HB8 • 2026

Campus chaplains; public K-12 schools authorized to accept as volunteers, local boards of education and governing bodies authorized to vote on whether to allow, limitations provided

Education

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Gidley
Last action: 2026-04-16
Official status: Enacted
Effective date: 2026-07-01

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and text do not provide details about specific services or programs that volunteer chaplains can offer.

Volunteer Campus Chaplains in Public K-12 Schools

This law allows local school boards and charter schools to vote on whether to accept volunteer chaplains who have completed training and background checks.

What This Bill Does

Allows local school boards and governing bodies of public charter schools to vote on accepting volunteer campus chaplains starting in the 7-2026 school year.
Requires that volunteer chaplains have completed a recognized training program.
Requires background checks for volunteer chaplains before they can start working at schools.
Prohibits individuals required to register as sex offenders from being volunteer chaplains.

Who It Names or Affects

Local school boards and charter schools
Volunteer campus chaplains

Terms To Know

Campus Chaplain: A volunteer who provides support, services, and programs at a school.
Recognized Training Program: An approved program that teaches the skills needed to be a campus chaplain.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify what kind of support or services volunteer chaplains can provide.
It is unclear how many schools will choose to allow volunteer chaplains based on this new option.

Amendments

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

G3WPK2C-1

R 531

Adopted

Plain English: G3WPK2C-1 : 1/14/2026 : GP 1ST GIDLEY AMENDMENT TO HB8 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE GIDLEY Page 1 Replace line 37 on page 2 with the following: (b)(1) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each 1 2 3 4 5 6

G3WPK2C-1 : 1/14/2026 : GP 1ST GIDLEY AMENDMENT TO HB8 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE GIDLEY Page 1 Replace line 37 on page 2 with the following: (b)(1) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each 1 2 3 4 5 6

This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

V7S4AVP-1

R 532 • Gidley

Adopted

Plain English: V7S4AVP-1 : 2/24/2026 : GP 1ST LANDS AMENDMENT TO HB8 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE LANDS Page 1 Replace lines 51 through 52 on page 2 with the following: section must meet all of the following requirements: a.

V7S4AVP-1 : 2/24/2026 : GP 1ST LANDS AMENDMENT TO HB8 OFFERED BY REPRESENTATIVE LANDS Page 1 Replace lines 51 through 52 on page 2 with the following: section must meet all of the following requirements: a.
Possess a minimum of a bachelor's degree from a nationally accredited college or university.
b.
Be ordained, licensed, or commissioned by a nationally recognized ecclesiastical body listed in Mead, Hill, and Atwood's Handbook of Religious Denominations in the United States.

This amendment summary is using official source text because generated interpretation was skipped for this run.

Bill History

2026-04-16 House
Enacted
2026-04-08 House
Delivered to Governor
2026-04-08 Senate
Signature Requested
2026-04-07 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1190 (Yeas 33, Nays 0)
2026-04-07 Senate
Third Reading in Second House (Yeas 33, Nays 0)
2026-04-07 House
Enrolled
2026-04-07 House
Ready to Enroll
2026-04-01 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-04-01 Senate
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-02-25 Senate
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-02-25 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Education Policy
2026-02-24 House
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 533 (Yeas 91, Nays 7)
2026-02-24 House
Gidley motion to Table - Adopted Roll Call 532 (Yeas 80, Nays 22)
2026-02-24 House
Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 531 (Yeas 97, Nays 3)
2026-02-24 House
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 93, Nays 4)
2026-02-24 House
Engrossed
2026-02-24 House
Lands 1st Amendment Offered
2026-02-24 House
Gidley 1st Amendment Offered
2026-02-05 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-02-04 House
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-01-13 House
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-13 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Education Policy

Official Summary Text

This act: (1) authorizes local boards of education and governing bodies of public charter schools to vote on adopting a policy authorizing a school to accept a volunteer campus chaplain to provide services at the request of a teacher; and (2) requires that such chaplains have completed a recognized chaplain training program, have a criminal history background check conducted, and have not been convicted of a crime requiring registration as a sex offender.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HB8 ENROLLED
Page 0
HB8
L5P8TYY-3
By Representatives Gidley, Hollis, Harrison, Rigsby, DuBose,
Paschal, Hulsey, Shaver, Colvin, Mooney, Sellers, Standridge,
Carns, Morris
RFD: Education Policy
First Read: 13-Jan-26
PFD: 25-Jun-25
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HB8 Enrolled
Page 1
PFD: 25-Jun-25
Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to public K-12 education; to allow a public
K-12 school or public charter school to accept a campus
chaplain who meets certain requirements as a volunteer; to
prohibit certain individuals from volunteering as a campus
chaplain; and to allow each local board of education and the
governing body of each public charter school to vote on
whether to allow the volunteer services of a campus chaplain.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. (a) For the purposes of this section, the
term "public school" means any public K-12 school or public
charter school.
(b)(1) Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, each
local board of education and the governing body of each public
charter school may take a recorded vote on whether to adopt a
policy authorizing a public school under its jurisdiction to
accept a campus chaplain as a volunteer under this section.
(2) If a local board of education or the governing body
of a public charter school votes to accept a campus chaplain
as a volunteer, a campus chaplain may be made available to
provide support, services, and programs at the request of any
teacher in the local school district.
(c)(1) A campus chaplain volunteering under this
section is not required to be certified by the State Board of
Education.
(2) Each campus chaplain volunteering under this
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HB8 Enrolled
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(2) Each campus chaplain volunteering under this
section must have completed a recognized chaplain training
program.
(d) A public school that accepts a campus chaplain as a
volunteer under this section, before the campus chaplain may
begin volunteering, shall ensure that the campus chaplain
complies with Section 16-22A-5, Code of Alabama 1975, relating
to criminal history background information check requirements.
(e) A public school may not accept a campus chaplain as
a volunteer who has been adjudicated or convicted of an
offense that requires registration as a sex offender under
Chapter 20A of Title 15, Code of Alabama 1975.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on July 1,
2026.
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HB8 Enrolled
Page 3
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 24-Feb-26, as amended.
John Treadwell
Clerk
Senate 07-Apr-26 Passed
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