HB84 - Alabama Accountability Act of 2013

• Authorizes local school systems to establish innovative schools with flexibility from state laws, regulations, and policies through school flexibility contracts with the State Board of Education.

• Provides an income tax credit to parents of students in failing public K-12 schools equal to 80 percent of average annual state cost of attendance (or actual cost, whichever is less) to transfer students to nonfailing public schools or nonpublic schools.

• Creates a tax credit for individual and corporate taxpayers who contribute to scholarship granting organizations, capped at $7,500 per individual/couple and $25,000,000 annually, to provide educational scholarships to eligible low-income students.

• Establishes accountability standards for scholarship granting organizations including financial audits, administrative oversight, criminal background checks, and academic testing requirements with results reporting to the Department of Revenue.

• Creates a Failing Schools Income Tax Credit Account funded by sales tax revenues to cover income tax credits provided to parents of students transferring from failing schools.