Some Alabama school districts could get hundreds of dollars more per student, totaling as much as $11 million in additional funding, to support high-needs students.

Districts with lots of English language learners, such as Tarrant and Albertville, appear to be early winners in an effort to revamp the state’s school funding formula. But every district in the state would get additional funding.

“I’m confident all of it will be used to increase student achievement at Albertville City Schools,” said Bart Reeves, superintendent for the district. “We want to narrow that learning gap with our kids. I know we want to do that.”

Currently, school funding in Alabama is based on enrollment; schools receive about $7,700 from the state for each student they serve. It’s been that way for decades.

Lawmakers, educators and advocates want to move to a different formula – one that’s based on need, rather than headcount alone.

With the new program, called the RAISE Act, some high-needs districts could get as much as $400 more per-pupil moving forward, new projections show. Lawmakers currently plan to budget $375 million to pre-pay up to three years of the program. The bill, Senate Bill 305, now heads to the governor’s desk. (Scroll down to see how much your district could get).

By the 2025-26 school year, the RAISE Act would add:

• $68 million for high-poverty schools, an increase of $37 million
• $49 million in new funding for special education
• $33 million for English learners, an increase of $17 million
• $12 million for gifted students, an increase of $1.3 million
• $1.2 million in new funding for charter schools

Advocates say the program could create “transformational change” for students.

Districts can get some state grant money to pay for certain student services, but the RAISE Act would make that process easier by automatically sending funds to districts. It also would double the amounts that some some systems get for English learners and students in poverty.

“This gives districts the resources they need to serve the diverse needs of those students, whether that’s additional aides or teachers, support personnel, or whether it’s additional wraparound services or summer and afterschool programs,” Mark Dixon of the A+ Education Partnership, an education advocacy group that has championed the effort, told AL.com.

“There are different kids that have different needs, and so the goal here is to give the districts the flexibility to make the funding decisions based on the needs of the students in their classroom.”

Can’t see the table? View it here.

While increases vary from district to district, every system will get more money to serve students with different learning needs.

In total, schools would get about $164 million in weighted funding next year, a $106 million increase from the 2025 fiscal year. The legislation allows those weights to grow over time.

Data provided by the Alabama Education Association shows that districts with large populations of English learners, including Tarrant, Albertville and Russellville, could benefit the most from weighted funding. The program would also create brand new line items for students with disabilities and schools with concentrated poverty.

Reeves says the extra $1.2 million that lawmakers plan to send to his district this year – for a total of $2.6 million in weighted funds – would help him hire new aides and auxiliary teachers for elementary classrooms, and would possibly fund future reading camps that the district is now supporting with local money.

More than a third of students who attend schools in Albertville are English learners, and those early grades are crucial for building language skills, leaders said. But that takes resources.

“You take care of grades K through four, and I promise you’re going to see increases in academic achievement,” he said. “That’s what we are excited about.”

The bill requires school districts to submit plans showing how the funds would be used and to report on student outcomes. It also will create two state-level boards to monitor progress and enforce any corrective actions.

But overall, supporters say, the program will give districts more flexibility to make the most out of the funds.

Lawmakers are still working out the details of the education budget. They’ve consolidated about $58 million in grants for at-risk youth, English learners and gifted students, and plan to draw $375 million out of a reserve account to fund the first three years of the program.

The full package awaits final approval from the Senate before it heads to the governor.

The long-term goal, advocates say, is to eventually move toward a totally new formula, rather than keep layering weighted funding on top of the current budget. Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, said that would take a lot of work – and likely a constitutional amendment or two – to pull off quickly.

“It gives districts the ability to shift their mindset and think from a student funding perspective – to fund students vs resources – and that’s a change in mindset that needs to happen over time,” Dixon said.

“We hope to move to a fully student-weighted formula in the future, but right now the focus is on implementing this well and making sure we’re doing the best that we can for students.”

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