This publication includes only enactments of interest to education.

 

2018 Regular Legislative Session Enacted Legislation 

General Bills

2018-083 Increases the required notice from five days to 30 days when a K-12 public school teacher terminates employment before the first day of the school term for students; an exception is permitted upon mutual agreement.S.14 (Dial) Effective May 1, 2018

2018-140 Repeals Section 13A-6-83 of the Alabama Criminal Code that required paid administrative leave for school employees charged with certain sexual offenses against students while the criminal proceedings were pending.As a result, school board disciplinary hearings can proceed when such criminal charges are pending. S.28 (Pittman) Effective Feb. 27, 2018

2018-233 Requires a public school system or its employee to grant all professional educators associations the same level of access to school employees; access to include attending in-service meetings; distributing information; use of school meeting rooms; representing employees and posting information on school bulletin boards. S.159 (Shelnutt) Effective March 15, 2018

2018-260 Requires notice for school personnel vacancies to be posted, at a minimum, on the school board website and decreases the time required for the posting from 14 to seven calendar days; requires electronic notification of vacancies upon request.S.22 (Brewbaker) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-272 Permits the display of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” in and on public buildings and public vehicles; includes public school classrooms. H.228 (Standridge) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-356 Provides a 2.5 percent pay increase to public education employees; the increase applies to local funded units; board action is required for superintendent increases. H.174 (Poole) Effective Oct. 1, 2018

2018-389 Proposes a constitutional amendment which, if approved by the majority of voters, would authorize the display of the Ten Commandments on state property or property owned or administrated by a public school or public body; would prohibit the expenditure of public funds in defense of the constitutionality of this amendment. S.181 (Dial) Effective upon ratification by voters

2018-395 Provides the “Alabama Broadband Accessibility Act” directing the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to establish and administer a program to award grants to non-government entities to encourage new investment in broadband infrastructure in rural Alabama; creates an oversight committee.S.149 (Scofield) Effective March 28, 2018

2018-396 Creates the “Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018;” requires entities, including government entities, to provide notice to consumers upon a breach of security thatresults in the unauthorized acquisition of sensitive, personally identifying information;requires reasonable security measures to protect such information; outlines the factors to determine what constitutes a breach and prescribes required actions, penalties. S.318 (Orr) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-399 Authorizes the State Department of Education, pending available funds, to offer competitive grants to public schools for the development or continuation of specialized programs for gifted or talented children; requires local boards of education match up to five percent of awarded grant funds.S.101 (Orr) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-410 Removes the prohibition against county school superintendents having employment out-side the school system when authorized by the county board of education.H.31 (Crawford) Effective March 28, 2018

2018-413 Authorizes an exception to the competitive bid process for the purchase of any heating or air conditioning units or systems as part of a purchasing cooperative subject to certain requirements.H.69 (Standridge) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-414 Requires specific qualifications for the position of Secretary of Early Childhood Education, an office appointed by the governor. H.71 (Collins) Effective March 28, 2018

2018-460Provides for a Palliative and End of Life Individual Health Plan for a terminally ill or injured student in a school setting; provides that the plan be developed by the school nurse in conjunction with the student’s parents/guardians to include an Order for Pediatric Palliative and End of Life Care; specifies the only individual in a school setting subject to the requirement/restrictions of the order is a school nurse; and provides civil liability immunity for school employees.H.202 (Weaver) Effective March 28, 2018

2018-466Creates the “Alex Hoover Act” and authorizes a parent or legal guardian of a terminally ill or injured minor to execute, with the attending physician, an Order for Pediatric Palliative and End of Life care; applicability in school settings is limited to 2018-460.H.194 (Weaver) Effective March 28, 2018

2018-472 Renames and updates the “Student Harassment Prevention Act” as the “Jamari Terrell Williams Act;” changes the reference from harassment to bullying; incorporates cyberbullying into the act and specifically addresses conduct that occurs on or off school property, online or electronically that substantially disrupts or interferes with the orderly operation of the school; requires a complaint form be prominently posted online, available at school and included in the student handbook; and requires each school programmatically address the issue with students and staff annually. H.366 (Knight) Effective June 1, 2018

2018-474 Authorizes certified registered nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives to sign health care forms and documents within the scope of their practice; applies to forms relating to absenteeism for employment or school purposes. H.474 (Weaver)Effective March 28, 2018

2018-480 Creates the Alabama School of Cyber Technology & Engineering as a residential program to be located in Huntsville; provides for a board of trustees; provides the school may open operation in the fall of 2020. S.212 (Orr) Effective July 1, 2018

2018-481 Appropriates $6.63 billion from the Education Trust Fund for the support, maintenance and development of public education, for debt service and capital outlay for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2019.H.175 (Poole) Effective Oct. 1, 2018

2018-493 Provides a one-time lump-sum payment for public education retirees; establishes a formula to provide one dollar for every month of service; provides payments be made by the Teachers’ Retirement System in June 2018. S.21 (Dial) Effective April 4, 2018

2018-496 Creates the “Coach Safety Act” to require an annual injury mitigating training course for unpaid or volunteer coaches or trainers working with ages 14 or younger;applies to youth athletics associations that sponsor or conductactivities for high-risk athletic activities on state owned or affiliated property.H.9 (Williams, J.D.) Effective upon promulgation of rules by the Department of Public Health

