State of the CHOOSE Act: the data
As of October 24, 2026, CHOOSEActAL lists 1,278 education service providers for Alabama's CHOOSE Act, 350 of them activated by their owners. Curriculum is what families filter for most (43.2% of category-filter clicks), and 27.6% of the 4,049 keyword searches families typed since March 12, 2026 found nothing.
This page is the free, ungated data behind our State of the CHOOSE Act report. It counts what only a directory can see: which providers are listed and active, in which categories and towns, and what families look for. Next to it are the program figures the state itself has published, credited to the agency that published them.
Our counts describe the CHOOSEActAL directory. They are not official program counts. The Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) administers the CHOOSE Act and publishes the official list of approved education service providers at chooseact.alabama.gov.
The figures
- Platform-exclusive only this directory can measure it
- Public record published by a state agency, credited to it
From the directory
- 1,278Education service providers listedProviders on the CHOOSEActAL Alabama directory, test listings excluded.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database, queried 2026-10-24
- 350Listed providers activated by their owners27.4% of 1,278 listed providersAn owner activates a listing after identity verification and can then keep it up to date.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database, queried 2026-10-24
- 565Listed providers with an Alabama address44.2% of 1,278 listed providersThe rest are out-of-state publishers, online programs and vendors that serve Alabama families. Counted by the address on the listing.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database, queried 2026-10-24
- 309Participating private schools listedPlatform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database, queried 2026-10-24
- 543Family accounts registeredFamilies do not need an account to search; most visitors never make one.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database, queried 2026-10-24
- 31,648Visitor sessions since March 12, 2026Sessions that identified themselves as crawlers or automated browsers are excluded.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database (site activity, crawlers and test accounts excluded), queried 2026-10-24
- 13,322Provider profile views since March 12, 2026Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database (site activity, crawlers and test accounts excluded), queried 2026-10-24
- 1,373Clicks to reveal a provider's email, phone or websitePlatform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database (site activity, crawlers and test accounts excluded), queried 2026-10-24
- 4,049Keyword searches typed since March 12, 2026Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database (site activity, crawlers and test accounts excluded), queried 2026-10-24
- 1,118Keyword searches that found nothing27.6% of 4,049 keyword searchesZero results at the moment of the search. A term that found nothing then may find something now.Platform-exclusive Source: CHOOSEActAL production database (site activity, crawlers and test accounts excluded), queried 2026-10-24
From the state's own records
- 48,927Students who applied for 2026-27 CHOOSE Act ESAsIn 29,341 applications.Public record Source: Office of the Governor of Alabama, press release, April 8, 2026
- Over 34,000Students approved for 2026-27 ESAsPublished rounded, as "over 34,000", by the Governor's Office citing ALDOR. Quote it the same way.Public record Source: Office of the Governor of Alabama, press release, July 1, 2026
- 36,873Students who applied for 2025-26 (Year One) ESAsIn 22,167 family applications.Public record Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, 2025 Annual Report, printed page 37
- 23,230Students with Year One ESA awards (2025-26)16,005 participating-school students and 7,225 home-education students. ALDOR labels the awards "tentative".Public record Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, 2025 Annual Report, printed page 37
- +32.7%Growth in student applicants, Year One to Year TwoOur arithmetic on two published figures: 48,927 (2026-27) against 36,873 (2025-26).Public record Source: Computed by CHOOSEActAL from the April 8, 2026 release and the ALDOR 2025 Annual Report
Supply and demand by category
Alabama's categories as the directory shows them. Listed and activated providers against how many visitor sessions filtered for each category. A provider can be listed in more than one category, so the listed column adds up to more than 1,278.
| Category | Providers listed | Activated | Sessions that filtered for it | Filter clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum | 465 | 187 | 1,607 | 3,846 |
| Online learning | 405 | 168 | 759 | 1,794 |
| Technology | 44 | 30 | 548 | 1,083 |
| Tutoring | 486 | 122 | 444 | 794 |
| Therapy | 108 | 31 | 317 | 570 |
| Microschools | 222 | 42 | 276 | 496 |
| Test prep | 70 | 47 | 196 | 303 |
| Special education | 79 | 33 | fewer than 5 | fewer than 5 |
- Technology is the widest gap: 548 sessions filtered for it and 44 providers are listed in it.
- Special education was added as a filter on October 23, 2026, so its demand columns cover one day. Listings without an owner were tagged special education from their own description.
Family activity by month
Human visitor activity on the directory each month (Central time). October 2026 is month to date, through October 24. A session that spans two months counts in both.
| Month | Sessions | Profile views | Keyword searches | Found nothing | Contact reveals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03 (from March 12) | 507 | 527 | 215 | 73 | 61 |
| 2026-04 | 3,665 | 1,822 | 766 | 259 | 360 |
| 2026-05 | 3,059 | 1,704 | 630 | 227 | 79 |
| 2026-06 | 4,115 | 2,275 | 539 | 100 | 371 |
| 2026-07 | 6,578 | 2,325 | 915 | 231 | 279 |
| 2026-08 | 6,223 | 2,428 | 501 | 106 | 148 |
| 2026-09 | 3,320 | 1,285 | 291 | 77 | 36 |
| 2026-10 (to October 24) | 4,190 | 957 | 192 | 45 | 39 |
- July 2026 was the busiest month. Year Two ESA funds became available on July 1, 2026 (Office of the Governor, July 1, 2026).
