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School board authority in Alabama
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| • Overview of trends in K-12 curricula development • Impact of school choice on rural school districts • Local school board authority across the 50 states • State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools • School choice in the United States • School choice glossary
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Alabama state law makes school boards responsible for governing and managing public school districts in the state. This article details the powers and duties Alabama law grants to school boards for governing school districts and the constraints on that authority with regard to certain topics.
Types of legal and contractual constraints on school board authority
This page presents the results from Ballotpedia research on school board authority and constraints on that authority in all 50 states as of 2024. School board authority comes from state constitutions and state statutes and can be interpreted or specified by state regulations or court decisions. In addition to authority over district budgets, the selection of a superintendent, and administrative responsibilities, school boards have varying levels of authority over district policy on other topics depending on the state and district.
There are several sources of legal and contractual constraints on school board policy-making authority which also vary by state or by district.
- State laws commonly restrict or mandate school board policies on certain topics.
- Parents' Bills of Rights, which at least 26 states have in statute to some degree, limit the policies school boards are allowed to pass.
- State rules, guidance, and funding incentives can constrain, mandate, or influence school board policies. These include regulation from state education commissions and superintendents, executive orders from governors, or grant conditions.
- Federal and state court rulings can dictate whether or not school district policies are compatible with state law or federal law.
- The federal government, largely through its Department of Education, can promulgate regulations or guidance that influence district policy or make funding contingent on certain policies.
- Collective bargaining agreements between school districts and teacher unions can create contractual constraints on the policies school boards can pass.
- State school board associations can influence school board policy or, in some cases. enter into contracts with school boards that can limit school board policy.
This page features the following sections:
- Alabama law on school boards' authority over district policy. This section features the statutes in Alabama law that establish, enable, or define local school district boards.
- Constraints on Alabama school boards' authority. This section provides an overview of constraints on the school boards' authority in Alabama. It contains information on the constraints by the following topics:
- Collective bargaining agreements
- Parents' bill of rights
- How does Alabama compare to other states?
- Noteworthy Events. This section tracks noteworthy events related to school boards' authority in Alabama.
School board authority over district policy in Alabama
Enabling or authorizing statute for the boards of school districts in Alabama
- See also: Enabling statute
Alabama Statute § 16-8-8 created school district boards of education and gives them authority to operate according to state law:[1]
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Alabama school boards' powers and duties
Alabama public school boards of directors are given at least 37 powers and duties to administer the public schools in Alabama. In addition to budget-related and fiscal duties, school property and facilities management, and administrative responsibilities, the specific powers and duties include:
- Appointment and removal of teachers;
- consolidation of schools, both within and across school districts; and
- prescription of courses of study for the schools in its district.
The list of powers and duties school district boards are charged with appears in Alabama Statutes Title 16, Chapter 8, among others, and are as follows:[3][4][5][6]
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Discretionary powers
Not all the powers and duties given to school boards in Alabama state law are required of school boards. Some are discretionary powers that are activities school boards are authorized, but not required, to do. Examples of discretionary powers include:
- Appropriating funds for library maintenance in public schools;
- deciding whether or not to include community education or school-sponsored child care in state-mandated raises; and
- deciding whether to split insurance premium payments with employees or to pay the full premium.
Examples of Alabama statutes containing discretionary powers and duties are as follows:
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Constraints on Alabama school boards' authority
This section tracks constraints on school boards specific to Alabama as of September 2024. It features constraints on school boards' authority from state law, collective bargaining agreements, and Parents' Bills of Rights.
