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Week of April 30 -
May 4, 2012
The Alabama Legislature returned to work on Tuesday, for the
24th meeting day of the 2012 regular session. The House passed
bills to change the mandatory school attendance age from 7 to
6-years-old and to allow schools to use electronic devices like
Kindle in the place of textbooks.
The Senate joined the House in giving final approval to a
bill saying schools can't start more than two weeks before
Labor Day and must end before Memorial Day. Many education
organizations opposed the bill for removing control from local
school boards and for the longer summer period created by the
bill. Research shows that summer learning loss is especially
detrimental to low-income children.
The Senate also passed an Education Trust Fund budget that
reduces spending on public schools and colleges, cuts teaching
positions and increases class sizes. The Senate voted 31-4 for
the $5.5 billion budget for the upcoming school year. The
budget is about $150 million, or 2.7 percent less than the
current year's budget. The Senate budget chair says the budget
increases funding for school supplies and textbooks as well as
the internationally acclaimed Alabama Math Science &
Technology Initiative. It maintains funding for successful
programs including the Alabama Reading Initiative, ACCESS
distance learning and First Class Pre-K. The budget now goes to
the House which is expected to make some changes to the Senate
passed document.
On Thursday, the 26th meeting day of the session, the House
spent much of the stalled in delaying tactics by Democratic
members trying to slow down consideration of various tax or fee
measures that they felt would negatively impact low income
citizens. The House eventually adjourned at midnight. The
Senate approved a bill making it a crime for a daycare worker
to leave a child unattended in a vehicle.
Only three legislative days remain in the 2012 Regular
Session, which is scheduled to end on
May 21.
THE HOUSE AND SENATE
RETURN ON TUESDAY
FOR THE 27TH
DAY OF THE SESSION AT 1:00 PM AND 2:00 PM
RESPECTIVELY
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