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Committee passes bill seeking to restore daily prayer and pledge in schools; students not compelled to participate, sponsor says
Summary
A committee passed a bill that would require daily prayer in the Christian/Judeo tradition and the pledge of allegiance in public schools; the sponsor and supporters said students would not be disciplined for not participating and that the measure would be submitted as a constitutional amendment to voters.
A legislative committee passed a bill that would require schools to provide daily prayer in the Christian/Judeo tradition and to ensure students recite the pledge of allegiance, the sponsor told members.
"This bill is pretty simple. It just puts prayer and the pledge back in the school and, it holds the schools responsible to make sure it happens," the bill sponsor, identified in the transcript as Chairman Ingram, told the committee. The sponsor said participation by individual students would not be required: "the student does not have to participate. No clawback on the student. No discipline on the student if he doesn't or she doesn't participate."
Committee members asked what form prayer or the pledge would take and whether a moment of silence or a more inclusive practice would meet the bill’s requirements. The sponsor replied the bill specifies prayer in the Christian/Judeo tradition and said it is intended to return schools "back to where it was." When a member asked about penalties, the sponsor said there would be a penalty on schools if they did not implement the pledge and pointed to a prior measure enacted in 2022 as precedent.
Supporters in the committee linked the measure to broader civic and moral aims. One member said the proposal would return daily practice "where it was" in prior decades and described the requirement as a matter for voters: "It's a constitutional amendment. I think...the people of Alabama gonna decide." A committee member argued the legal standard that previously limited such measures has been overturned and said there is historical precedent for the bill.
The committee voted to pass the bill by voice vote; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The bill sponsor described the next step as taking the measure toward a constitutional amendment for voters to decide. Details about the specific penalty type and the precise text of the prayer requirement were discussed in general terms in the hearing but were not specified in the transcript.
