Latest news with #SB278
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New committee, same result: Religious instruction bill stalls in Alabama House
Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, speaks to the House Education Policy Committee while holding a binder that reads "Religious Release Act" on March 19, 2025, at the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. The Senate version of the legislation was effectively killed on Wednesday in the House State Government Committee. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) A bill that would require local school boards to adopt policies on extending academic credit for 'religious instruction' outside the classroom failed an Alabama House committee on Wednesday. SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, is identical to HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, that failed the House Education Policy Committee on April 2. DuBose presented the legislation to the House State Government Committee. 'This bill simply allows public school students to enrich their school opportunities with an optional religious class. The bill simply requires our school districts to create a policy that allows students to attend an off campus religious class during the school day,' DuBose said. The Senate passed the legislation 25-6 on April 22 after the Senate Education Policy Committee approved it with one 'no' Legislature passed a law in 2019 that allows school boards to adopt a policy on released time religious instruction (RTRI). The 2025 legislation would mandate such policies. But House members have been far more skeptical about the legislation, citing pushback from school superintendents. Sunnie Cotton, the director of LifeWise Academy in Alabama and a proponent of the legislation, called it a parental rights bill. 'This bill strengthens parental rights and protects religious freedom while giving parents the choice to provide religious instruction for their children during the school day,' Cotton said. According to LifeWise's sample curriculum, the organization teaches the Christian belief that 'God created all things good' to a list of virtues that the nonprofit describes as 'LifeWise qualities.' Cotton said the organization is operating in about 600 schools nationwide and is prepared to launch over 900 programs this year. DuBose claimed 4,500 Alabama parents have signed a petition in support of the legislation. DuBose has not presented the petition when requested Wednesday. Ryan Hollingsworth, executive director of the State Superintendents Association, has been a consistent opponent of the legislation. Hollingsworth said Wednesday he is not convinced that the petition has been signed by Alabama parents. 'I don't believe those are verified as being the parents of Alabama students in public schools if they are,' Hollingsworth said. 'Even if they are, we have about 725,000 students, so that's about a half of 1% of folks that have signed it.' He said the bill is lacking key definitions of religious instruction, core instruction and sponsoring entity. 'We have 1,080 hours in the school year to cover everything the state board requires,' Hollingsworth said. 'There's 8,760 hours in the calendar year. That means the parent has the responsibility of the child about 88% of the time.' Scott Suttle, St. Clair County Board of Education president and Alabama Association of School Boards (AASB) president-elect, echoed similar concerns. He said the legislation is government overreach in schools. 'Our local leaders have been abundantly clear that we don't want another overreach into our school systems,' Suttle said. 'It works as it is. Let's please leave it as it is.' Sally Smith, executive director of the AASB, said after the bill failed that she is thankful the committee listened to school board leaders. 'We are pleased with the committee outcome. We think that the law as it is is working fine,' she said in an interview after the meeting. Jennifer Riggs, a mother from Huntsville, brought her son to the meeting, like she did at the Senate Education Policy Committee public hearing on April 15. She said the program has helped her children learn about the Bible in public schools since they cannot afford to send their four children to private school. 'Five days per week, seven hours per day, and in public school, the Bible is not being taught. We believe a release time for religious instruction program would bridge that gap,' she said. 'I believe this is legislation that upholds parental rights by allowing us to choose Bible education for our children without having to incur the financial burdens of private school.' Rep. Marcus Paramore, R-Troy, who also serves on the House Education Policy Committee, said he would not support the legislation because of its failure in the first committee. 'So here we are in another committee trying to get a bill that was voted down, back out and on the floor in a different format,' he said. 'I just want to make some comments and make it clear for what Mr. Hollingsworth said earlier this has already been before a body in this house once this year, and here we are again.' The committee had a tie vote on the legislation 4-4 with Paramore; Rep. Russell Bedsole, R-Alabaster; Rep. Barbra Boyd, D-Anniston; and Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, opposing it. In order for the legislation to receive final approval from the House, a House committee would have to approve the legislation on May 14, the final day of the 2025 session. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate approves bill requiring school boards to adopt religious instruction policies
Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville (left) speaks with Sen. Lance Bell, R-Pell City, on the floor of the Alabama Senate on April 8, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would require local school boards to develop policies allowing students to leave campus during school hours for religious instruction. SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, would mandate that school districts establish procedures for students to attend religious classes off-site for elective credit, provided certain conditions are met. The bill passed 25-6 and moves to the House for consideration. 'We passed a law in Alabama in 2019 allowing school districts to enact policies. Since that time, very few school districts have adopted release time policies … parents are approaching superintendents and school boards throughout the state and are being told no,' Shelnutt claimed as he introduced the bill to the floor. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Under the bill, which Shelnutt framed as a 'parental rights and religious freedom bill,' participation in religious instruction would be optional and require parental consent. The bill would mandate that organizations providing instruction provide transportation to and from school and that they be liable if anything happens to a child. The bill would also prohibit local funds from being used to provide religious instruction. Sen. Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, asked about teacher qualifications and program accreditation for the off-site religious classes and whether instructors needed to be certified. 'If I'm Muslim, and I want to go to a mosque to get this done — so the school board has to go speak with the person who's over the mosque to make sure that they're accredited and certified in their program?' Singleton asked. Shelnutt said this would be decided locally, saying 'that would be up to the local school board if they want to set their policy.' This led to further exchanges about whether local boards would vet programs across different faiths, such as instructors at a mosque or various churches. Shelnutt maintained local boards set the policy. 'I'm sure there will be differences in the local school boards and how they set them up,' Shelnutt said when pressed on potential inconsistencies across the state's 139 districts. Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, asked for assurance that local policies could not discriminate against specific religions. 'The policy cannot isolate whether it be the Jehovah Witnesses or whether it be the Seventh Day Adventists or be the Methodists … the policy would have to cover for each of those, is that correct?' Albritton asked. Shelnutt said the policy 'cannot be restricted' and parents ultimately choose participation. Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, asked about liability, particularly regarding child safety, referencing past issues within religious institutions. She asked who holds liability under programs if something negative happened to the child. 'A child could break his or her leg or hurt themselves? Who holds that liability? With these off-campus type entities,' Coleman asked. Shelnutt said that the 'sponsoring entity holds all the liability, and the state law already states that,' which would absolve the school system. Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, questioned the need for the bill, given existing religious education avenues and school choice laws. 'Why don't you give the local school board the option to vote this in if they even want to do it for their particular school system?' Figures asked. Shelnutt maintained they are giving the local school boards 'local control' by 'giving the local school board control of coming up with the policy.' Shelnutt also added an amendment before the bill's passage to ensure that school boards with pre-existing release time policies would not be required to change them, which was adopted 26-4 with one abstention. A House committee rejected a similar bill earlier this month. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate committee approves religious instruction policy mandate
Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, laughing on April 16, 2025, in the Senate Education Policy Committee meeting in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. Shelnutt's bill that requires local school boards to adopt a policy on released time religious instruction (RTRI) passed the committee 8-1 on Wednesday. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) An Alabama Senate committee Wednesday approved a bill that would require school boards to adopt policies on whether to allow students to leave school for religious study and give them academic credit for it. SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, mirrors HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, which was rejected by the House Education Committee on April 2. The state already has a law that allows school boards to adopt such policies, known as Released Time Religious Instruction (RTRI). The bill would mandate the development of those policies. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The committee heard from critics and supporters of the legislation last week. 'The bill is designed to provide local control and flexibility, ensuring a district can implement policies that best suit their needs, while respecting the constitutional rights of students and parents,' Shelnutt said Wednesday. The senator said the policy could forbid RTRI. 'Yes, local boards have the ability to adopt their own policies,' he said. 'If the policy they implement is super narrow because this does not work in their district in any way, then so be it.' Sen. Kirk Hatcher, D-Montgomery, echoed a concern raised by Dale County Superintendent Ben Baker last week that there is not enough time in the school day for students to leave campus for RTRI. He said religious instruction should happen at home. 'This is kind of boilerplate legislation, in my view. At some point we have to give parents the responsibility we say parents should have in terms of how they go about the process of sharing moral values with their kids,' Hatcher said. 'In fact, I know that it should begin at home.' Hatcher also questioned the intent of the bill. Although the legislation says that any religious group can participate, Hatcher was concerned about what that would look like and if it would happen. 'I do know that there's a slippery slope to this kind of legislation,' he said. 'I do know that a part of the intent of legislation like this has a great deal to do with this notion of Christian nationalism.' Sen. Roger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, raised concerns over liability. He said that students could sign up for the program, leave the school and not attend the program. 'We don't have control over them but they're still under us, but we don't have control. That's an hour that is returned outside during the hours of eight to three,' Smitherman said. Shelnutt said the groups that host RTRI, like LifeWise Ministry, will assume all liability. According to LifeWise's sample curriculum, it teaches the Christian belief that 'God created all things good' to a list of virtues that the nonprofit describes as 'LifeWise qualities.' At least 30 school board representatives from across the state attended Wednesday's meeting. Sally Smith, executive director of the Alabama Association of School Boards, said she is disappointed the legislation passed, but would continue to have conversations with lawmakers. Smith has consistently expressed concern and opposition to the bill. 'We think that we just have to have continued conversations with our senators due to local leaders' concerns with this bill,' Smith said in an interview. 'It is in the area of making policy that presents constitutional challenges to local boards of education. So it is not as clearly clean cut as some may think.' The bill was approved 8-1 with Hatcher as the only member that voted against the bill. Smitherman said he only voted for it to get it out of committee, but that it still needed significant work. Shelnutt said he would work with Smitherman on his concerns. 'I'm going to vote to get the bill out of committee, but I do think that before we move that bill on the floor, that these things have got to be tightened up,' Smitherman said. The bill moves to the full Senate. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama Senate committee hears support, opposition for religious instruction bill
