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Alabama

Alabama, like all states, has a unique early childhood policy landscape that is shaped by economics, demographics, political history, coalitions, and other factors that create a state-specific environment for policy advocacy.

State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s environment and the numerous efforts—by the organizations listed on this page, other organizations, parents, policymakers, practitioners, and more—who work both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.

2026 Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Ecosystem and Progress

Policy Advocacy Ecosystem:

Key Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:¹

Coalitions Working on Early Childhood Policy Include:¹

Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:²

Alliance Allies in Alabama:

Our lead allies in Alabama are Women’s Foundation of Alabama and VOICES for Alabama’s Children. Women’s Foundation of Alabama leverages philanthropy, research, and advocacy to elevate women, focusing on issues such as child care, infant mortality, and poverty and pay equity. VOICES for Alabama’s Children is a statewide nonpartisan organization that works to ensure the well-being of Alabama’s children through research, public awareness, and advocacy.

Together, they are working to advance early childhood policies in several areas that align with the Alliance’s birth-through-eight policy framework:

Early Care and Education

Child Care

Child Care Workforce

Preschool and Pre-K

Child and
Maternal Health

Child Welfare

Early Intervention (0-3)

Infant and Child Health

Family
Supports

Early Childhood Infrastructure

Early Childhood Finance and Cost Modeling

Click here for more information on advocates’ policy agenda.

Power Building in 2026:¹

Alliance allies in Alabama have expanded partnerships across education, health, business, and the nonprofit sectors, recognizing that improving outcomes for young children requires sustained, coordinated collaboration among diverse stakeholders. As this work continues to evolve, they are intentionally identifying the organization or coalition of organizations best positioned to lead and sustain this effort statewide. Establishing strong leadership and governance for this work will be essential to achieving meaningful systems change and long-term policy success.

Political Landscape:

State General Fund Appropriations:³Growing

In 2026, Alabama’s governor signed the fiscal 2027 budgets for the General Fund and Education Trust Fund. The General Fund budget totals $3.7 billion, an increase of $21.2 million, or 0.6 percent, over budgeted fiscal 2026. The Education Trust Fund budget totals $10.5 billion, an increase of $569.3 million, or 5.8 percent, over budgeted fiscal 2026. The General Fund revenue estimate for fiscal 2027 is $3.4 billion, a decrease of 4.2 percent from estimated fiscal 2026 while the Education Trust Fund revenue estimate is $11.3 billion for fiscal 2027, an increase of 2.4 percent.³

Key Revenue Sources (after federal transfers):⁴

- - Charges: $2,748 per capita
  - General Sales Taxes: $1,465 per capita

Alabama uses all major state and local taxes. Charges are public payments connected with a specific government service, such as tuition paid to a state university, payments to a public hospital, or highway tolls. Alabama uses all major state and local taxes.

State Budget Rules:⁴

Alabama uses an annual budget. The legislature must pass a balanced budget and is prohibited from carrying a deficit into the following year. There are no further tax and expenditure limits. Alabama does limit its total authorized debt (but not debt service).

Permanent State Funding Stream Dedicated to Early Childhood:⁵ No

There is no permanent state funding stream—such as lottery revenue, nicotine tax, or trust fund distributions—dedicated by statute to early childhood supports. (Examples of other states with such funding in place can be found in the Alliance’s Revenue and Early Childhood Finance resource center.)

Political Alignment:⁶Aligned Republican

During the legislative session, the state’s Senate and House were both Republican controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Republican.

Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:⁷One

- Legislature-Initiated Constitutional Amendments – A constitutional amendment that appears on a state’s ballot as a ballot measure because the state legislature in that state voted to put it before the voters.

2026 Policy Progress:

Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:¹

HB 78 passed during the 2026 session and establishes statewide guidance related to screen time and high-quality programming for young children (birth to five years) in publicly funded early learning settings. It was signed into law as Act 2026-169. It promotes collaboration among early childhood agencies (Department of Early Childhood Education, Department of Human Resources, and Alabama State Department of Education) to train and implement these standards in licensed child-care facilities and certain prekindergarten and public kindergarten classrooms. Additionally, the law emphasizes providing parents and caregivers with accessible resources to help them effectively manage their children’s screen time and support their development. It will become effective on January 1, 2027. This legislation positions Alabama among the first states to establish research-informed standards in early learning environments.

The Alabama Legislature adopted House Joint Resolution (HJR) 51, creating the Study Commission on Artificial Intelligence and Children’s Internet Safety to examine the effects of artificial intelligence, social media, and internet use on children and develop recommendations for future legislation. The bipartisan commission brings together lawmakers, the Attorney General’s Office, the Department of Mental Health, child advocates—including VOICES for Alabama’s Children—and technology industry representatives to evaluate emerging risks, review policy approaches from other states, and recommend strategies to strengthen online protections for children.

Alabama advocates have also been working to ensure the effective implementation of past lesislative wins. Alabama’s RAISE Act (Renewing Alabama’s Investment in Student Excellence) became law on May 6, 2025, and took effect on June 1, 2025. It introduced a needs-based funding system starting in the 2025-2026 school year, with an additional $399 million for the RAISE Act Fund, bringing the total to $533 million this fiscal year. Following the Act’s passage, the coalition shifted to implementation, educating school districts and local communities about the new funding model and the importance of demonstrating responsible stewardship of this historic investment. During the 2026 Regular Legislative Session, advocates built on these relationships and implementation efforts to successfully encourage lawmakers to increase funding for the RAISE Act, reinforcing the state’s commitment to a more equitable, student-centered education funding system.

RECENT ADVOCACY SNAPSHOT:

Work Continues to Include Family Child Care Providers in Public Pre-K Systems

February 7, 2025

In an effort to extend the reach of publicly funded pre-k programs, policymakers and advocates are turning toward a strategy of increasing pre-K enrollment spots beyond school and center-based classrooms, such as in family child care homes. A new national initiative aims to help family child care providers in Alabama, Michigan, Nevada, and North Carolina integrate into publicly funded pre-k programs.

NOTES:

¹Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, June-December, 2026.

²Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, February, 2026.

³National Association of State Budget Officers, Proposed and Enacted Budgets, FY 2027.

⁴Urban Institute, State Fiscal Briefs, February 2026.

⁵Alliance for Early Success, State Examples of Dedicated Funding Streams, 2026

⁶National Conference of State Legislatures, 2026 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, January 31, 2025.

⁷Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, 2025.