Eye on Politics
Paul DeMarco
The Alabama Senate this past week just passed a record education budget of nearly $12.1 billion for the 2026 fiscal year. The budget includes funding for K-12, community colleges and the state universities. The bill now goes to the Alabama House of Representatives for consideration.
The Senate also passed legislation that would reform the funding formula for state primary schools. The Renewing Alabama’s Investment in Student Excellence Act will revamp how money is appropriated to provide more resources for children in poverty and special education students. Importantly, more affluent school systems who are achieving good results for their students will not lose money with the legislation.
Alabama leaders are looking to address academic achievement in the state considering the long-time failures of some school systems in the state.
Alabama has chronically ranked towards the lower tier of states in education compared to other states. There have been many solutions offered to push student test scores higher in the state, including more school choice options, investment in pre-k and funding of more programs across the board.
Yet, even with years of trying, Alabama’s public schools are still not where they need to be for the students they educate.
Alabama should look to our neighbor Mississippi on how to improve. Mississippi received its 2024 test scores showing record proficiency increases in reading and math for fourth and eighth graders. Mississippi has now simply surpassed Alabama in supporting its students.
Hopefully, Alabama’s new funding formula and more funding for education will translate to better outcome for state students.
Paul DeMarco is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on X, formerly Twitter, at @Paul_DeMarco.
