Alabama Department of Education: Shaping the Future of Education in the State

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) is the state education agency of Alabama, playing a crucial role in shaping the educational landscape of the state. From its establishment in 1854 to the present day, ALSDE has been instrumental in driving educational reforms, setting standards, and ensuring that Alabama students are equipped for success in college, careers, and life.

Agency Overview

Formed: 1854
Type: State education agency
Headquarters: 50 North Ripley Street, Montgomery, Alabama

Mission and Vision

The Alabama State Department of Education is an agency of innovation, creativity, service, and accountability. ALSDE supports local schools and school systems as they undertake the important work of educating children in communities across Alabama.

It is the vision of ALSDE to promote and support an equitable, accountable, and just public education system.

Leadership

The Alabama State Department of Education is led by the State Superintendent of Education. Eric G. Mackey, Ed.D. is the current executive. Noah B. Cloud was Alabama's first state superintendent of public education, serving after the American Civil War during the Reconstruction era.

Key Responsibilities

The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) is the administrative entity within the Alabama state government that manages K-12 public education in the state. ALSDE recommends education policies and develops and implements efforts to increase graduation rates and academic proficiency, narrow achievement gaps caused by economic inequality, and ensure that Alabama graduates are prepared for college or careers in the public and private sectors.

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Policy Recommendations: ALSDE recommends education policies to the Alabama Board of Education, shaping the direction of education in the state.
Curriculum Development: The department develops and implements curricula to ensure that students receive a high-quality education that prepares them for college and careers.
Assessment and Accountability: ALSDE oversees the assessment of student learning and holds schools and districts accountable for their performance.
Teacher Certification and Professional Development: The department sets standards for teacher certification and provides professional development opportunities for educators to enhance their skills.
Financial Management: ALSDE manages the allocation of state and federal funds to schools and districts, ensuring that resources are used effectively to support student learning.

Historical Evolution

Early Years and Establishment

ALSDE was established by the Public Education Act of 1854. Previously, education was decentralized and suffered from inadequate academic standards and low levels of equality. Students were not graded on their mastery of the course material, were not taught from a standardized curriculum, and were not held to regular attendance policies that could effectively ensure all of Alabama's white children had access to adequate primary educational resources. Education was also hindered by strict, often cruel, disciplinary procedures that failed to foster a positive learning environment. The act aimed to centralize the state's school systems, provide the state legislature with the power to select a state superintendent of education, and increase funding for public education.

Reconstruction Era and Beyond

After the Civil War, Congressional Reconstruction was imposed on Alabama by the federal government and embraced by newly elected Republicans in the state. The new Constitution of 1868 recognized public education as a duty of the state and created the State Board of Education, imparting it with both administrative and legislative power over all state-supported educational facilities within Alabama. Many of these Reconstruction-era reforms were reversed in the 1875 Constitution after conservative Democrats, who became known as "Bourbons," regained control of the state legislature in 1874. These Democrats viewed state-funded public education as a luxury and unnecessary even for white children and especially did not want to educate African Americans, so they mandated segregated schools and defunded much of the state's public education system by lowering taxes. They also abolished the BoE but did not disband the ALSDE.

Progress and Reform in the Early 20th Century

Political threats to public education slowly subsided in the postwar era, and the state began to increase funding for and the responsibilities of the ALSDE as the nineteenth century closed. Most importantly, ALSDE was one of the first state education agencies in the nation to centralize teacher certifications based on an exam process, beginning in 1899. Later, the 1901 Constitution created a structure that lowered tax funds that could be directed at education but allocated more state funds on a consistent basis and continued to limit the ability of municipalities and counties to raise local taxes for schools. Furthermore, a tax proposal around that time that would have steered more tax money to white schools was defeated by a coalition that opposed all local taxation for schools, despite sympathizing with poorly funded African American schools.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, ALSDE and state officials, notably governors Braxton Bragg Comer, Thomas Kilby, and David Bibb Graves implemented progressive reforms aimed at improving public education. Lawmakers established the Alabama Illiteracy Commission in 1915 to reduce adult illiteracy and the Alabama Education Commission in 1919 to study and make recommendations. The Education Commission found that the state consistently ranked near the bottom of all states in teacher compensation and benefits, and as such, only 20 percent of white teachers in Alabama public schools had professional training. Although compulsory attendance laws existed after 1915, fewer than 70 percent of school-age children regularly attended school. In addition, only half of those students enrolled attended past the fourth grade. This commission recommended that the state create a new BoE and State Council of Education to coordinate and oversee public schools, and they were both established in 1919. That same year, the agency also assumed control over the Illiteracy Commission, which was directed by the new Division of Exceptional Education. The ALSDE also promoted academic reforms to raise employment levels. Aided by federal funding from the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917, the legislature created the Division of Vocational Education with three subunits that focused on increasing education and training in the fields of agriculture, trades and industries, and home economics and were targeted toward the state's most disadvantaged populations. With additional funding provided by the Smith-Bankhead Act of 1920 (cosponsored by Alabama senator John Hollis Bankhead), the department helped train disabled persons for employment. Hoping to improve education standards, the ALSDE published the Course of Study for Elementary Schools in 1921 under the newly installed superintendent, John W. Abercrombie, a former U.S. congressman and education reformer.

