MONTGOMERY — The House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation to significantly alter sex education in the state of Alabama on Tuesday, when lawmakers return for the final week of the 2026 legislative session.
The bill was on the calendar for a floor vote last Thursday; however, leadership motioned to adjourn before completing the day's full docket of bills, promising to bring all unaddressed legislation back to the floor on the following Tuesday.
Senate Bill 209, sponsored by State Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville), and carried by State Rep. Susan Dubose (R-Hoover) in the House, would transform the state's sexual education teaching in K-12 schools.
The legislation will undoubtedly draw significant backlash from House Democrats, who have bucked similar efforts by Dubose in years past.
Under current law, any program or curriculum in a public K-12 school that includes sex education or reproduction must emphasize abstinence as the only effective protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. SB209 would require any curriculum or program to exclusively teach sexual risk avoidance and encourage abstinence from all sexual activity.
The legislation would also ban any sex ed teaching for children from kindergarten through the fourth grade.
The curriculum would prohibit the use of sexually explicit images, demonstrating the use of contraceptives, providing referrals or information on how to procure contraception or abortions, and the use of services or education from any individual or organization that does not endorse sexual risk avoidance or that advocates for or performs abortions.
"It's going to stop the teaching of comprehensive sexual education. There's some inappropriate things being taught to our students that we don't want taught. We want it to be scientifically-based," Shelnutt said after passing the Senate in February. "We want it to be based on what's best for our students. Sexual abstinence is the best and only 100% way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs. That's the main focus of what we want taught to our students."
The legislation would also require parents to be notified of the curriculum and its contents, and would provide parents with the option to have their children opt out of the program.
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