Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth lambasted some House lawmakers on Wednesday, after the State House Government Committee voted down a bill allowing public school students to participate in off-campus religious and character instruction during school hours.
The bill had two versions filed in both the House and Senate. State Rep. Susan DuBose (R-Hoover) carried it in the House, and State Sen. Shay Shelnut (R-Trussville) in the Senate.
The House Education Committee voted down DuBose’s bill early last month. However, after spending weeks trying to combat alleged misinformation about the bill, she expressed hope that Shelnut's version would advance.
On Wednesday, Shelnut’s bill received a public hearing. However, lawmakers voted against it shortly afterward despite DuBose’s best efforts to address their concerns.
The vote was tied at 5-5, leading chairman State Rep. Chris Sells (R-Greenville) to declare the vote failed.
The “no” votes came from Boyd and State Reps. Mike Kirkland (R-Scotsboro), Marilyn Lands (D-Huntsville), Russell Bedsole (R-Alabaster) and Marcus Paramore (R-Troy).
The School Superintendents of Alabama and the Alabama Association of School Boards opposed the bill in the public hearing.
After the committee’s vote, Ainsworth took to social media, claiming some lawmakers were influenced by lobbyist groups.
“The Republican State Senate, Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, and I supported a bill allowing public school students to take off-campus Bible study classes as an elective, but lobbyists for the Superintendents and School Board associations, which oppose the measure, blocked its passage in House committee today,” Ainsworth wrote. “No taxpayer dollars of any kind would have been used, and identical electives are being offered in more than a dozen other states and serving thousands of students.”
He continued, “The legislators who allowed paid lobbyists to influence their committee votes on such a simple, commonsense issue should be ashamed. Students are already permitted to leave campus for any number of programs, such as career tech training that hones their skills and builds their talents, so I believe we should also allow them to leave for Bible instruction that hones their faith and builds their character. I’m going to make sure that this legislation is introduced again and again and again until our students are given this elective option.”
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