Alabama provides tuition help for eligible officers' families when funded

The Alabama Commission on Higher Education pays eligible students' remaining tuition and required fees through the family scholarship program. Eligible spouses and children attend participating Alabama public colleges or training schools. Covered study includes undergraduate degrees and vocational certification, including noncredit career training. Payments depend on available scholarship funds and cover costs left after other scholarships, grants, aid, or gifts from third parties. The cap is $1,500 per term for students who qualify for a tuition discount through an officer's employment serving a college. Payments exclude books, equipment, supplies, extra tuition charges, and department-specific or course-specific fees. The law took effect October 1, 2026. Schools receive payment at the end of each academic term.

Applicants must meet family, residency, and officer-service rules and continue meeting the program's student requirements. Applicants must be an officer's current or surviving spouse or natural or adopted child under 24 when applying. They must have lived in Alabama for at least the preceding five years. The officer must have at least 15 years of full-time Alabama law enforcement service and be employed on or after January 1, 2026, or have left through resignation, retirement, or death no more than 10 years earlier. Former officers dismissed from their final job for disciplinary reasons do not qualify. Applicants must be enrolled, complete the federal student aid application, and provide records showing their eligibility. Recipients must meet their school's academic progress standards and remain full-time Alabama residents. Divorce ends eligibility based on marriage to the officer. Remarriage ends a surviving spouse's eligibility. Recipients must finish covered terms within 66 months of approval unless the commission grants a waiver for hardship. A program change or transfer needs school approval no later than the beginning of the fifth covered semester or ninth covered quarter.

The scholarship fund receives blackout plate proceeds and may receive state funding and other public or private money. The Alabama Commission on Higher Education manages the Alabama Law Enforcement Officers' Family Scholarship Fund. Starting with the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2027, scholarship availability depends on lawmakers approving yearly Education Trust Fund support of no more than $10 million. The commission may accept other public and private funding and charge up to 3% of yearly fund deposits to administer the program. The October 1, 2027, funding rule does not limit scholarships supported by money on hand before that date.

Alabama vehicle owners can request a black license plate with white text for an additional $50 yearly fee beginning with the 2027 licensing year. The option covers Alabama residents who own private passenger or pleasure vehicles or motorcycles. Plates may be personalized. Owners must follow vehicle registration rules and pay regular plate fees plus the additional $50 yearly fee. The additional fee pays a 2.5% commission, $1.50 for manufacturing, and $1 for administration. The remainder goes to the family scholarship fund. The plates will be available for the licensing year beginning January 1, 2027.