HB370 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Kerry Rich

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Education, local boards of education authorized to provide for released time religious instruction in public high schools as an elective course for credit

Summary

HB370 would let Alabama high school students be excused during the school day to take a private religious instruction class, if their local school board approves a policy and certain conditions are met.

What This Bill Does

The bill creates the Alabama Released Time Act, giving local boards of education the option to allow students to attend a religious instruction class provided by a private entity. If a policy is adopted, a student would need written parental consent, and the sponsoring entity would keep attendance records and share them with the school. Transportation, liability, and costs would be handled by the sponsoring entity or the parent/guardian, with no public funds or public school staff involved, and the student must make up any missed work and remain in core classes. While attending the released time class, the student would not be considered absent.

Who It Affects

• High school students who wish to attend religious instruction during the school day, contingent on parental consent and the local board's policy.
• Local boards of education and sponsoring private entities that provide the religious instruction, as they would implement the policy, manage records, arrange transportation, and assume liability within the rules.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Alabama Released Time Act to authorize local boards of education to adopt policies allowing high school students to be excused from school for religious instruction conducted by a private entity.
• Requires written parental consent and attendance records kept by the sponsoring entity, with records made available to the public school.
• Places transportation responsibility on the sponsoring entity, parent, or guardian; the sponsoring entity must provide for and assume liability for the student.
• Specifies that no public funds are expended and no public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction.
• Requires the student to make up missed schoolwork and prohibits releasing a student from a required core curriculum class for religious instruction.
• States that students attending released time are not considered absent while in the religious instruction class.
• Sets the act to take effect on the first day of the third month after passage and governor's approval.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Education