Constraint on Alabama school boards' authority by topic
This section features constraints on school boards authority on policies related to the following topics:
Curriculum requirements
Alabama requires the following specific curricular topics to be included in the state's content standards:
- Parental responsibility,[15]
- Importance of education and outcomes of not obtaining a high school diploma,[15]
- Direction on how to study,[15]
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR),[16]
- Instruction for avoiding child sexual abuse,[17]
- Abstinence, information on pregnancy and contraceptives, and relational health in sex education courses, among other content requirements for sex education,[18]
- Age-appropriate, developmentally-based drug and alcohol education and prevention programs during drug education classes,[19]
- Safe internet use and the risks of social media for students going into eighth grade. An online module for this instruction must be available to students in grades 8-12 in the event that a student transfers to an Alabama school district after eighth grade.[20]
Curriculum restrictions
Alabama law prohibits instruction in public schools regarding the following topics:
- Instruction regarding sexual orientation or gender identity in grades K-5.[21]
- Instruction in what the state called divisive concepts, which it defined as including curriculum suggesting inherent racial superiority, making moral judgments based on qualities like race, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, assigning collective guilt, or denouncing meritocracy as racist or sexist.[22]
Book bans, removals, and restrictions
Alabama school boards have the authority to remove books from school libraries, according to Advance Local, in the absence of any statewide law, regulation, or policy regarding book removal in school libraries.[24]
Case law:
The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed local school boards' authority to remove school books in Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico in 1982 but held that school library books are distinct from curricular books, which school boards have more authority to regulate. The ruling held that school boards are charged with inculcating community values and may make curricular decisions accordingly. In Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp. in 1980, the Supreme Court held that school boards had discretionary power over curriculum, textbooks, and other educational matters but could not impose religious creeds or "permanently the student’s ability to investigate matters that arise in the natural course of intellectual inquiry,” according to the opinion.[25][26][27]
Parental notification
Alabama requires parental notification in the following circumstances:[29]
- If a student is a victim of a violent crime, the student's parent/guardian shall be notified of the right to transfer schools.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many - If the school is designated by the Alabama Department of Education as a transfer option school due to safety issues, parents must be notified of the students' opportunity to transfer to a safe public school.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many - If physical restraint is used on a student, their parent/guardian must be notified.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many - If a student is deemed truant, their parent/guardian must be notified.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many - If a student is tested for dyslexia, parents will be notified on the results and provided a copy of educational goals for their child.Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; invalid names, e.g. too many - Nurses, counselors, teachers, principals, or other administrative officials at a public or private school should notify parents if their "child's perception that his or her gender or sex is inconsistent with his or her sex at birth," according to the text of the bill.
Case law: The United States Supreme Court ruled in Mahmoud v. Taylor on June 27, 2025, that Montgomery County Board of Education's introduction of LGBTQ+ related storybooks, along with its decision to withhold opt outs, placed an unconstitutional burden on the parents’ rights to the free exercise of their religion.[30]
Discipline
Alabama is one of 47 states that gives school boards authority over district disciplinary policy.
The Alabama State Board of Education creates minimum disciplinary and safety policies, and local school boards use those as a basis for creating policies for their localities:[31]
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School board elections
- See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Alabama, How does Alabama compare to other states on school board authority over election timing?
Alabama is one of 42 states in which school boards do not have authority over the timing of school board elections because state or municipal laws determine school board election dates.
Click here to read about the laws governing school board elections in Alabama.
Public school choice and open enrollment
- See also: School choice in Alabama
Though Alabama did not have a statewide law requiring school districts to create open enrollment policies for public schools as of November 2024, state law did provide for open enrollment in public charter schools:[33]
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However, the 2013 Alabama Accountability Act allowed open enrollment for students attending or zoned for what Alabama law calls failing schools:[34]
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Note: The bolding was added by Ballotpedia staff for clarity regarding the open enrollment policy for students attending failing schools.
Charter schools
- See also: Charter schools in Alabama, How does Alabama compare to other states on school board authority over charter schools?
Alabama is one of 36 states that grant school boards at least some authority over whether charter schools are issued in their district.
