House Bill 511 Alabama 2026 Session

Updated Mar 11, 2026

High Interest

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
Summary: Constitutional amendment requiring daily Pledge of Allegiance and allowing student-initiated, student-led prayer in public K-12 schools, with opt-out protections.
What This Bill Does
If approved, local boards of education must adopt policies that require each public K-12 school to start the day with the Pledge of Allegiance and give students the opportunity to participate voluntarily. They must also adopt policies permitting a student-initiated, student-led prayer, while ensuring no student is forced to participate. Policies must allow opt-out for both the pledge and the prayer, and violations can be reported to and reviewed by the local superintendent. The amendment also allows minor, non-substantive wording and formatting updates to place the amendment in the Constitution after ratification.

Who It Affects
Public K-12 students and their families, who may participate in the Pledge or a student-led prayer or opt out if they choose
Local boards of education, which must adopt policies governing the pledge and prayer at each school
Local superintendents and school administrators, who handle reporting and review of any violations

Key Provisions
Boards must adopt a policy requiring each public K-12 school to conduct the Pledge of Allegiance at the start of each school day and give students the opportunity to voluntarily recite it
Boards must adopt a policy allowing a student-initiated and student-led prayer, with safeguards that the prayer is student-led and voluntary and that participation is not required
Policies must ensure students have the right to opt out of the Pledge or the prayer based on their beliefs
Violations may be reported to the local superintendent, who shall review the violation
Upon ratification, the Code Commissioner may number and place the amendment in the constitution and make non-substantive revisions for style and cross-references

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano-2025-08-07 on Mar 10, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.
Subjects: Constitutional Amendments Statewide