Alabama
Alabama House committee holds public hearings on bills limiting sex and gender instruction • Alabama Reflector
An Alabama House committee Wednesday held public hearings on two bills that could restrict sex and gender instruction in public schools, though neither came to a vote.
HB 130, sponsored by Rep. Mack Butler, R-Rainbow City, would prohibit classroom instruction for any K-12 student “regarding sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The bill expands a “Don’t Say Gay” law banning those discussions in kindergarten through fifth grade, a measure added in the last hours of the 2022 legislative session to a “bathroom bill.” Butler’s bill is a more limited version of legislation that did not pass out of committee last year.
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Butler said that “indoctrination” was happening in schools, and his bill would allow schools to focus on core subjects.
“It is happening all over and it is a component of Marxism, destroying the family in teaching some of these things, let it happen somewhere else other than our schools,” he said to the House Education Policy Committee.
Opponents of the bill said it could keep LGBTQ children from having access to safe space with teachers and could have unintended consequences on limiting discussion of any sexual identity or gender.
Jordan Price said the bill was part of a plan to erase LGBTQ people, and said it could also prevent the teaching of notable women.
“Every first lady would be doubly erased if we weren’t allowed to mention that they were married to men nor that they were women themselves,” Price said.
Proponents of the bill said that it would protect children.
Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl said that he felt it was a “common sense bill.”
“I think this bill just strengthens the law that’s already in place and goes a little bit further making sure that we keep a political agenda or a social agenda out of our schools,” he said.
In his opening description, Butler also said that it would contribute to “purify” the schools. Butler walked that back in discussion with Rep. Barbara Drummond, D-Mobile, who said that purity was a subjective definition.
“Is that what we should be aiming for?” she asked. “Someone else’s subjectivity?”
“No, ma’am,” said Butler.
HB 195, sponsored by Rep. Susan DuBose, R-Hoover, would require sexual education in the state to teach “exclusively and emphatically teach sexual risk avoidance content.” DuBose defined sexual risk avoidance as abstinence first.
The bill does not explicitly prohibit the teaching of contraception but places limitations on instruction, including that it is in line with sexual risk avoidance; does not “normalize, encourage, or promote” sexual behavior by youth and teens; does not say that contraception is 100% effective against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; and “dispels any false sense of security about ‘safe sex.’”
The bill also requires teachers to instruct students on the state’s abortion ban, domestic adoption and infant-surrendering laws. “Our sex ed program will continue to teach primarily abstinence, which is now called SRA, or sexual risk avoidance,” she said.
Christina Clark Okarmus, executive director the Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health, which was attacked by DuBose at the start of the hearing, said that Alabama has high rates of teen pregnancy. She said abstinence-only programs do not help reduce teen pregnancy or sexually-transmitted infection (STI) rates.
“I think most of us can agree that young people need messages of abstinence and prevention when it comes to sex,” she said. “This bill, HB 195, is an archaic and dangerous piece of legislation for our youth.”
Many medical and health associations endorse comprehensive sex education as the most effective, but the actual research on the impact of different sexual education programs tends to be sparse and ambiguous, according to a 2023 Hechinger Report article.
Beth Pruitt, a sexual-risk avoidance educator, said they took a holistic approach to education and included information about relationships and drug and alcohol use.
“We need to discuss that, how they are highly effective, but birth control provides zero protection against STDs and STIs,” she said. “Condoms have according to the CDC, an 18% typical use failure rate.”
The CDC says that external condoms often fail due to inconsistent or incorrect use. The CDC says the typical use failure rate is 13%.
Hannah Burkle, a professional health educator with Planned Parenthood, said that she thinks teen parents can be good parents but, in her experience, teen parents said they think that more sex education could have had an impact on them.
“We at Planned Parenthood also agree and believe that parents are the first and most important educators for their children, and from my studies as well as my work, I know that Alabama parents want comprehensive education for their kids,” she said.
Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, the chair of the committee, said the bills would return for a vote after spring break.
Alabama has a quick turnaround to flush its first SEC series loss of the season at Tennessee as the No. 3 Crimson Tide prepares to face No. 21 South Carolina in the regular-season finale at Rhoads Stadium for a three-game series beginning on Thursday.
All three games between Alabama and South Carolina will be streaming only on SEC Network+.
Last year, the Gamecocks took two of three games from the Tide in the regular season series in Columbia under first year head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard, and then beat Alabama in the SEC tournament.
This year, Alabama (44-6, 16-5 SEC) is still fighting for a chance at the regular season conference title two games behind Oklahoma with three games to go. At a minimum, the Tide wants to secure a double-bye in the SEC tournament and as high a seed in the NCAA tournament as possible.
“We need to do our job this year, at home especially, going into the SEC tournament and possible seedings for the NCAA,” Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said. “This is a big weekend for both of us. I know she’d probably say the same thing. But this is huge for us.”