Mid-20th Century and the Civil Rights Era

Into the 1940s, ALSDE was stressing the importance of lifelong education policies and the role of public education in improving the socialization skills of Alabama's school children as part of a core curriculum recommended in the 1941 Course of Study. The agency also served a vital role in Alabama during World War II. It used the state's academic infrastructure as centers for selective service registration, rationing registration, civilian defense training, selling war bonds, and collecting scrap. School buses were used to transport defense workers. In addition, ALSDE administered the National School Lunch Program to improve student nutrition and later the policies created by the National School Lunch Act of 1946.

The ALSDE faced significant challenges during the Civil Rights Era, particularly in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. the Board Education of Topeka decision in 1954 ending segregation in public schools. Gov. George Wallace, BoE officials, and many local whites vigorously opposed the requirement to end the "separate but equal" doctrine in education in the form of "massive resistance." Additional federal action, principally the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the 1967 Lee v. Macon County Board of Education case, helped move forward the slow process of school integration in Alabama. The federal government provided funds for language, math, and science education through the National Defense Education Act of 1958, sponsored by Alabama congressman Carl Elliot, and more general subjects through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which ALSDE used primarily for mathematics and reading instruction. It was not until 1987 that a Black person, Ethel Hall, was elected to the board.

21st Century and Modern Challenges

Federal policy has continued to have a significant impact on Alabama public education and the operations of ALSDE. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education had approved the state of Alabama's request to be released from the federal requirements of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Education officials considered the act's "all-or-nothing" expectations unfairly punished Alabama schools that had shown significant levels of improvement. One notable success has been the department's effort to raise advanced placement achievement, assisted by the federally funded Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP). The APTIP initiative was launched in 2007 to increase the number of students taking and passing advanced placement (AP) tests. It was created in response to research indicating that students who successfully participated in AP courses experienced better chances of academic success. ALSDE improved the ranking of Alabama compared with other states for student scores in AP math, science, and English.

The ALSDE faces several challenges moving forward into the twenty-first century, including the rising poverty rates of public school students and ensuring adequate education for public school students who may not have proper legal documentation to live in the state. Furthermore, the agency will have to deal with the prospect of tax credits, created by the Alabama Accountability Act of 2013, being used to transfer students from failing public schools to private schools. Finally, the ALSDE will continue to struggle with taxpayers and legislators who have proven unwilling to raise enough tax revenue for adequate public education funding in the future.

Structure and Organization

ALSDE oversees 132 school districts and more than 90,000 educational personnel, 46,000 of whom are teachers who educate approximately 750,000 students per year. It is directly responsible to the Alabama Board of Education (BoE), which is made up of nine individuals, eight of whom are elected from single-member districts to four-year terms. The sitting governor serves as the president of the board, and the board selects the superintendent of education.

Funding

The department is funded by the Education Trust Fund (ETF), which is financed mainly through income tax and sales tax revenues. ALSDE's most recent annual budgets have hovered around $13 billion, with more than $5 billion coming from the Education Trust Fund and almost $8 billion from other state and local sources; more than $500 million in funding is contributed by the federal government. ALSDE officials and the superintendent, the governor's office, and the BoE work together to form the yearly education budget for the state. Meanwhile, many citizens in the state have advocated for reforming the tax system to improve education funding in court cases such as Lynch v.

Initiatives and Programs

Turnaround Schools Initiative: In 2022, Governor Kay Ivey launched the Turnaround Schools Initiative which targets 15 of Alabamaâs lowest-performing, often high-poverty, elementary schools for intensive support and increased funding.
Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP): The APTIP initiative was launched in 2007 to increase the number of students taking and passing advanced placement (AP) tests. It was created in response to research indicating that students who successfully participated in AP courses experienced better chances of academic success.
National School Lunch Program: ALSDE administers the National School Lunch Program to improve student nutrition and later the policies created by the National School Lunch Act of 1946.

Challenges and Opportunities

Despite its accomplishments, ALSDE faces ongoing challenges, including:

Funding disparities: Ensuring equitable funding for all schools and districts across the state remains a challenge.
Achievement gaps: Addressing the achievement gaps between different student groups is a priority.
Teacher recruitment and retention: Attracting and retaining qualified teachers, especially in rural and underserved areas, is crucial.
Adapting to changing demographics: Meeting the needs of a diverse student population requires culturally responsive teaching practices and resources.

However, ALSDE also has opportunities to:

Leverage technology: Utilizing technology to enhance teaching and learning can improve student outcomes.
Strengthen partnerships: Collaborating with businesses, community organizations, and other stakeholders can provide students with valuable experiences and resources.
Promote innovation: Encouraging innovative teaching practices and school models can lead to improved student engagement and achievement.
Advocate for policies: Advocating for policies that support public education can ensure that Alabama students have the resources they need to succeed.

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