2018-502Provides K-12 a $41.2 million supplemental appropriation from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund for FY18; authorizes funds to be used for repairs or deferred maintenance of facilities; classroom instructional support; insuring facilities; transportation; the acquisition or purchase of education technology and equipment; and school safety programs; appropriates $17.6 million to highereducation, including the Community College System.H.179(Poole) Effective April 4, 2018

2018-503Provides a $500,000 supplemental appropriation from the Education Trust Fund for FY18 to be used for the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering; and $4.3 million to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.H.180 (Poole)Effective April 2, 3018

2018-504 Establishes the Alabama Math and Science Teacher Education Program (AMSTEP) to provide federal student loan repayment awards, contingent upon available funding, to be made on behalf of eligible public school teachers;provides $2,500 per semester in loan repayment for an eligible full-time math or science teacher, with an additional $1,250 per semester available to those who teach in geographic areas with acute shortages; program to be administered by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. H.261 (Lovvorn) Effective July 1, 2018

2018-515Amends the state ethics law; revises the definition of a minor violation by increasing the economic gain threshold for public officials (or economic loss to a governmental entity) from $250 to $1,500; provides discretionary factors to be considered; raises the administrative penalty maximum from $1,000 to $6,000; and authorizes the Ethics Commission to file in court to recover unpaid penalties. S.267 (Ward)Effective July 1, 2018

2018-527 Designates the first day of December as Mrs. Rosa L. Parks Day; allows each county and municipality to elect to observe the day as a holiday. S.365 (Figures) Effective April 6, 2018

2018-528Creates Annalyn's Law; requires the State Board of Education to develop and each local school board to adopt a policy for the supervision and monitoring of students identified as juvenile sex offenders; requires local law enforcement to notify the principal and local superintendent, subject to a determination by the sentencing court.S.26 (Chambliss) Effective July 1, 2018

2018-544 Authorizes public schools to borrow funding from the Education Trust Fund Stabilization Fund as emergency temporary funding for repairs of damage after natural disasters for which the Governor has called a state of emergency; limits withdrawals to a cumulative 10 percent of the fund balance; requires repayment no later than two years following withdrawal and requires repayment from the first insurance settlement proceeds subject to penalties; adds school safety programs as an authorized spending option for supplemental appropriations made from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund. S.323 (Pittman) Effective April 6, 2018

2018-545Provides the State Department of Education shall require any driver’s education course offered at a public high school to include the dangers of drowsy driving in its curriculum instruction; requires the Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency to include information on the dangers of drowsy driving in the Alabama Driver's Manual and other licensing examination materials. S.20 (Holley)Effective July 1, 2018

2018-553Specifies threats made to commit a crime of violence to a school orreligious real property are included in the Class C felony crime of making a terrorist threat.S.151 (Smitherman) Effective July 1, 2018

 

Local Bills

 

2018-166 Jefferson County:Proposes a constitutional amendment for Homewood City that, if approved by voters, would remove existing limits on the amount of ad valorem taxes payable on various classes of taxable property in any one year. H.146 (Faulkner)Effective March 6, 2018

2018-228Escambia County:Increases compensation for members of the local board of education from $600 to $800 per month.H.324 (Baker)Effective March 9, 2018

2018-241Colbert County:Authorizes the Muscle Shoals City Council to propose a special ad valorem tax increase for public school purposes that, if approved by voters at a special election, would increase the tax from 7.5 mills to 12.5 mills of assessed value. H. 282 (Black) Effective March 15, 2018

2018-270 Jackson County:Redistributes remaining payments in the Jackson County Legislative Delegation Critical Needs Fund; includes $360,000 to be divided equally among the Jackson County and Scottsboro City Schools for providing computers and technology in the classrooms.(First version of 2018-498) S. 347 (Livingston)Effective March 20, 2018

2018-461 Leeds City:Authorizes the Leeds City Council to propose a special ad valorem tax increase that, if approved by voters at a special election, would increase the tax from 9.2 mills to 18.2 mills of assessed value; 5.7 mills shall be used for public school purposes and 3.3 mills for general municipal purposes. H.246 (Drake)Effective March 28, 2018

2018-498Jackson County:Redistributes remaining payments in the Jackson County Legislative Delegation Critical Needs Fund; includes $360,000 to be divided equally among the Jackson County and Scottsboro City Schools for providing computers and technology in the classrooms.(Later version of 2018-270) H.459 (Hanes)Effective April 4, 2018

2018-565 Etowah County:Allows the Gadsden City Council to call a referendum that, ifapproved by voters, would change the Gadsden City Board of Education from an appointed to an elected board of education with staggered terms.H.424 (Butler)Effective April 6, 2018

 

Joint Resolutions of Interest

 

A joint resolution expresses the will of the legislature but does not have the effect of law.

2018-134 Readopts and amends Act 2017-63 to continue the Joint Legislative Task Force on Budget Reform; extends the date for the final report until the fifth legislative day of the 2018 regular session. SJR 43 (Chambliss) Effective Feb. 27, 2018.

2018-418Urges the State Department of Education and the Alabama Department of Public Health to encourage all schools to participate in a school-based vaccination program. SJR 113 (Dial) Effective March. 21, 2018.

 

Governor’s Executive Order

 

Executive Ordered No. 713

 

Establishing the governor’s “Securing Alabama Facilities of Education Council” or SAFE Council; to implement proposals for enhancing the safety of Alabama schools; to submit a plan to the governor by April 30, 2018 to enhance the physical safety of Alabama’s schools; assess internal threats to school safety; and coordinate school emergency operations planning and training. Effective March 6, 2018