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Read. Follow. Verify.Alabama HB 396 Overhauls Public School A-F Grading System and Creates Accountability Council
Last action · February 5, 2026: Pending Committee Action in House of OriginSponsor: Terri Collins
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What This Bill Would Do
Representative Collins introduced HB 396 to revise Alabama's public school A-F grading system by establishing distinct indicators and weights for schools with and without 12th-grade classes, effective October 1, 2026. The bill requires the Alabama Workforce Board and the State Department of Education to track career and college readiness outcomes and creates an Accountability Council to review state education performance.
Public schools across Alabama will face new evaluation criteria and grading weights that tie accountability metrics directly to student graduation rates, standardized tests, and post-graduation workforce outcomes.
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.
Public schools and school districts
Public schools and districts will be evaluated and assigned letter grades under revised criteria and weights that incorporate college and career readiness and graduation rates.
Alabama Workforce Board
The Board is required to consult with the State Department of Education to develop a data collection, analysis, and reporting system for public school student career readiness outcomes.
Accountability Council members
Appointed members must meet at least annually to review the state accountability system and provide recommendations to state leaders.
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
How do the grading indicators differ between schools with and without a 12th-grade class?
What happens if 60 percent of Alabama public schools earn an A or B grade?
Who serves on the newly created Accountability Council?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
2 actions- Feb 5, 2026HouseCommitteePending Committee Action in House of Origin
- Feb 5, 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.
Differentiation by Grade Span
The bill transitions Alabama from a single uniform grading formula to a differentiated model that applies distinct metric weights depending on whether a school serves 12th-grade students.
Connected Entities
Sources
alison.legislature.state.al.us
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance80How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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