- Contact reveals fell from the summer peak. We report the number as recorded and have not adjusted it.
Where families search, and who is listed there
Every Alabama city that at least 5 visitor sessions searched by name, against the providers listed with an address in that city. Providers who serve a city from a neighboring town, or online, are not counted in that city.
| City | Sessions that searched it | Providers listed with an address there |
|---|---|---|
| Birmingham | 92 | 50 |
| Huntsville | 92 | 30 |
| Mobile | 70 | 49 |
| Montgomery | 35 | 47 |
| Auburn | 34 | 13 |
| Florence | 19 | 12 |
| Dothan | 16 | 12 |
| Anniston | 15 | fewer than 5 |
| Fairhope | 15 | 13 |
| Decatur | 9 | 5 |
| Tuscaloosa | 8 | 9 |
| Hoover | 7 | 12 |
| Gadsden | 6 | 5 |
| Madison | 6 | 22 |
- Huntsville ties Birmingham for searches (92 sessions each) with 30 providers listed there against 50 in Birmingham. Madison, next door, adds 22.
- Searches by street address or ZIP code are never recorded by place, so they are not in this table.
What families type into search
The most-used search terms: every term typed in 9 or more separate visitor sessions, most sessions first. Searches for only a place name ("al", "alabama") are left out. No term at this level names a person.
| Search term | Sessions | Searches | Searches that found nothing |
|---|---|---|---|
| music | 60 | 144 | 8 |
| art | 34 | 124 | fewer than 5 |
| math | 33 | 65 | fewer than 5 |
| piano | 28 | 82 | fewer than 5 |
| books | 27 | 62 | fewer than 5 |
| abeka | 25 | 34 | 33 |
| science | 23 | 46 | fewer than 5 |
| good and beautiful | 23 | 49 | fewer than 5 |
| spanish | 22 | 36 | 6 |
| nessy | 20 | 23 | fewer than 5 |
| dyslexia | 19 | 42 | fewer than 5 |
| guitar | 18 | 45 | fewer than 5 |
| best buy | 14 | 36 | 10 |
| learning grotto | 12 | 19 | fewer than 5 |
| amazon | 12 | 15 | 13 |
| supplies | 12 | 24 | fewer than 5 |
| masterbooks | 12 | 17 | fewer than 5 |
| history | 11 | 23 | fewer than 5 |
| bju | 11 | 20 | fewer than 5 |
| times tales | 11 | 13 | fewer than 5 |
| orton | 10 | 14 | fewer than 5 |
| tutoring | 10 | 27 | fewer than 5 |
| reading | 10 | 16 | fewer than 5 |
| miacademy | 10 | 19 | 16 |
| dance | 9 | 17 | 17 |
| language | 9 | 18 | fewer than 5 |
| not consumed | 9 | 18 | 6 |
| speech | 9 | 18 | fewer than 5 |
| staples | 9 | 15 | fewer than 5 |
- "Found nothing" means the directory had no match when the family searched. It says nothing about whether a business is approved for the program; only ALDOR can say that.
How we counted
Directory counts are the providers on the CHOOSEActAL Alabama directory at the time of the run: listings that are live in the Alabama program and not marked as tests. "Activated" means the owner has taken over the listing after identity verification. An Alabama address means the address on the listing is in Alabama.
Activity counts come from the site's own event log from March 12, 2026, when it began, to the run time. We exclude our own test accounts and every session that identified itself as a crawler or an automated browser. Automated traffic that does not identify itself may remain. Traffic is counted in sessions, never in "visits" or "users".
Search terms are lower-cased and trimmed, counted only when typed in at least 5 separate sessions (this page shows those with 9 or more), and published only after a person has read each one. Any term that names a person, test entries and place-only searches are removed.
Privacy floor: nothing about any individual family or student is published, in any form. Any count below 5 in a table is shown as "fewer than 5". We publish no revenue, prices or other business finance.
Public-record figures are copied from the agency's own release or report, read on October 24, 2026, and credited with a link and page number. Where the agency rounded ("over 34,000"), we keep its rounding.
Why these numbers differ from the September 15, 2026 report: they are newer, they count providers through the program listing rather than the provider's home record, and they exclude crawler sessions, a filter the report's activity numbers predate. Both make today's counts more conservative.
Use this data
Free to use, share and adapt under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0), as long as you credit CHOOSEActAL as the source. No sign-up and no email address needed. The CSV holds every figure and every table cell on this page, one per row, with its strength label, source and date.
How to cite this
CHOOSEActAL (Choice Rubric LLC), "State of the CHOOSE Act: the data," as of October 24, 2026, https://chooseactal.com/data/state-of-the-choose-act. Licensed CC BY 4.0.
Corrections
No corrections since this page was first published on 2026-10-24. When a number here is wrong, we correct it on this page, date the correction and list it here.