SB201 • 2026

K-12 education, schools with Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) required to offer to home schooled and private school students who are dependents of active duty military parents performing certain covered military service

Children Education

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: Givhan
Last action: 2026-03-11
Official status: Read Second Time in Second House
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Schools with JROTC Must Offer Programs to Home Schooled and Private School Students of Active Duty Military Parents

This bill requires schools that have Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs to offer these programs to home-schooled or private school students who are children of active duty military parents on certain types of service.

What This Bill Does

Defines 'bona fide change in duty station or residence' as a required relocation due to military orders that necessitates lodging outside the normal commuting area.
Defines 'covered military service' as active duty military service under federal authority or state authority when it requires a change in duty station or residence.
Requires local school boards to provide access to JROTC programs for home-schooled or private school students who are dependents of active duty military parents performing covered military service and reside within the attendance zone, starting with the 2026-2027 school year.

Who It Names or Affects

Home-schooled or private school students whose parents are on active duty in the military.
Local boards of education and schools offering JROTC programs.

Terms To Know

bona fide change in duty station or residence: A required relocation due to military orders that necessitates lodging outside the normal commuting area.
covered military service: Active duty military service under federal authority or state authority when it requires a change in duty station or residence.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify what happens if there are no JROTC programs available within the local school system.
It is unclear how schools will verify that students meet eligibility requirements for participation in JROTC programs.

Amendments

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

V7R9BPV-1

R 543 • Givhan

Adopted

Plain English: V7R9BPV-1 : 2/9/2026 : KMS 1ST VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC SAFETY AMENDMENT TO SB201 OFFERED BY SENATOR CARNLEY Page 1 Replace line 47 on page 2 with the following: (b) Commencing with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education shall provide access to Replace lines 55 through 56 on page 2 with the following: for participation in the program, provided that the home schooled student enrolls as a nontraditional public school student.

V7R9BPV-1 : 2/9/2026 : KMS 1ST VETERANS, MILITARY AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC SAFETY AMENDMENT TO SB201 OFFERED BY SENATOR CARNLEY Page 1 Replace line 47 on page 2 with the following: (b) Commencing with the 2026-2027 school year, a local board of education shall provide access to Replace lines 55 through 56 on page 2 with the following: for participation in the program, provided that the home schooled student enrolls as a nontraditional public school student.
Section 2.
This act shall become effective on July 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

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

Bill History

2026-03-11 House
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-03-11 House
Reported Out of Committee Second House
2026-02-24 Senate
Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 544 (Yeas 32, Nays 0)
2026-02-24 Senate
Givhan motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 543 (Yeas 32, Nays 0)
2026-02-24 Senate
Third Reading in House of Origin (Yeas 32, Nays 0)
2026-02-24 House
Pending Committee Action in Second House
2026-02-24 House
Read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Education Policy
2026-02-24 Senate
Engrossed
2026-02-24 Senate
Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety 1st Amendment Offered
2026-02-12 Senate
Read for the Second Time and placed on the Calendar
2026-02-11 Senate
Reported Out of Committee House of Origin
2026-02-11 Senate
Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety 1st Amendment
2026-01-21 Senate
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
2026-01-21 Senate
Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety

Official Summary Text

K-12 education, schools with Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) required to offer to home schooled and private school students who are dependents of active duty military parents performing certain covered military service

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

SB201 ENGROSSED
Page 0
SB201
4UX71I3-2
By Senators Givhan, Kelley, Roberts
RFD: Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety
First Read: 21-Jan-26
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SB201 Engrossed
Page 1
First Read: 21-Jan-26
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to public K-12 education; to provide
definitions; to require Junior Reserve Officers' Training
Corps (JROTC) programs to be available to home school and
private school students who reside within the attendance zone
of the local school system and are the dependents of active
duty military parents performing covered military service.
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) BONA FIDE CHANGE IN DUTY STATION OR RESIDENCE. A
required relocation pursuant to military orders, whether
temporary or permanent, that necessitates that the service
member obtain lodging outside the normal commuting area of the
member's principal residence.
(2) COVERED MILITARY SERVICE. Active duty military
service by a member of the Armed Forces of the United States,
including a member of the reserve components or the Alabama
National Guard, who is:
a. Serving on active duty under federal authority; or
b. Serving on active duty under state authority
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SB201 Engrossed
Page 2
b. Serving on active duty under state authority
pursuant to an order of the Governor or other lawful state
authority, when the service requires a bona fide change in
duty station or residence.
(b) Commencing with the 2026-2027 school year, a local
board of education shall provide access to Junior Reserve
Officers' Training Corps (JROTC) programs offered in any
school within the local school system to any student who
resides within the attendance zone of the local school system,
who is either home schooled or enrolled in a private school,
who is the dependent of an active duty military parent
performing covered military service, and who otherwise
satisfies all applicable eligibility requirements for
participation in the program, provided that the home schooled
student enrolls as a nontraditional public school student.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on July 1,
2026.
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SB201 Engrossed
Page 3
2026.
Senate
Read for the first time and referred
to the Senate committee on Veterans,
Military Affairs and Public Safety
................21-Jan-26
Read for the second time and placed
on the calendar:
1 amendment
................12-Feb-26
Read for the third time and passed
as amended
Yeas 32
Nays 0
Abstains 0
................24-Feb-26
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
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