Local school boards have authority to grant charters for public charter schools in their district. Their decisions are subject to appeal to the Alabama Public Charter School Commission:[35]
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Cellphone bans
Alabama is one of 26 states with state laws or executive orders prohibiting or limiting cell phones in classrooms and/or schools, including through requiring school boards to pass certain policies. Prior to the statewide cellphone restriction, the Alabama State Board of Education adopted a resolution on February 8, 2024, that encouraged local school boards to adopt policies limiting cellphone use during school hours:[36]
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Collective bargaining agreements
Teacher union collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) can constrain school board authority. Teacher CBAs are agreements between a school district and a teachers’ union to establish rights and other contract details for public school employees. CBAs do not have the force of law, but are contractually binding for a set period of time. Within the time set out in the agreement, the school board must comply with the stipulations that were agreed to in the contract. In this way, CBAs can constrain school board authority by giving teachers authority over curriculum, prohibiting school boards from banning books, and establishing certain student or parental rights. They can also determine rights and protections for educators, and conditions for students (such as required recess periods or the amount of standardized testing), among other provisions.
CBAs vary greatly within and across states in size, topics covered, and constraints they put on school boards. Not all states allow teachers to bargain collectively. As of January 2022, 35 states and the District of Columbia guaranteed K-12 teachers some right to bargain collectively, and six states prohibited public-sector employee collective bargaining by law, which includes public school teachers. The other nine states have no statewide bargaining framework, but local jurisdictions within these states can grant bargaining rights if they choose.[37][38]
Ballotpedia could not identify any laws regarding teacher collective bargaining agreements or whether school boards engage in collective bargaining with employees. There are no laws in Alabama allowing or banning teacher collective bargaining though limited bargaining takes place, according to the National Education Association.[39]
Parents' Bill of Rights
Alabama is one of 26 states that has a Parents' Bill of Rights.
The statute holds that parents have the right to right to direct the education of their child, among other provisions. The text is as follows:[40]
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How does Alabama compare to other states?
This section compares Alabama's school board authority and constraints with those of other states on select topics. These topics include authority over discipline policy, school board election timing, charter schools, cellphone use policy, as well as constraints on school boards' authority from Parents' Bills of Rights.
Book bans, removals, and restrictions
Twenty-three (23) states have no laws regulating the curation of school library books. Twenty-seven (27) states, however, have passed laws restricting school board authority over school library book curation. These laws typically fall into one of the following categories:
- Eleven states require school boards to develop a policy for the removal of books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
- Nine states prohibit school boards from removing books on the grounds that they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
- Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
- Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
- Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.
Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies.
Discipline
- School boards in 47 states have authority over disciplinary policy in their district.
- School boards in two states have authority over disciplinary policy for specific circumstances, such as suspension, expulsion, or bullying.
- Individual schools in one state create their own disciplinary policy.
School board elections
School boards' authority over the timing of school board elections varies by state.
- School boards in 42 states do not have authority over election timing;
- School boards in five states can choose from limited options when to hold school board elections;
- School boards in two states can choose from a date range when to hold school board elections;
- The school board in Hawaii is not elected.
The map below shows the types of authority school boards in the states have to determine the timing of school board elections.
Charter schools
- See also: Charter schools in the United States
Some school boards in the U.S. are authorized to approve or deny applications for charter schools in their district, while state boards of education hold the authority in other states. In some states, school boards can authorize charter schools, but there are other entities besides school boards that can also authorize charter schools or to which a school board decision can be appealed.
- 10 states do not authorize school boards to make decisions on whether to approve new charter schools in their districts.
- 36 states do authorize school boards to approve new charter schools in their districts, deny approval to new charter schools, or both.
- 3 states do not have laws governing charter school authorization.
- 1 state allows school districts to apply to the state board of education to be a charter school district.
State cellphone laws
In most states, school boards or superintendents often set policies on cellphones in public schools. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), around 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010.[41]
Beginning with Florida in 2023, some states enacted laws or policies to regulate student cellphone usage in public schools. Twenty-six (26) states had statewide laws or policies restricting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms or schools as of June 2025. Four states had requirements for all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones but without specific requirements for those policies. Four other states had policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom.
