Your Tax Dollars Can Make a Difference, Even When You Can’t Choose the School
Since 2013, Alabama’s Accountability Act (AAA) scholarship program has provided families with greater educational opportunities by helping students access schools that best meet their needs.
For Alabama taxpayers, the program offers a unique opportunity: instead of sending a portion of their state tax liability to Montgomery, eligible taxpayers can redirect those dollars to support scholarships for students across the state through a scholarship granting organization (SGO).
But there is an important piece of the program that every donor should understand: taxpayers cannot designate a specific school or student to receive their contribution.
Under Alabama law, contributions made to SGOs cannot be restricted or conditioned in any way by the donor. This includes requiring an SGO to direct funds to a particular qualifying school or providing a scholarship to a specific student.
This requirement helps ensure that the AAA scholarship program operates fairly and consistently, allowing SGOs to award scholarships based on student eligibility and program requirements, not donor preference.
That does not mean your contribution does not have a direct impact. In fact, your tax dollars are helping create opportunities for students and families throughout Alabama who are seeking a better educational fit.
Today, thousands of Alabama students remain on waiting lists for scholarships. The demand for educational options continues to grow, and there are not enough scholarship funds available to help every eligible family.
When you contribute through an approved SGO, you are investing in students across our state. You are helping provide families with opportunities they may not otherwise be able to afford. You are strengthening schools by supporting educational options. And you are keeping your tax dollars in Alabama, where they can directly benefit children and communities.
SGOs that promise donors they can fund a specific school or guarantee a scholarship for a particular student are not operating within the requirements of Alabama law. The strength of the AAA scholarship program comes from its ability to serve eligible students statewide.
You may not be able to choose the exact student or school your contribution supports, but you can choose to make an impact.
By redirecting your state tax liability to an approved scholarship granting organization, you are helping more Alabama students access the educational opportunities they need to succeed.
