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SB302 • 2026

Marion Military Institute; program to grant APOSTC certification to graduates, established

Marion Military Institute; program to grant APOSTC certification to graduates, established

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
2026-02-12
Official status
Pending Committee Action in House of Origin
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details about the duration of provisional certification or consequences after expiration.

Marion Military Institute; program to grant APOSTC certification to graduates

This bill establishes a program at Marion Military Institute that allows graduates to receive provisional law enforcement officer certification from the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) if they are hired by an Alabama law enforcement agency within six months of graduation.

What This Bill Does

  • Establishes a new program at Marion Military Institute for students who want to become certified law enforcement officers in Alabama.
  • Requires the institute to offer an associate's degree and basic training needed for certification by APOSTC.
  • Allows graduates of this program to receive provisional certification from APOSTC upon graduation, if they are hired by a law enforcement agency in Alabama within six months.
  • Sets rules for how long provisional certifications last and what happens if graduates do not get jobs with law enforcement agencies.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Students at Marion Military Institute who want to become certified law enforcement officers in Alabama.
  • Law enforcement agencies in Alabama that hire new officers.
  • The Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC) which oversees certification processes.

Terms To Know

Provisional Certification
Temporary approval given to graduates of the program, valid only if they are hired by a law enforcement agency within six months.
Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission (APOSTC)
The organization responsible for setting standards and certifying law enforcement officers in Alabama.

Limits and Unknowns

  • It is not clear how many students will enroll or graduate from the program.
  • The bill does not specify what happens if a provisional certification expires before an officer gets hired by a law enforcement agency.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Pending Committee Action in House of Origin

  2. 2026-02-12 Senate

    Read for the first time and referred to the Senate Committee on Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety

Official Summary Text

Marion Military Institute; program to grant APOSTC certification to graduates, established

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SB302 INTRODUCED
Page 0
SB302
7BXNSEE-1
By Senators Givhan, Stewart, Singleton
RFD: Veterans, Military Affairs and Public Safety
First Read: 12-Feb-26
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7BXNSEE-1 02/11/2026 JWB (L)bm 2026-856
Page 1
First Read: 12-Feb-26
SYNOPSIS:
This bill would establish a program at Marion
Military Institute that would confer a degree and
provide the necessary basic curriculum for individuals
to become certified law enforcement officers in the
State of Alabama.
This bill would require that the commission
grant individuals who graduate from the institute's
program provisional certification as Alabama law
enforcement officers, provided that the individual is
hired by an Alabama law enforcement agency within the
prescribed provisional time period.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to Marion Military Institute; to add Sections
16-60-340 and 36-21-46.1 to the Code of Alabama 1975; to
establish a program at Marion Military Institute that would
provide the necessary education and training for graduates to
become certified law enforcement officers in the State of
Alabama; and to require that the commission grant provisional
certification to graduates of the program.
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SB302 INTRODUCED
Page 2
certification to graduates of the program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 16-60-340 and 36-21-46.1 are added
to the Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:
§16-60-340
(a) The institute may establish a program that confers
an associate's degree where a student may complete the basic
training curriculum required for certification as a law
enforcement officer through the Alabama Peace Officers'
Standards and Training Commission.
(b) Pursuant to Section 36-21-46.1, students who
graduate from the institute having completed the program shall
be granted provisional certification as an Alabama law
enforcement officer upon graduation. Once the graduate is
hired or appointed as an officer with an Alabama law
enforcement agency, he or she shall be certified as an Alabama
law enforcement officer.
(c) For purposes of this program, the commission shall
recognize the institute as an Alabama law enforcement training
academy. Any student of the program is not required to be
gainfully employed as a full-time law enforcement officer by a
law enforcement agency while enrolled in the program.
(d) The institute shall work with the Alabama Peace
Officers' Standards and Training Commission in implementing
and administering the program. The commission shall adopt
rules to implement and administer the program.
§36-21-46.1
(a) Notwithstanding Section 36-21-46, an individual who
graduates from the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and
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SB302 INTRODUCED
Page 3
graduates from the Alabama Peace Officers' Standards and
Training certification program at Marion Military Institute
established pursuant to Section 16-60-340 may be granted a
Provisional Alabama Law Enforcement Officer Certification upon
graduation.
(b) The provisional certification shall become a full
certification if the individual is hired on a full-time basis
as an officer of an Alabama law enforcement agency. The
commission, by rule, shall establish a provisional
certification period of at least six months, and if the
individual is not hired by an Alabama law enforcement agency
by the end of the provisional period, the provisional
certification shall expire.
(c) An individual who completes the program and is
hired by an Alabama law enforcement agency before the
expiration of the provisional period shall not have to
complete any further training to become fully certified. If an
individual's provisional certification expires before the
individual is hired by an Alabama law enforcement agency, the
individual shall be required to complete the generally
applicable course of training established by the commission.
(d) The commission shall adopt rules to implement and
administer the provisional certification process.
Section 2. This act shall become effective on June 1,
2026.
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