HB 353 Alabama House · 2026 Regular Session

Public K-12 education; Advanced Math Pathway created and provided for

HB 353 requires Alabama school districts to create an "Advanced Math Pathway" to prepare students for Algebra I in middle school and college-level math in high school. It automatically enrolls students who score proficient or higher on state math assessments (grades 5-11) but allows parents to opt their child in or out of the pathway. School districts must provide transparent information to families about math pathways, offer academic support for students in the pathway, and report annually to the legislature on enrollment, performance, and support usage. The bill directly affects students in grades 5-11, parents/guardians (through enrollment choices), and school districts (through implementation and reporting requirements).

Issues: ✓ Education

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 29, 2026 Last action Apr 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Engrossed · 5 edits · Mar 31, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was amended to shift responsibility for developing the Advanced Math Pathway from local school districts to the State Department of Education, with a new deadline of the 2027-2028 school year. Eligibility for automatic enrollment was narrowed from grades five through eleven to only grades five through eight, and the opt-out process for parents was clarified to allow for student removal from the course. The annual reporting requirements were streamlined to remove detailed grade-level score breakdowns for grades nine through eleven.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from requiring local school districts to create the math pathway to requiring the State Department of Education to create it, while also narrowing the grade levels eligible for automatic enrollment.

REQUIREMENT

Responsibility for developing the Advanced Math Pathway was transferred from local school districts to the State Department of Education.

Parental opt-out provisions were clarified to explicitly allow parents to have their student removed from the advanced math course.

Annual reporting requirements were simplified by removing the mandate to report specific math scores for grades nine through eleven.

TIMELINE

A specific deadline was added requiring the State Department of Education to develop the pathway by the 2027-2028 school year.

ELIGIBILITY

Automatic enrollment eligibility was restricted to students in grades five through eight who score proficient, removing grades nine through eleven from the criteria.

Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the House by voice vote (no roll call recorded).

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Education Policy)

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass as Amended - Adopted Roll Call 1099

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Adopt - Adopted Roll Call 1098

lower

Mar 31, 2026

Introduced

Collins 1st Amendment Offered

lower

Feb 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

lower

Jan 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Education Policy)

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors