SB143 Alabama 2024 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Shay ShelnuttSenator

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2024

Title

Education; revocation of teaching certificate, further provided for; reporting of school employee misconduct, required

Summary

SB143 strengthens teaching certificate revocation rules and adds mandatory misconduct reporting requirements for school staff.

What This Bill Does

It adds school employee sex acts with a student to the offenses that require revoking a teaching certificate upon conviction. It requires local superintendents to report to the State Superintendent within seven business days when misconduct could lead to revocation, and principals to report within 72 hours of evidence; teachers and other staff must report misconduct to their principal immediately. It creates a criminal penalty for knowingly failing to file a required report to conceal misconduct, provides immunity for good-faith reporters, and establishes an effective date of October 1, 2024.

Who It Affects

• State Superintendent of Education — must revoke certificates for newly enumerated crimes and receive/make sense of local reports.
• Local superintendents and local boards of education — must file timely reports to the State Superintendent and share copies with the county sheriff and board.
• Principals — must file timely reports to the local superintendent, assist in preparing reports, and pass information to the board and sheriff.
• Teachers and other school employees — must immediately report misconduct to their principal and are protected from liability when reporting in good faith; could face penalties for knowingly failing to report.
• Job applicants for local school positions — if there is evidence of misconduct, the local board must report it to the State Superintendent within the specified timeframe.
• County sheriff — receives copies of certain misconduct reports.

Key Provisions

• Adds the crime of a school employee engaging in a sex act with a student to the list of offenses that require the State Superintendent of Education to revoke the teaching certificate upon conviction.
• Requires a local superintendent to file a report with the State Superintendent within seven business days after termination, suspension, resignation, or job application if there is evidence of misconduct that would require certificate revocation upon conviction.
• Requires a school principal to file a report with the local superintendent within 72 hours after receiving evidence of misconduct that would require certificate revocation upon conviction; copies of the report must be provided to the local board and the county sheriff.
• Requires teachers and other school employees to immediately report to their principal any evidence of misconduct that would require revocation upon conviction, and to assist in preparing the report.
• Provides immunity from civil or criminal liability for good-faith reporters of misconduct.
• Establishes a Class C felony for knowingly failing to file a required report with the intent to conceal misconduct.
• Becomes effective October 1, 2024.
• Notes that the bill is treated as creating or amending a crime, which exempts it from certain local funding approval requirements under Section 111.05 of the Alabama Constitution.

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

Subjects

Education