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HB353 ENGROSSED
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HB353
CX3AIWW-2
By Representatives Butler, Collins
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 29-Jan-26
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HB353 Engrossed
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First Read: 29-Jan-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to public K-12 education; to require the State
Department of Education to develop an Advanced Math Pathway to
prepare students for certain courses; to require local boards
of education to adopt an automatic enrollment policy and to
automatically enroll students into the pathway in certain
circumstances; to require local school districts to provide
certain information to students and parents about math
pathways and their impact; to allow parents and guardians to
opt students into or out of advanced math courses; to require
local school districts and schools to provide a system of
support to students in the pathway; and to require the
department to report annually to the Legislature on student
performance and enrollment in advanced math courses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) ADVANCED MATH PATHWAY. A sequence of courses that
accelerates or combines content from different middle school
and high school grade levels, which culminates in students
taking Algebra I, or the integrated equivalent, in middle
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taking Algebra I, or the integrated equivalent, in middle
school and at least one college credit-bearing math course in
high school.
(2) DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Education.
(b) No later than the 2027-2028 school year, the
department shall develop an Advanced Math Pathway that is
designed to enable students to be prepared for and enroll in
Algebra I, or the integrated equivalent, in middle school and
college credit-bearing math courses in high school. Local
boards of education shall adopt a policy relating to the
automatic enrollment and shall automatically enroll in a
Middle School or High School Advanced Math Pathway a student
who:
(1) Scores proficient or at grade level or higher on
the statewide annual end-of-year math assessment in grades
five through eight; or
(2) Demonstrates proficiency using a local measure that
considers the student's math coursework or the student's grade
class ranking.
(c) Local school districts shall provide transparent
information to students and parents including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) The impact of middle school and high school math
enrollment on the middle and high school math sequence.
(2) The purpose of the automatic enrollment policy.
(3) Information about the math pathways available to
students, including high school math pathway options.
(4) Information about how the math pathways prepare
students for post-secondary college and career opportunities.
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students for post-secondary college and career opportunities.
(d)(1) The parent or guardian of a student who does not
meet the criteria for automatic enrollment under subsection
(b) may opt the student into advanced math courses according
to criteria established by the local board of education.
(2) The parent or guardian of a student described by
subsection (b) may opt the student out of automatic enrollment
or have the student removed from the advanced math course
under that subsection.
(e) To ensure that students succeed in advanced math,
the local board of education and the school must provide
instructional support beyond the core math instruction. These
supports may include, but not be limited to, a specific
high-quality instructional program or a set of steps used to
help students improve in math.
(f) The department shall annually report to the
Legislature all of the following:
(1) The number of students who score proficient or at
grade level or higher on the statewide annual end-of-year math
assessment in grades five through eight, organized by school
and local school district for each student group.
(2) Of the students identified in subdivision (1), the
number and percentage of students who were:
a. Enrolled in advanced math courses the subsequent
year, including Algebra I or the integrated equivalent, in
middle school.
b. Enrolled in advanced math course in high school.
c. Not proficient or at grade level and opted in.
d. Automatically enrolled and opted out.
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d. Automatically enrolled and opted out.
(3) Math scores on the year-end statewide assessment by
grade level, grouped by each category of subdivision (2).
(4) A description of the Advanced Math Pathway offered
to middle school and high school students in each local school
district.
(5) A list of support offered at each school and local
school district and number and percent of students
participating in each support option.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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1, 2026.
House of Representatives
Read for the first time and referred
to the House of Representatives
committee on Education Policy
................29-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
0 amendments
................05-Feb-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 103
Nays 0
Abstains 1
................31-Mar-26
John Treadwell
Clerk
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