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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama HB 43 Requires Daily Pledge of Allegiance and Local School Board Votes on Voluntary Prayer
Last action · March 5, 2026: Read for the Second Time and placed on the CalendarSponsor: Ingram
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What This Bill Would Do
Alabama public K-12 schools would be required to conduct a daily recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and local school boards must vote within 90 days of the amendment's ratification on whether to permit voluntary daily prayer and devotions, under a proposed . Noncompliant school boards face the withholding of up to 12.5 percent of their and potential further funding reductions by the Legislature.
Local school boards statewide face strict new operational mandates and financial penalties affecting their central office budgets if they fail to implement daily pledge policies or hold required votes on student and employee prayer options.
- State constitutional amendments in Alabama require approval by a majority of qualified electors voting on the ballot measure to become valid. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
local boards of education
Local boards must adopt daily pledge policies, vote on prayer policies within 90 days, and risk the withholding of up to 12.5 percent of their administrative state funding for noncompliance.
public K-12 students
Students are given the opportunity to voluntarily recite the Pledge of Allegiance daily and participate in designated periods of prayer or devotion.
school employees
School employees are given the opportunity to participate voluntarily in daily prayer and devotion periods designated by local school boards.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if a local school board does not hold a vote on prayer policies within 90 days?
Can classroom materials or teacher salaries be cut as a penalty for noncompliance?
Where are daily prayers or devotions allowed to take place under this measure?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently on floor. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Passed.
Procedural history
4 actions- Mar 5, 2026HouseRead for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
- Mar 4, 2026HouseCommitteeReported Out of Committee House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Jan 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Education Policy
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Mandatory Local Board Voting on Prayer
The bill shifts discretion by forcing local school boards to take a recorded vote on prayer policies within a strict 90-day window following ratification.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy85Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz60Current news / social attention level
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