'Just ethics': Alabama threatens funding for schools that don’t say Pledge of Allegiance and prayer

13 February

3 rd grade stands each morning to say pledge of allegiance to the flag, Image via Shuttertstock.

A bill proposed in Alabama would require schools to begin each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer -- or else, the school will lose millions in funding. Lawmakers debated the bill on Wednesday, AL.com reported.

“It’s just ethics and the basics of what our country is built on,” said Republican Rep. Reed Ingram, the bill’s sponsor.

HB231, a constitutional amendment, would apply to kindergarten through 12th grade. If a school does not follow the requirement, the state Superintendent would “withhold twenty-five percent of state funding allocated to the offending local board of education,” according to the bill.

“My biggest concern is the punitive aspect of taking 25 percent education funding from schools that don’t comply,” said Democratic Rep. Marilyn Lands. For example, Birmingham City Schools get about $158 million in state funding, so they would lose nearly $40 million.

The legislation requires “a prayer consistent with Judeo-Christian values,” although it is unclear what that prayer would look like.

“Lands asked Ingram if a silent prayer would be allowed. Ingram responded that the focus was on reciting a Judeo-Christian prayer, comparing the public displays within the legislation to the nation’s motto, ‘In God We Trust.’ The motto was added to government buildings throughout the state eight years ago under the influence of conservative activists,” AL.com’s John Sharp reported. Students would not be required to take part in the prayer, Ingram said.

Ingram said that there is a law, amended in 2019, requiring public schools to conduct the Pledge of Allegiance, but not all do.

“Our recruiting is down for the National Guard,” Ingram said. “It’s down in every branch of the military. A lot of these kids don’t understand what the flag is.”

“The bill is coming at a time when a number of GOP-led states are testing the separation of church and state limits in public schools,” Sharp writes.

The legislation was passed by the House State Government Committee and is now set to be considered by the full House.

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