1. (1) The Executive Director of ACHE shall distribute the fund to eligible institutions on behalf of each participating eligible student.
2. (2) Participating institutions shall, on an annual basis, enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with ACHE, setting forth the terms governing fund allocations and institutional payment procedures under the Move On When Ready Program.

3. (3) The amount paid shall be the lesser of the following, reduced by a records fee of two hundred dollars ($200) to cover the administrative costs of the local board of education, which is to be used as follows:

   1. (a) The actual cost of tuition, materials, and course-related fees, minus $200 that goes to the local school board for handling paperwork and administration; or

   2. (b) The amount of money the student's local board of education would have received from the state if the student had stayed in regular high school classes.

      1. 1. In a student's second year in the program, the amount that is paid to the local board of education will be reduced by the amount paid to the eligible institution from the fund.
      2. 2. The $200 records fee can be increased each year by up to 4%, if ALSDE decides to do so.
      3. 3. All money in the fund must be budgeted and spent according to Alabama's Budget Management Act and only in amounts approved by the Legislature through the normal budgeting process.

4. (4) The total amount of Move On When Ready funds for each eligible student for the academic year will be split into two equal portions, with one portion distributed to a single eligible institution per academic period. A separate application must be submitted for each academic period of enrollment for every participating student by each participating institution.

   1. (a) The parent or guardian of a participating student is responsible for paying any remaining costs owed to the eligible institution after the Move On When Ready funds have been applied for that academic period.
5. (5) ACHE shall verify the dollar amount of each institution’s total fund amount to cover all participating students enrolled in each academic period from the Certified Fund Lists received from all participating eligible institutions. No participating student shall receive Move On When Ready funds at more than one approved institution during any one academic period.
6. (6) ACHE shall prepare a request for the State Comptroller to disburse Move On When Ready funds to the participating institutions. The check and a signature roster with the dollar amount of fund payment indicated for each participating student shall be forwarded to each participating institution. The institution will be responsible for allocating the funds accordingly to the participating student's account with the dollar amount indicated on the signature roster. Should the dollar amount of a fund credited to an eligible student's account exceed the dollar amount due the institution by the participating student at the time the Move On When Ready fund is credited to the student's account, a check in the amount of the excess funds (credit) shall be returned to the Move On When Ready Program.
7. (7) If a participating student whose eligibility for the program has been certified by a participating eligible institution becomes ineligible for the fund before the expiration of the institutional tuition payment period, the funds shall not be applied to the student's account but shall be returned to the Move On When Ready Program.
8. (8) In no academic period may the fund amount credited to a participating student’s account exceed the per student operating expenditures of the institution for nonsectarian, secular educational purposes. Under no circumstances shall any Move On When Ready Program funds be utilized by an eligible institution or an eligible student for religious, sectarian or denominational purposes. Eligible institutions receiving Move On When Ready Program funds shall segregate such funds in a special revenue account and shall identify nonsectarian expenditures of such funds.

Author: Stephanie C. Dolan

Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §16-5-1; Alabama Act 2025-412.

History: New Rule: Published March 31, 2026; effective May 15, 2026.