SB267 Alabama 2023 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Donnie ChesteenSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2023

Title

Relating to athletic trainers; to create the Athletic Trainer Secondary School Incentive Program; to provide grants to local boards of education that meet certain requirements related to the use of athletic trainers in rural, 1A, 2A, 3A, and Title I secondary schools; to authorize the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers to adopt rules to administer the incentive program and the grant application process; to require grants issued from the incentive program to be provided as stipends to qualifying athletic trainers; and to limit each secondary school and athletic trainer to one grant per school year.

Summary

SB267 creates the Athletic Trainer Secondary School Incentive Program to provide stipends to athletic trainers in rural and Title I Alabama secondary schools to recruit and retain staff.

What This Bill Does

It establishes a program overseen by the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers to award grants to local boards of education for recruiting/retaining athletic trainers at rural and Title I secondary schools. Grants are capped at $7,500 per grant, with a $2,000,000 annual limit, and start in the 2024-2025 school year; funds may come from the Legislature or nongovernmental sources. Grants are issued as stipends to qualifying athletic trainers, and if multiple trainers qualify at a single school, the funds are divided among them; each trainer can receive only one stipend per school year, and a district can have only one successful grant application per school year.

Who It Affects

• Local boards of education: may apply for grants to recruit/retain athletic trainers at rural or Title I secondary schools and must distribute stipends to qualifying trainers.
• Athletic trainers: may receive a stipend if they provide required athletic training services; can receive only one stipend per school year and only if the hours requirement is met.
• Rural and Title I secondary schools: eligible for additional athletic trainer support if criteria are met (25 hours/week of services).
• Students at rural and Title I schools: expected to benefit from increased access to athletic trainer services.

Key Provisions

• Establishes the Athletic Trainer Secondary School Incentive Program to be administered by the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers.
• Provides grants to local boards of education to recruit/retain athletic trainers at eligible rural and Title I secondary schools; grants capped at $7,500 each and up to $2,000,000 per school year; funds may come from the Legislature or nongovernmental sources; start in 2024-2025.
• Requires eligibility: an athletic trainer must provide an average of at least 25 hours per week of athletic training services to a rural or Title I secondary school; hours can be counted if the trainer is employed by the local board, a health care facility, or participates in a third-party sports medicine program.
• Grants are distributed as stipends to qualifying athletic trainers; if multiple trainers meet the threshold for a school, funds are divided among them; each trainer may receive only one stipend per school year; a trainer cannot receive another stipend in the same year.
• Local boards are limited to one successful grant application per secondary school per school year.
• The board will publish a list of eligible schools and define eligibility using rural and Title I criteria; attestation requirements and potential disciplinary action for falsified information are included.
• The act takes effect on the first day of the third month after passage (August 1, 2023) and remains subject to the availability of funds.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 22, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.