SB 209 Alabama Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Public K-12 schools; sex education (sex ed) curriculum further provided for, sexual risk avoidance established as sex ed curriculum, policies of local boards of education related to sex ed further provided for, parent or guardian notice of sex ed curriculum required, Attorney General authorized to enforce

SB 209 requires all public K-12 schools in Alabama to teach only "sexual risk avoidance" curriculum, emphasizing abstinence as the sole effective method to prevent pregnancy and STIs. It prohibits any instruction about contraception, abortion referrals, or sexually explicit materials, and bans sex education for students in kindergarten through fourth grade. The bill mandates that parents receive notice before such curriculum is taught and can opt their child out. It also requires schools to provide specific information about pregnancy costs, Alabama's abortion laws, adoption, and healthy relationship practices. The Attorney General is authorized to enforce these requirements.

Issues: ✗ Education ✗ Healthcare

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Feb 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 27, 2026 Signed Apr 17, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced → Enrolled · 6 edits · Apr 17, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, changing its status from a draft proposal to a law ready for signature. The text was cleaned up to remove formatting errors and conflicting clauses, resulting in a coherent set of requirements for sex education in Alabama public schools.

TECHNICAL

The bill title and version numbers were updated to reflect its final status as an enrolled act, replacing the 'Introduced' draft version.

Conflicting and repetitive text blocks were deleted to resolve inconsistencies where the same sections appeared in different orders or with contradictory wording.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'sexual activity' was finalized to clearly list specific acts like vaginal, oral, anal sex, and mutual masturbation that are included in the bill's scope.

REQUIREMENT

New requirements were added to mandate that sex education materials include specific information about the financial costs of pregnancy, abortion laws, adoption processes, and safe haven laws.

The instruction on contraception was modified to require that while it may reduce risk, it must be presented as not eliminating the risk of pregnancy or disease.

New content requirements were added to include information on identifying unhealthy relationships and avoiding sexual abuse or exploitation.

Floor votes

How they voted

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

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 1213

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

DuBose motion to Table - Adopted Roll Call 1212

lower

Apr 7, 2026

Introduced

Lands 1st Amendment Offered

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported Out of Committee Second House

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Pending Committee Action in Second House (Education Policy)

lower

Feb 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Motion to Read a Third Time and Pass - Adopted Roll Call 497

upper

Feb 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported Out of Committee House of Origin

upper

Jan 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Pending Committee Action in House of Origin (Education Policy)

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors