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HB520 • 2026

Public K-12 education; expedited career and technical teaching certification pathway created for individual holding equivalent issued by another state

Public K-12 education; expedited career and technical teaching certification pathway created for individual holding equivalent issued by another state

Education
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Paramore
Last action
2026-04-17
Official status
Enacted
Effective date
2026-06-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide specific details on the number of certificates expected to be issued or the efficacy measures for the program.

Creating a Fast Track for Out-of-State Career and Technical Education Teachers

This law creates an expedited certification process for out-of-state teachers who want to teach career and technical education (CTE) courses in Alabama.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires the State Board of Education to establish an expedited certification pathway for qualified individuals holding a valid teaching certificate from another state to teach CTE courses in Alabama.
  • Establishes requirements such as possessing a valid teaching certificate, being recommended by a local superintendent, and passing a criminal background check.
  • Authorizes local boards of education to provide incentives like relocation stipends or hiring bonuses to these new teachers.
  • Requires the State Superintendent to annually report on certificates issued pursuant to this act to the Governor and Legislature.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Out-of-state career and technical education (CTE) teachers who want to teach in Alabama
  • Local school boards that may offer incentives to new CTE teachers

Terms To Know

Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Programs designed to prepare students for careers through hands-on learning.
Expedited Certification
A faster process to get a teaching certificate compared to the standard one.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify how many new teachers will be certified or what kind of incentives local boards might offer.
  • It is unclear if this program will attract enough out-of-state CTE teachers to meet Alabama's needs.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

MS72X11-1

R 749

Adopted

Plain English: MS72X11-1 03/03/2026 KMS (H) HSE 2026-1045 House Ways and Means Education Reported Substitute for HB520 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to teacher certification; to add Section 16-23-3.2 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to require the State Board of Education to establish an expedited certification pathway for a career and technical teaching certificate; and to provide for qualifications and limitations.

  • MS72X11-1 03/03/2026 KMS (H) HSE 2026-1045 House Ways and Means Education Reported Substitute for HB520 Page 1 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT Relating to teacher certification; to add Section 16-23-3.2 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to require the State Board of Education to establish an expedited certification pathway for a career and technical teaching certificate; and to provide for qualifications and limitations.
  • BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA: Section 1.
  • The Legislature finds and declares that the state must provide additional career and technical education opportunities for Alabama students to help them prepare to enter the workforce.
  • In order to support these offerings, the state must attract and retain the required number of career and technical education instructors.
  • This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-17 House

    Enacted

  2. 2026-04-09 House

    Delivered to Governor

  3. 2026-04-09 Senate

    Signature Requested

  4. 2026-04-09 House

    Enrolled

  5. 2026-04-09 House

    Ready to Enroll

  6. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1268 (Yeas 29, Nays 0)

  7. 2026-04-08 Senate

    Third Reading in Second House

  8. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  9. 2026-03-11 Senate

    Reported Out of Committee Second House

  10. 2026-03-05 House

    Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 750 (Yeas 102, Nays 0)

  11. 2026-03-05 House

    Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 749 (Yeas 105, Nays 0)

  12. 2026-03-05 House

    Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 102, Nays 0)

  13. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in Second House

  14. 2026-03-05 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Education Policy

  15. 2026-03-05 House

    Engrossed

  16. 2026-03-05 House

    Ways and Means Education Engrossed Substitute Offered

  17. 2026-03-03 House

    Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar

  18. 2026-03-03 House

    Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

  19. 2026-02-26 House

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  20. 2026-02-26 House

    Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means Education

Official Summary Text

This act adds Section 16-23-3.2 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to: (1) require the State Board of Education to establish an expedited certification process for qualified out-of-state teachers to teach career and technical education (CTE) courses in the state; (2) establish requirements to be issued an expedited CTE teaching certificate from the State Superintendent, including possessing a valid teaching certificate, being recommended by a local superintendent, and passing a criminal background check; (3) authorize local boards of education to provide incentives for these teachers; and (4) require the State Superintendent to annually report on certificates issued pursuant to this act to the Governor and Legislature.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HB520 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB520
MS72X11-3
By Representatives Paramore, Ledbetter, Reynolds, Whitt,
Lomax, Crawford, Baker, Clouse, Stubbs, Starnes, Sorrells,
Marques, Allbright, Rehm, Brown, Hulsey, Shaw, Crow, Lee
RFD: Ways and Means Education
First Read: 26-Feb-26
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HB520 Enrolled
Page 1
First Read: 26-Feb-26
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to teacher certification; to add Section
16-23-3.2 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to require the State
Board of Education to establish an expedited certification
pathway for a career and technical teaching certificate; and
to provide for qualifications and limitations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. The Legislature finds and declares that the
state must provide additional career and technical education
opportunities for Alabama students to help them prepare to
enter the workforce. In order to support these offerings, the
state must attract and retain the required number of career
and technical education instructors. Therefore, the
Legislature finds that the State Department of Education
should take steps to increase the number of career and
technical education instructors in the state. It is the intent
of this act to streamline the process to obtain a teaching
certificate for those educators who move to Alabama to teach
career and technical education and related courses.
Section 2. Section 16-23-3.2 is added to the Code of
Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§16-23-3.2
(a) The State Board of Education shall establish an
expedited certification pathway for the issuance of a teaching
certificate by the State Superintendent of Education to a
qualified individual who seeks to teach career and technical
education (CTE) courses at a public high school in Alabama
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HB520 Enrolled
Page 2
education (CTE) courses at a public high school in Alabama
when that individual has previously taught CTE courses or
their equivalent in another state.
(b) To be approved for an expedited CTE teaching
certificate, the applicant shall satisfy all of the following
requirements:
(1) Submit to the State Board of Education the required
application form and fees to obtain a teaching certificate.
(2) Hold a valid, active teaching certificate, or its
equivalent, obtained from another state and submit a copy of
the certificate with the application.
(3) Is recommended for certification by a local
superintendent of education.
(4) Successfully pass a criminal history background
check.
(c) Upon verification that an applicant satisfies the
requirements of subsection (b), the State Superintendent of
Education shall issue an Alabama teaching certificate
authorizing the individual to teach CTE courses as soon as
practicable and shall not require any additional testing,
coursework, or documentation prior to issuance.
(d) Any teaching certificate issued in accordance with
the requirements of this section shall have the same term and
renewal requirements as all other standard teaching
certificates issued under this chapter.
(e) An individual who is granted a teaching certificate
pursuant to this section may only teach CTE courses.
(f) A local board of education, in its discretion and
subject to available funds, may provide a relocation stipend
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HB520 Enrolled
Page 3
subject to available funds, may provide a relocation stipend
or hiring incentive to an individual certified under this
section who moves to Alabama from another state to teach CTE
courses.
(g) The State Superintendent of Education shall keep a
record of the number of certificates issued annually under
this section and shall submit a report to the Governor, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro
Tempore of the Senate by February 1 of each year which
provides information on the number of certificates issued, the
schools where these certificate holders are teaching, and the
efficacy of the program.
(h) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement and administer this section.
Section 3. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2026.
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HB520 Enrolled
Page 4
2026.
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
House of Representatives
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and
was passed by the House 05-Mar-26.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 08-Apr-26 Passed
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