Act 2026-378 (House Bill 380, 2026 Regular Legislative Session)
Alabama publishes no official pro/con arguments; availability none.
Bill sponsor: Representative Collins
“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.”
If the majority of voters vote “yes” on Amendment 2, the Alabama Constitution will be changed.
If the majority of voters vote “no” on Amendment 2, the Alabama Constitution will not be changed.
Currently, each county has a board of education that operates independently. A process allowing 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. Before a merger could occur, the State Board of Education would be required to conduct a study of the proposed merger, including its potential effects on students, families, educational programs, transportation, finances, taxes, and school operations. The study must be published before the merger could be finalized. If at least 25 percent of the qualified voters in any of the affected county school systems submits a written protest, 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. In addition to a majority of voters in each county, the amendment also requires that the merger be approved by an overall majority of the votes cast in all the affected counties. 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.
There are no costs or taxes associated with Amendment 2.
Not published by the state
Not published by the state
Both columns use the same layout. Text is quoted from the official state guide. Views expressed belong to the argument authors.