A bill requiring all K-12 school boards to create a policy to allow students to leave campus for religious instruction during the school day cleared the Senate Education Policy Committee Wednesday (April 16) by a vote of 8-to-1.
A similar bill sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, failed to pass the House Education Policy Committee two weeks earlier.
Senate Bill 278 sponsor Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, told committee members that education officials who are pushing back mistakenly believe the bill interferes with local control.
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“The bill is designed to provide local control and flexibility, ensuring the districts can implement policies that best suit their needs while respecting the constitutional rights of students and parents,” he said.
“If the policy they implement is super narrow, because this does not work in their district in any way, then so be it,” Shelnutt added. “If this does not fit into the day, then the policy will be so narrow as will affect the time constraint and no program will be able to fit in the policy, so they can do what they want to.”
Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, the lone no vote, called the bill “dangerous.”
“There’s a slippery slope to this kind of legislation,” he said. “I do know that a part of the intent of legislation like this has a great deal to do with this notion of Christian nationalism.”
The bill now heads to the Senate floor.
Career technical public education for homeschoolers clears committee, nears final passage
A bill to allow homeschooled students to enroll in public school career technical classes cleared the Senate Education Policy Committee Wednesday, setting it up for final passage in the Senate.
House Bill 61, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, would give homeschoolers access to career tech courses offered in public schools, so long as those classes are not already full.
“This is part of the overall objective that we have in our state,” DuBose told committee members. “That’s why we’re prioritizing this type of option for homeschool students.”
Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, was the only no vote, calling the bill a “nightmare” for public schools.
“This is complete chaos for those schools,” Smitherman said. “When those students just kind of drift in, and school is going and then all of a sudden they decide to drift out.”
He argued that the bill allows students to “cherry-pick” what they want from public schools without actually supporting the public education system.
DuBose said her focus is on preparing all students – public or homeschooled – for workforce needs.
If approved, the measure would go into effect at the start of the 2026-27 school year.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for a final vote.
Bill requiring Pledge of Allegiance, allowing school prayer advances in House committee
A bill that would ask Alabama voters to amend the state Constitution to require all public K-12 schools to begin the day with the Pledge of Allegiance advanced Wednesday in the House Education Policy Committee. Current state law already mandates the pledge be recited daily, but there are no consequences for noncompliance.
House Bill 231, sponsored by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, would tie compliance to school funding, authorizing a clawback of up to 25% of state funds for noncompliance.
Ingram said the change is needed because “a large percentage” of schools aren’t following the law.
“These kids that grow up these days don’t understand what the flag is and what it means,” he said. “When we grew up, we prayed, we said the pledge, we sang ‘This land is my land, this land is your land.’”
The bill also requires school boards to adopt policies allowing prayer and Bible reading on school grounds before or after school for students who choose to participate.
A provision in the original bill requiring Judeo-Christian prayer during the school day was removed in the substitute version adopted by the committee.
‘Free to Speak’ pronoun bill advances to House floor
The House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday gave a favorable report to the “Free to Speak Act,” which would regulate how public educators address students and their preferred names and pronouns.
House Bill 246, sponsored by House Majority Leader Scott Stadthagen, R-Hartselle, prohibits public K-12 and higher education employees from “knowingly and intentionally” addressing an unemancipated minor — defined as under age 19 in Alabama – using a name or pronoun that is “patently inconsistent” with the student’s sex unless they have written permission from the student’s parent.
The bill also protects educators and students from adverse employment or disciplinary action if they decline to address a student by a name or pronoun inconsistent with the student’s sex. Additionally, it bars schools from requiring students or educators to declare their own pronouns.
Opponents raised concerns during a public hearing two weeks earlier, arguing the bill would impose unnecessary burdens — particularly on college students — by requiring written parental consent to use a different name or pronoun.
Supporters say the bill defends free speech and parental rights, while critics argue it targets transgender students and could create confusion on college campuses.
The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Trisha Powell Crain and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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