Alabama Lawmakers Advance Ballot Measure Requiring Schools To Hold Daily Prayer Period

Lawmakers in Alabama are moving closer to putting before voters a ballot initiative that would require public schools to offer a daily prayer time.The Alabama Senate Education Policy Committee has advanced House Bill 511, which, in addition to requiring public K-12 schools to conduct the Pledge of Allegiance, would create a mandate in the state’s constitution for public schools to hold a student-led, voluntary prayer time.Last week, the Alabama House voted 94-4 to advance the legislation, clearing one hurdle before it potentially gets sent to voters in November.The bill does allow for students to opt out of the Pledge of Allegiance or prayer time if they wish. Federal law allows for school prayer as long as it is voluntary and student-led. House Bill 511 requires that the prayers be broadcast over the intercom systems and states that they must occur at the beginning of the school day. It also mandates that superintendents investigate alleged violations of the law. The length of the prayer time would be determined by the individual school districts. Lawmakers in the state House removed a portion of the bill that would have led to school boards losing 25 percent of their state funding if they did not comply with the law. After the bill was advanced by the committee, its sponsor, Representative Reed Ingram, told reporters, “I’m not trying to cram religion down anyone’s throat or make it to where they’re mandated to do anything.”“A lot of times, kids don’t have the option to pray and they don’t know what prayer means,” he said. Mr. Ingram rejected an amendment that would have changed the language of the bill from prayer to “moment of silence.” He told reporters, “A moment of silence is walking in the woods, it’s not a prayer bill.”Democratic lawmakers opposed the bill, saying it violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause and could make students of other faiths, or no faith, feel uncomfortable. During a debate on the bill, a state senator, Marilyn Lands, said, “I’m just afraid and fear that any child might be put in a position where he feels uncomfortable or she feels uncomfortable.”If the Senate advances the bill, voters would still have to approve the measure in November for it to become law. More than 30 states have laws that either allow for or require a moment of silence. In 2025, Texas enacted Senate Bill 11, which requires schools to vote on whether to create a daily prayer period. The law set a deadline of March 1 for school boards to decide whether to create a prayer period. However, by the time of the deadline, the Texas Tribune had identified just 15 school districts that voted for prayer times. The push by state lawmakers to specifically require a prayer time comes as President Trump’s administration has put an emphasis on school prayer. During the 2024 campaign, he promised he would “[bring] back prayer to our schools.” In 1962, the Supreme Court ruled that school-sponsored prayer is unconstitutional, but it has held that voluntary, student-led prayer is permissible.In February, the Education Department released guidance that said students, teachers, and other school staff can pray in school as long as the prayer is voluntary, student-led, and not disruptive to classwork.

Alabama Lawmakers Advance Ballot Measure Requiring Schools To Hold Daily Prayer Period

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