Shedding light on proposed statewide amendments
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By Christa Jennings
Senior Staff Writer
In addition to the numerous offices that will be on the November 3 general election ballot, voters will also decide on four proposed statewide constitutional amendments, three of which are school related.
The proposed amendments address a lieutenant governor vacancy, potential county school system mergers, school prayer and “The Pledge of Allegiance,” and the national anthem being played in schools weekly.
Voters will have the opportunity to vote “yes” or “no” on each of the proposed amendments while voting on November 3. The amendments will appear at the end of the ballot, after the individual offices.
The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission has provided official explanations and plain language breakdowns of each proposed amendment in order to also help voters be informed when they go to the polls in less than two weeks.
The first proposed statewide amendment involves three areas of state government. If approved, it would create a way for voters to fill a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office, would allow the Legislature to set compensation for the lieutenant governor and certain legislative officers, and an elected House or Senate officer would approve legislative-funded travel for members of that chamber.
Current law generally provides that if the office of lieutenant governor is vacated during a term of office then the vacancy remains until the next regular election for that office. Additionally, the state Constitution also sets the pay of the lieutenant governor and certain legislative officers.
If approved, the first amendment would require an election to fill the office of lieutenant governor for the remainder of the unexpired term if the office becomes vacant more than 60 days before the next general election in which state officers are elected.
In addition to authorizing the Legislature to set the pay for the lieutenant governor and officers of the Legislature by a joint resolution, if approved, the amendment would also require expenditures of legislative funds for travel by members of the Legislature to be approved by an officer elected by the members of that legislative chamber.
The Alabama Fair Ballot Commission reports that there are no costs or taxes associated with this amendment.
A “yes” vote would add all three of these proposed changes to the Alabama Constitution.
A “no” vote would leave the current constitutional provisions in place.
The other three proposed statewide amendments are all related to schools.
The second proposed amendment relates to potential county school board mergers. Currently each county has a board of education that operates independently, and a process allowing for the merger of two or more county boards of education does not currently exist in the Alabama Constitution.
If approved, this amendment would allow two or more neighboring county boards of education to agree to merge their county school systems into one multi-county school system by formal resolution of the affected county school boards.
According to reports, there were seven Alabama county school systems that enrolled less than 1,000 students for the 2025-2026 school year. Another four enrolled between 1,000 and 1,500 that same year, according to reports.
The exact wording of the proposed amendment is as follows, “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to provide a process for the creation of a consolidated county school system by merging two or more contiguous county boards of education; to require the State Board of Education to conduct an impact study on the potentia1 effects of the consolidation; to require publication of the impact study; to provide a procedure for protesting a proposed consolidation of two or more county school systems; and to require the State Board of Education to adopt rules. Proposed by Act 2026-378.”
Regarding the impact study mentioned, before a merger could occur the State Board of Education would be required to conduct a study of the proposed merger, to include its potential effects on students, families, staff, finances, transportation, educational programs, taxes, and school operations. The study would also be required to be published at least 30 days before a merger could be finalized with a final merger resolution.
The amendment would also give residents an opportunity to challenge a proposed merger.
According to the Fair Ballot Commission, if at least 25% of the qualified voters in any of the affected county school systems submit a written protest, then the proposed merger could not take effect unless it is approved by a majority of the voters in each of the affected counties at the next general election.
The Fair Ballot Commission also explained that in addition to a majority of voters in each county, the amendment also requires that the proposed merger be approved by an overall majority of the votes cast in all the affected counties.
Any merger would be voluntary and not be mandated, and it would be initiated by the affected school boards.
The Fair Ballot Commission stated that the amendment would also require the State Board of Education to adopt rules to implement the merger process. The Legislature could pass laws to implement approved mergers.
Currently the Constitution allows city school systems to merge into county school systems, but does not authorize mergers between or among county school systems.
A “yes” vote would allow two or more neighboring county school systems to merge into a single multi-county district.
A “no” would not change the Alabama Constitution and would leave the current prohibition in place.
The Fair Ballot Commission reports that there are no direct costs or taxes associated with Amendment 2.
The third proposed statewide amendment is about student-led prayer and the daily reciting of “The Pledge of Allegiance.”
The exact wording of the amendment is as follows, “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to recite The Pledge of Allegiance to the United States flag at the beginning of each school day; and to require local boards of education to adopt a policy authorizing student-initiated and student-led prayer. Proposed by Act 2026-379.”
Currently the Alabama Constitution does not require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to conduct “The Pledge of Allegiance” each school day or to adopt policies allowing student-initiated and student-led prayer.
If approved, the amendment would not require students to pray or recite the pledge. Instead, it would require schools to permit student-led prayer and provide for the daily pledge.
Specifically, the amendment would require each local board of education to adopt a policy requiring each public K-12 school to conduct “The Pledge of Allegiance” to the U.S. flag at the beginning of each school day and give students the opportunity to voluntarily recite the pledge.
Additionally, the amendment would require each local school board to adopt a policy allowing student-initiated and student-led prayer in public K-12 schools.
No student could be required to participate in the prayer, and students would have the right to opt out of participating in “The Pledge of Allegiance” or the prayer or both, based on their own beliefs. Any reported violations would be reviewed by the local superintendent of education.
A “yes” vote would require public school boards to adopt policies allowing for student-initiated, student-led prayer during the school day and to conduct “The Pledge of Allegiance” at the beginning of each school day.
A “no” vote would not put those changes into effect, and the Alabama Constitution will not be changed.
The fourth and final proposed statewide amendment regards the weekly playing of the national anthem.
The exact wording of the amendment is, “Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, to require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to broadcast or sanction the performance of the first stanza of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at least once per week during school hours. Proposed by Act 2026-424.”
Currently the state Constitution does not require local boards of education to adopt policies requiring each public K-12 school to broadcast or allow the performance of the first stanza of the national anthem during school hours.
The Fair Ballot Commission explained that, if approved, this amendment would require each local board of education to adopt a policy requiring each public K-12 school to broadcast the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at least once each week during school hours.
A local board of education could allow the first stanza to be performed during school hours by a school-approved band, choir, vocal group, or vocalist using the version archived by the Library of Congress. Schools could also comply by playing a recording.
A “yes” vote would add the weekly national anthem requirement to the Alabama Constitution.
A “no” vote would leave the Constitution unchanged and not impose the proposed weekly requirement.
For sample ballots for the November 3 general election and other election information, visit www.AlabamaVotes.gov.
