鈥檓 ready for my next school of my choice,鈥� she said.

Montgomery Christian School students are on scholarships through donations and from scholarships

鈥淪chool choice鈥� can refer to a number of things, namely charter schools, vouchers and/ or education savings accounts.

, State Superintendent Eric Mackey said that he would want the money to go to schools and would require accountability.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

Jennifer Church, the lead special education teacher at Pelham Ridge Elementary School in Pelham, knows how much her colleagues do before stepping into a classroom.

鈥淭he referral meetings, eligibility meetings, IEP (individualized educational plan) meetings, the parent contacts just to organize all of that,鈥� she said. 鈥淲riting the IEPS 鈥� providing the services to the students each day and then also helping with any general education assignments that need to be helped with in the classroom.鈥�

And to keep special education teachers in place, the Alabama State Department of Education is asking the Legislature for a little bit more.

The department鈥檚 budget request includes a call for a stipend for special education teachers in the hopes of recruiting new teachers and retaining existing ones in areas with shortages.

Michael Sibley, spokesman for the department, said over email that the stipend amount requested is $5,000 and 20% ($1,000) benefits for each teacher.

A new teacher in Alabama with a bachelor鈥檚 degree would make A new teacher in Mississippi at a would make A new teacher in Georgia with a would make the base teacher salary in Tennessee is $42,000.

Special education is a term that covers a range of specialties, and special education teachers work with students with a range of needs. Some of those specialties have greater shortages than others. But the department for now but, for now, they are looking at a flat stipend across the board for special education teachers.

Mackey said the goal is to convince people to become special education teachers.

鈥淭his year, the Legislature provided a $1,000 stipend but it only went to special ed teachers who were paid for out of the state budget, foundation program budget,鈥� he said.

This year鈥檚 request would cover teachers paid for by federal and local funds, as well. His goal is to provide the stipends for every special education teacher in the state.

Both Mackey and special education educators across the state have said that it鈥檚 important that specially trained teachers are the ones who work with special education students.

鈥淚f you鈥檙e a parent of a child that has these really severe needs, then you want to make sure you have the most qualified teacher working with them,鈥� he said.

Akeliah Palmer, a collaborative resource and special education teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Selma, said that she has about 30 students on her caseload.

She said that special education is hard to staff, so she hopes the stipend might help in recruiting.

鈥淔or them to keep the stipend would be a great idea because it may recruit more workers to come over to [special education],鈥� she said.

Church said that forging personal relationships is also important for her role as a special education teacher.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just one blanket plan for the children,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 individualized to each child. So we write these for their strengths, their weaknesses, the services that they need. It also has to be legally defensible.鈥�

Cynthia Rysedorph, special education department chair at Mountain Brook High School, said that she thinks a stipend could encourage teachers to stay in the classroom.

鈥淚t was somewhat empowering, I think, just to feel recognized,鈥� she said about this past year鈥檚 stipend..

Retention is critical, Mackey said, because of the volume of work special education teachers do.

鈥淏ecause of special ed is obviously an area that鈥檚 intense focus, there is a lot of additional paperwork because the significance of some federal rules around that, so we often hear teachers say, 鈥榊ou know what, I鈥檓 going to leave teaching special ed, and just teach fourth grade, because it鈥檚 the same pay,鈥欌�� he said.

Mackey said that the department is targeting teachers trained and certified to teach both special education and elementary general education. Some of those teachers might have gone to general education, and he wants the stipend to encourage them to come back to special education. He said those teachers are certified under collaborative special education.

For now, he said, the department is looking at a flat stipend, but Mackey left open the possibility of offering more in areas with particular shortages.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 something certainly could be discussed,鈥� he said. 鈥淟ike, you know, the Legislature comes back and wants to talk about, 鈥榃ell, what if we do a different amount for a child, for a teacher who has students with learning disabilities versus one with students who have medical disabilities?鈥�

Last year, the Department asked for $68 million and received $4.6 million for special education stipends. This year, the department has requested for $34 million. House education budget chair Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, said in October he did not have any information about the funding this year going up as he has not seen the request or had discussions.

The Alabama State Board of Education鈥檚 budget request goes to the governor鈥檚 office. The governor makes a recommendation of her version that then goes to the Legislature who will approve their version of the budget.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .

The percentage of Alabama third graders reading on grade level decreased 2% between 2022 and 2023, according to Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP) scores released by the Alabama State Department of Education on Thursday.

76% of Alabama third graders read on third-grade level this year, compared with 78% last year.  In 2021, 77% of third graders read on grade level.

State Superintendent Eric Mackey said there are reasons that the numbers might not have changed as they hoped. The test has changed since last year to focus more on the science of reading, so the test includes components that were not previously tested.

The superintendent also suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic might have had an effect. This year鈥檚 third graders were kindergarteners in the 2019-20 school year. After the first COVID-19 case in Alabama was confirmed that March, Alabama schools went to distance learning about two months before classes ended.

鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 not going the direction we want,鈥� he said.

Alabama rose in rankings for the National Assessment of Education Progress, or 鈥淭he Nation鈥檚 Report Card,鈥� after many states lost ground due to the pandemic. However, the state still lags the country. 28% of Alabama fourth graders were deemed proficient or higher on the NAEP in comparison to the national average of 32%.

Second graders saw a smaller year-to-year decline. In 2023, 79% of second graders read at grade level, compared to 80% in 2022. In 2021, 78% of second graders read on grade level.

The third graders who make up these numbers are not going to be retained under the Literacy Act. Retention begins this upcoming school year.

Mackey said they are also planning to evaluate which textbooks were used in classrooms. He also said that some classrooms did not get textbooks until last November.

Bonnie Short, Alabama Reading Initiative director, said that the districts that had the greatest growth had used the LETRS (Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling) training. is a professional training course that offers instruction for teaching the science of reading.

Not all LETRS trained districts did well, however, so she stressed that it was about implementation. She said that many districts with growth had varied instructional programming.

鈥淲hat was not varied was professional learning,鈥� she said.

is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com. Follow Alabama Reflector on and .