Parents' Bill of Rights
- See also: Parents' Bill of Rights in education
If state law explicitly provides certain rights to parents, it can constrain the policy-making authority of school boards. These sections of statute are often referred to within statute and are categorized here as Parents' Bills of Rights. In some states, they are education-specific, regarding the rights a parent has to be involved in their child's public education. Common examples include notification requirements, opt-out rights, and records access. Other Parents' Bills of Rights are more general, commonly affording parents a right to direct the upbringing of their child.
- 26 states have enacted a statewide Parents' Bill of Rights
- 24 states have not enacted a Parents' Bill of Rights.
Noteworthy events
- Alabama voters grant Franklin County Board of Education authority over land in school district (2024): Alabama voters approved a statewide ballot measure on November 5, 2024, as part of the general election, that granted the Franklin County Board of Education the authority to manage, sell, or lease lands and natural resources within the Franklin County School System located in Walker and Fayette Counties. Voters approved the measure with a 74% majority.
- Alabama governor signs bill to require teachers to publish curriculum (2024): Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed SB 48 into law on March 21, 2024. The bill proposed requiring teachers to post curriculum to their school's website before the school year begins or no later than 30 days after a new curriculum is adopted. It also provided a complaint process if a teacher doesn't reply to a parent's request for curriculum information. The bill's sponsor, State Senator Greg Reed (R), contended the bill promoted transparency between teachers and parents. Reggie White, the 2022 Alabama teacher of the year, argued the bill doesn't address the more prominent concerns parents have regarding their children's education, such as achievement or truancy. The law took effect on June 1, 2024.[42][43][44][45]
- Alabama governor signs bill prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and divisive concepts (2024): Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) signed SB 129 on March 20, 2024, prohibiting diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in school districts. It also banned the teaching of what the state called divisive concepts, which it defined as including curriculum suggesting inherent racial superiority, making moral judgments based on qualities like race, religion, sex, ethnicity, or national origin, assigning collective guilt, or denouncing meritocracy as racist or sexist.[46]
- Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) replaces early education director, calls teacher training book woke (2023): Alabama Governor Kay Ivey (R) announced on April 21, 2023, that she would replace Barbara Cooper, the director of the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, over concerns related to the distribution of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Developmentally Appropriate Practice Book to schools in the state. A statement from Ivey's office contended that the teacher training book suggested teaching concepts like structural racism, white privilege, and LGBTQ+ inclusion to pre-kindergarten students.[47]
- Alabama board bans critical race theory in classrooms (2021): The Alabama State Board of Education on August 12, 2021, voted along party lines to ban instruction in critical race theory from K-12 public school classrooms in a resolution titled "Preservation of Intellectual Freedom and Non-Discrimination in Alabama Public Schools."[48] The resolution prohibits "K-12 public education resources or standards intended to indoctrinate students in social or political ideologies that promote one race or sex above another."[49]
See also
- Local school board authority across the 50 states
- K-12 curriculum authority, requirements, and statutes in the states
- State policies on cellphone use in K-12 public schools
- Rules governing school board election dates and timing
- Charter schools
- School choice
- Parents' Bill of Rights in education
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Footnotes