The Gamecocks are coming off back-to-back conference series wins over Missouri and Texas A&M while Alabama is coming in off its first conference series loss. Here’s everything you need to know about this weekend’s series.
How to watch: Alabama vs. South Carolina
Who: No. 21 South Carolina (30-22, 7-14 SEC) at No. 3 Alabama (44-6, 16-5 SEC)
When: Thursday, April 30 – 6 p.m. CT
Friday, May 1 – 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, May 2- 1 p.m. CT
Where: Rhoads Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
TV: SEC Network+
Radio: The Crimson Tide Sports Network on Catfish 100.1 FM in Tuscaloosa (or online) with Tom Canterbury on the call.
Series history: Alabama leads, 33-10
In Tuscaloosa: 19-2 | In Columbia: 14-7 | At Neutral Sites: 0-1
Last meeting: South Carolina eliminated Alabama from the SEC tournament in Athens, Georgia last season with a 6-2 victory over the Crimson Tide. Alabama scored two runs in the first inning, including a leadoff home run by Audrey Vandagriff, before the Gamecocks reeled off six unanswered.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide lost to Tennessee, 4-1, in the series finale on Monday. Alabama was on the verge of being shut out for the second straight game before a pinch hit home run by Mari Hubbard in the seventh inning.
Last time out, South Carolina: The Gamecocks run ruled South Carolina State, 9-1, in six innings on Tuesday night for their final non-conference game in the regular season.
Batting average: Brooke Wells- .419
RBIs: Brooke Wells- 55
Home runs: Brooke Wells- 56
ERA: Jocelyn Briski- 1.50
Wins: Jocelyn Briski- 19
Strikeouts: Jocelyn Briski- 153
Batting average: Karley Shelton- .358
RBIs: Tori Ensley- 45
Home runs: Tori Ensley- 113
ERA: Jori Heard- 1.77
Wins: Jori Heard- 11
Strikeouts: Jori Heard- 113
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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – After more than four years at the helm of the Alabama Department of Corrections, Commissioner John Hamm is officially retiring, Governor Kay Ivey announced Tuesday.
Hamm, who served in law enforcement for more than 35 years, came to the post in January 2022. During his tenure, state officials point to a range of developments within the corrections system, including progress on the construction of two new men’s prisons, increased recruitment and retention of corrections officers, and enforcement of stricter conduct policies for staff and inmates.
“It has been the honor of my serve to serve in Governor Ivey’s Administration, and I thank her for giving me that opportunity and empowering me to lead the Department of Corrections forward,” Hamm said. “Governor Ivey’s unwavering support for the Department has been outstanding. When I started at Corrections in 2022, Governor Ivey gave me the charge of making the Department better and with her support, as well as the support of her staff and the hardworking men and women of ADOC, we have accomplished that.”
In a statement, Ivey credited Hamm with helping advance improvements within the department, while noting that ongoing efforts remain. She also announced her appointment of corrections and law enforcement veteran Greg Lovelace as Hamm’s replacement.
She said Lovelace’s experience in corrections and law enforcement positions him to continue that work through the remainder of her term.
Lovelace brings more than 3 decades of corrections experience to the position. During his tenure within the Department of Corrections, he oversaw maintenance and construction projects while management all prisons within the system.
The Governor called him a “true public servant” who is “once again answering the call to lend his leadership to the state.”
Lovelace will begin his tenure on May 1.
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Alabama
‘I want to see lower rates in Alabama’: Britt presses Energy Secretary on lowering power bills
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) pressed Energy Secretary Chris Wright on lowering energy costs for Alabama families during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing reviewing the Department of Energy’s fiscal year 2027 budget request.
Britt opened her questioning by focusing on data center development and its impact on residential ratepayers.
“We have to keep that compute power advantage. That is critically important,” Britt said. “But in the larger conversation, we want to make sure that that advantage and the cost of that doesn’t actually fall on family’s power bills. Between 2021 and 2025, we saw residential power bills go up in this nation over 40%. It’s totally unacceptable.”
She noted that wholesale electricity prices in data center heavy regions surged over 250% during the same period, and credited the Trump Administration’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge and Energy Dominance Financing announcement with freezing rates in Alabama and Georgia.
“But ultimately, we’ve got to figure out how do we drill down and how do we actually lower rates, not just freeze them?” Britt said. “I want to see lower rates in Alabama.”
Wright outlined steps the department is taking to bring costs down.
“We worked with you and the Senate and the House to finally end the 34 years of wind subsidies and solar subsidies,” Wright said. “We’re focusing on, in the short term, how can we get more out of our existing grid? We’re upgrading hydro facilities. We’re upgrading natural gas facilities. We’ve restarted a nuclear power plant, which will have a ribbon cutting on very soon.”
Britt also raised grid cybersecurity and workforce development, citing work underway at Auburn University through SERC-3, and asked Wright to dedicate budget resources to grid security workforce needs. Wright confirmed the department’s commitment.
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
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