After months of deliberation, Alabama lawmakers plan to put $375 million toward high-needs schools in the state, part of a broader effort to overhaul school funding.

The Renewing Alabama’s Investment in Student Excellence (RAISE) Act, SB305, would begin to send extra funds to schools based on student needs. Currently, schools’ state funding is determined by headcount, with districts getting about $7,700 per student. Lawmakers plan to begin funding increases to districts with:

• Economically disadvantaged students: up to 20% in additional funding
• Students with disabilities: 25%, 50% or 150% in additional funding
• English learners: up to 15% in additional funding, plus up to 5% more in districts with high concentrations of EL students
• Gifted students: up to 5% in additional funding
• Charter school students: up to 10% in additional funding, depending on local tax revenue

Lawmakers approved the legislation, along with another bill authorizing the transfer of funds from a reserve account, in a Senate committee April 9.

If the bill becomes law, some schools could get more funding in the 2025-26 school year.

“It’s a challenge, and the research shows that to educate children in those particular areas, it certainly costs more money,” Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, the budget sponsor, told committee members Wednesday, noting that some groups may need up to $1,000 more per student to see notable growth.

“We want to help, but it’s going to be a journey. We can’t flip a switch and do what we would like to do… But if you don’t start, you won’t get there.”

The program came out of several discussions this year to revise the state’s decades-old Foundation Program, which is one of few models in the country that still assigns funds based solely on student headcount.

Lawmakers considered plans for a totally new, student weighted model but ultimately opted for a hybrid formula, which would keep the state’s current process for funding teachers and classrooms intact while adding extra allocations for particular student groups. The RAISE Act would let legislators add other student groups to the formula or tweak funding weights in the future.

If approved, an initial $100 million will go to the program this fiscal year, with increasing amounts in successive years. Lawmakers plan to prepay three years’ worth of funding, to a total of $375 million in current legislation.

“We don’t want to pull the rug from beneath them,” Orr said, urging caution against giving schools too much money too quickly.

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.

The program is part of a broader $9.9 billion education budget package for fiscal year 2026. Lawmakers on Wednesday didn’t make any changes to the overall amount of the Education Trust Fund, but shifted some funds between agencies and trusts to account for new programs.

Lawmakers also plan to establish a $100 million grant program for career technical education through a different technology fund.

Among the key changes in proposed education funding:

• $58 million to local schools to administer the RAISE Act
• $9.6 million for a new parental leave program
• $4.25 million more for public four-year colleges and universities
• $2.5 million for a new mental health telecounseling program
• $2.5 million more for the Department of Mental Health’s Intellectually Disabled Program
• $2 million more for community colleges
• $1.7 million more for rural dentistry and health care training
• $1.7 million to fund ReEngage Alabama, a program for students going back to college
• $1 million more for the Department of Youth Services
• $700,000 more for a worker’s compensation fund
• $600,000 more for child care and after school programs through the Department of Human Resources
• $500,000 more for school safety mapping efforts
• $3.8 million less for AMSTI
• $8 million less for TEAMS

It is possible that the new package will head to the Senate floor as soon as April 10, lawmakers said.