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-8-8 - Administration and Supervision of Schools Generally. (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 8 - County Boards of Education. Section 16-8-9 - Section 16-8-15, Section 16-8-18- Section 16-8-21, Section 16-8-23 - Section 16-8-35, Section 16-8-37 - Section 16-8-43," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 10 - Boards of School Trustees. Section 16-10-1 - Qualification and Selection of Trustees." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-3 - Employment of Teachers, Janitors, Food Handlers or Bus Drivers With Tuberculosis." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-6 - Policies as to Salary Deductions; Purposes for Which Deductions May Be Made; Application." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-8 - Dental Insurance." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-9 - Educational Authority Sick Leave Bank Plans." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-14 - Personnel Records of Education Employees." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-15 - Notice of Personnel Vacancy; Board Policies; Emergency Situations." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-21-1 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-21-3 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-22-5 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 22 - Officers and Employees Generally. Section 16-22-12 - Cost-of-Living Adjustment for Public Education Employees; Miscellaneous Pay Provisions." November 8, 2024
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Law.Justia.com, "2023 Code of Alabama Title 16 - Education. Chapter 40 - Instruction as to Certain Subjects. Article 1 Section 16-40-1.1 - Instruction Mandated in Parental Resposibility, Education and High School Diploma Importance, and Study Skills; New Required Courses Not Established." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "Title 16 - Education. Chapter 40 - Instruction as to Certain Subjects. Article 1 Section 16-40-8 - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-40-9 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-40A-2 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-40A-3 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Legiscan, "AL HB166," accessed May 15, 2025
- ↑ Legiscan, "Alabama HouseBill 322," November 8, 2024
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs DEI bill into law: What the ‘divisive concepts’ ban will do," accessed April 3, 2024
- ↑ The White House, "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling," accessed March 14, 2025
- ↑ Advance Local, "Book bans are a local affair in Alabama schools. That could change." November 8, 2024
- ↑ Education Law Center, Pennsylvania, "Challenging book bans: What can you do," September 18, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "Island Trees Sch. Dist. v. Pico by Pico, 457 U.S. 853 (1982)," September 18, 2024
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "Zykan v. Warsaw Community School Corp., 631 F.2d 1300 (7th Cir. 1980)," October 11, 2024
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, "U.S. Department of Education Ends Biden’s Book Ban Hoax," accessed January 28, 2025
- ↑ Legiscan, "AL SB184," November 8, 2024
- ↑ The United States Supreme Court, "Mahmoud et al. v. Taylor et al." accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-1-24.1 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ The White House, "Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies," April 30, 2025
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-6F-5 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ https://law.justia.com/codes/alabama/title-16/chapter-6d/section-16-6d-8/ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-6D-8 (2023)," November 18, 2024]
- ↑ Law.Justia.com, "AL Code § 16-6F-6 (2023)," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Alabama Archives, "Resolution Regarding Cellular Telephone Usage in Alabama Schools," November 8, 2024
- ↑ National Education Association, "Collective Bargaining: What it is and How it Works", accessed October 3, 2024.
- ↑ National Education Association, "The Benefits of Collective Bargaining in Education", accessed October 3, 2024
- ↑ National Education Association, "Understanding Collective Bargaining," November 8, 2024
- ↑ Legiscan, "AL HB 6," November 18, 2024
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Percentage of public schools with various safety and security measures: Selected school years, 1999-2000 through 2021-22," accessed August 8, 2024
- ↑ NBC-15 News, "'Parents Right to Know' Bill requires classroom curriculum be posted by Alabama teachers," February 27, 2024.
- ↑ LegiScan.com, "Alabama Senate Bill 48," February 27, 2024.
- ↑ Alabama Political Reporter, "Gov. Ivey signs 'Parental Right to Know' bill," March 25, 2024.
- ↑ Yellow Hammer, "Parents’ Right to Know: Classroom transparency law passes Alabama House," March 25, 2024.
- ↑ AL.com, "Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signs DEI bill into law: What the ‘divisive concepts’ ban will do," accessed April 3, 2024
- ↑ National Public Radio, "Alabama governor ousts a top education official over a book's 'woke concepts' on race," accessed May 5, 2023
- ↑ AP News, "Alabama board bans critical race theory in classrooms," August 12, 2021
- ↑ Alabama State Board of Education, "ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION RESOLUTION DECLARING THE PRESERVATION OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM AND NON-DISCRIMINATION IN ALABAMA’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS," August 12, 2021