Ben Baker, a superintendent in Dale County, speaking to the Senate Education Policy Committee against a bill that would require school boards to adopt a policy on religious instruction on April 9, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Senate Education Policy committee heard from critics and supporters of religious instruction in public schools on Wednesday. SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, mirrors HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, which was rejected by the House Education Committee on April 2. The legislation requires local school boards to adopt a policy regarding released time religious instruction (RTRI). Alabama law already allows school boards to adopt a policy, but this legislation would mandate it. 'I just want to stress again that this is completely optional for students and requires parental consent,' Shelnutt said. 'They keep saying it takes away local control. This bill does not take away control of the local board. They have the right to make a policy and they can decide if they want to not do anything.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Ben Baker, superintendent of Dale County Schools, criticized the legislation, saying it does take away local control from school boards. 'School systems do not need more mandates. Current law leaves the decision to local school boards who are best positioned to determine whether release time instruction aligns with the needs of their community,' he said. He said the lack of a definition for 'religious instruction' causes many issues and is a threat to his Christian values. 'When it says religious, am I now going to have to release students to go and sacrifice goats and worship goats or maybe some type of satanic thing? I can't live with that,' he said. 'Public schools are not run by out of touch bureaucrats. They're run by locally elected and appointed community members.' Jennifer Riggs, a mother from Huntsville, shared her experience with LifeWise Ministry, a nonprofit that does RTRI. 'As I read about Lifewise I quickly became intrigued and convinced that this program could be the answer to meeting that long felt desire for my children, and others like mine, to have the Bible taught during their school day,' Riggs said. Riggs said she became part of a steering committee for the ministry that, according to the sample curriculum, teaches the Christian belief that 'God created all things good' to a list of virtues that the nonprofit describes as 'LifeWise qualities.' She said her local school board denied her request to have RTRI. 'We then tried to present before our superintendent and we were told no he said there were too many mandates and requirements that we could not be accommodated,' she said. Marty Griffin, a staff member at the First Baptist Church in Gulf Shores, said the Gulf Shores Superintendents Matt Akin denied the church's request for a RTRI program. A message seeking comment from Akin was left Monday afternoon. 'We believe their decision was driven by fear. Fear of if we approve this, what if this unusual situation happens,' Griffin said. 'We believe that a bill like SB 278 would alleviate that pressure from them to make that decision.' Ryan Hollingsworth, the executive director of Alabama State Superintendents Association, said RTRI will take more time away from teachers. He said it should be the parent's responsibility to teach their children about religion on their own time. 'The State Board of Education put a lot of things in place that we have to teach during the school day. All we have in the school year is 1,080 hours,' he said. 'I think if you're a parent and that's a priority then you make sure in those hours that you have, those 7,680 hours that you have them, that you make that work.' The committee did not vote on the bill, but the chair of the committee, Sen. Donnie Chesteen, R-Geneva, said the committee will take up the legislation again soon. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Religious instruction bill fails House committee; Senate version filed
Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, reading legislation in the House Education Policy Committee on April 2, 2025, in the Alabama State House in Montgomery, Alabama. HB 342, sponsored by DuBose, which would require local school boards to adopt a policy for religious instruction, failed the committee on a 4-9 vote. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) A bill that would require local school boards to adopt policies on extending academic credit for 'religious instruction' outside the classroom failed an Alabama House committee on Wednesday. The House Education Policy Committee rejected HB 342, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, on a 4-9 vote despite significant amendments to the bill that gave local school boards more flexibility with the policy. Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the chair of the committee, said she supported the amendments but said the pushback from both sides was stronger than she expected. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX 'I had every superintendent around me actually reach out and ask not to,' Collins said in an interview about her vote. 'There was just a lot of passion. The amount of people pushing both ways was extreme, more so than I thought, and that makes me hesitant.' State law currently allows boards of education to extend that credit, but does not mandate released time religious instruction (RTRI), the subject of DuBose's bill, in which students can take time out of the school day for religious instruction. The ministry teaches students about the Christian Standard Bible 'with a focus on head, heart and hands,' according to its website. In a sample curriculum, it alters the language and organization of Bible lessons so that children can understand it easily. Rep. Alan Baker, R-Brewton, also voted against the bill, saying schools can already create religious release time policies. The Legislature passed a law allowing school boards to create a policy in 2019. 'I think the local authorities need to make that decision,' Baker said in an interview. 'If they want that there in their system, then they can handle it.' Collins said she wanted to see more results of the current law. 'My thought is, we passed it several years ago as a 'may.' I would like to see how that works a little bit longer,' she said. Rep. Tashina Morris, D-Montgomery, said the program would take away needed instructional time. 'The school hours haven't changed, but we keep sticking things into the class time,' she said. DuBose said the bill may come back next year, but start in the Senate. 'People had a difference of opinion. And that happens all the time,' DuBose said in an interview. 'I don't think anything went wrong.' SB 278, sponsored by Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, is identical to DuBose's bill with the amendments. It was filed Tuesday and is in the Senate Education Policy Committee. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
