School prayer bills advance in two Alabama House committees
- Mar 13
- 4 min read
March 5, 2026 • By Trisha Powell Crain
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Two school prayer bills introduced by Rep. Reed Ingram, R-Pike Road, were approved in two Alabama House committees Wednesday, leaving lawmakers with competing proposals that could cost school districts millions of dollars if they refuse to comply.
House Bill 43 passed the House Education Policy Committee, while House Bill 511 cleared the House State Government Committee. Though originally filed with identical language, the bills now take sharply different approaches to prayer in public schools.
House Bill 43 would allow local school boards to decide whether to permit prayer or devotional time during the school day. House Bill 511 would require all public schools to provide time each day for prayer.
Both proposals include conducting the Pledge of Allegiance daily and provide financial penalties for school systems that refuse to comply. House Bill 511 would allow the state to withhold up to 25% of a district’s state funding.
Student participation in both prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance would remain optional.
Both bills call for a constitutional amendment that would appear on the statewide ballot in November if approved by the Legislature.
Student-initiated prayer is already allowed under state law, and schools are required to offer the Pledge of Allegiance daily, but the amendment would explicitly place both in the state constitution and govern how prayer in school could occur.
Ingram said the legislation is intended to restore practices he remembers from his childhood.
“We had prayer in school and we had the Pledge,” he said.
He argued that as prayer has disappeared from schools, student mental health problems have worsened and lawmakers need to try “something new.”
“What we’re doing now is not working,” Ingram said.
Local control or statewide mandate for school prayer
Under HB43, local boards of education would have 90 days after voters ratify the constitutional amendment to decide whether to adopt a policy allowing voluntary prayer or devotion time for students and employees before or during the school day.
The substitute version of HB511 approved by the House State Government Committee takes a different approach.
Instead of allowing local boards to decide, it would require all public schools to provide time each day for prayer.
Financial stakes
Both versions include financial penalties for school systems that refuse to comply, though the potential amounts differ significantly.
A HB511 substitute approved Wednesday keeps the original provision allowing the state to withhold up to 25% of a district’s state funding.
For large school systems, that could mean tens of millions of dollars. Based on state funding for the current school year, Alabama Daily News determined that a 25% reduction could cost Mobile County Public Schools roughly $89 million and Tuscaloosa City Schools about $19 million.
The House Education Policy Committee version, HB43, includes an amendment from Rep. Jeana Ross, R-Guntersville, reducing the penalty to 12.5% and requiring any withheld funds to come from administrative or central office spending.
Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, said she supports prayer but opposed tying the policy to the loss of school funding.
“I’m a Christian, and I pray all the time,” Drummond said. “But I just cannot see voting for something that is going to reduce funding to our kids.”
Ingram said he is open to further discussions about the penalties as the legislation moves forward.
Why now?
During debate in the State Government Committee, Rep. Barbara Boyd, D-Anniston, asked Ingram why he introduced the legislation and warned it could face legal challenges.
Ingram said the idea for the legislation has been on his mind for about three years and noted he introduced a similar bill last year.
“I think it was God that did it,” Ingram said. “It wasn’t a political idea… I think it’s just a God thing.”
Ingram’s bill in 2025 passed the House State Government Committee, was re-referred to the House Education Policy Committee where it passed, but it did not advance further.
He also argued that students today are less exposed to religion.
“A lot of times these parents are working two and three jobs and don’t have an opportunity to take them to church, and they’re not exposed to God,” he said. “This country was built on ‘In God We Trust,’ and I think we need to get back to that.”
State Government Committee Chairman Chris Sells, R-Greenville, said the substitute version of HB511 would restore a routine that used to be common in schools.
“We want to put it back like it was when we were in school,” Sells said. “Start off with a pledge and a prayer.”
Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, agreed.
“I think we’ve gotten too far away from where we used to be.”
Rep. Marilyn Lands, D-Huntsville, voiced concerns about students feeling left out.
“I know we would all agree that public schools function best when all students feel equally welcome and equally accepted, and I’m not sure this bill advances that,” she said.
Public hearing opposition
During the public hearing on HB511, speakers warned the legislation could isolate students who do not share the majority faith.
Kierra Burks, a law student who graduated from Alabama public schools, said tying school funding to religious policies could pressure districts to adopt them.
“When funding is tied to religious policy decisions, we’re not being neutral,” Burks said.
Stephanie Butler, a Vestavia Hills parent who said her family is Jewish, said even voluntary prayer can create social pressure in schools.
“Kids notice who participates in public faith-based activities and who doesn’t,” Butler said. “Students who walk out are singled out or labeled as outsiders.”
What’s next
After the meeting, Ingram said he filed HB511 after confusion about what action the Education Policy Committee took on HB43 last week and after advice from “higher authorities in the State House” to file the second bill “out of an abundance of caution.”
As for which version might advance, Ingram said the decision could be made in caucus or by the House Rules Committee. He told reporters he prefers the language in HB511, the version that requires daily prayer time and has the larger financial penalty for noncompliance.
Either bill could reach the House floor as early as next week.
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