HB511 Alabama 2026 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Reed IngramRepresentative

Republican

Session

2026 Regular Session

Title

Public K-12 education; Pledge of Allegiance and prayer required each day, constitutional amendment

Description

This bill would propose an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, relating to public K-12 schools, to require each local board of education to adopt a policy requiring that The Pledge of Allegiance be conducted to the United States flag at the commencement of each school day in each public K-12 school.

This bill would require each local board of education, within 90 days of the ratification of this amendment, to vote whether to adopt a policy allowing employees and students to voluntarily participate in a daily prayer and a reading of the Bible or other religious text and would provide for the submission of a consent form to participate.

This bill would prohibit the prayer and reading from being conducted as a substitute for instructional time or in the presence of any individual who has not consented to participate.

This bill would authorize violations of this amendment to be reported to the State Superintendent of Education and for investigation by the State Department of Education.

This bill would require the State Superintendent of Education, upon the determination that a local board HB511 INTRODUCED of education or public school has shown a continued pattern of intentional refusal to conduct The Pledge of Allegiance in accordance with this amendment, to withhold 25 percent of state funding allocated to the offending local board of education.

This bill would require the State Superintendent of Education, upon the determination that a local board of education has failed to hold a timely vote on whether to authorize the policy relating to prayer and reading of the Bible or other religious text to withhold 25 percent of state funding allocated to the offending local board of education.

This bill would also authorize the Legislature to further reduce the funding to a local board of education following continued violations.

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Subjects

Constitutional Amendments Statewide