MONTGOMERY, Ala. -The Alabama Board of Education met Thursday in Montgomery for its regular meeting and work session, addressing a range of issues. During the meeting, the board voted to intervene in Dallas County schools due to financial and governance concerns, approved a new alternative teacher preparation program and unanimously adopted updated teacher preparation regulations. Gov. Kay Ivey chaired the meeting.
During the work session, the board reviewed recommended members for the arts and social studies textbook committees and discussed the state’s growing number of Purple Star Schools.
Board votes to take over Dallas County Schools, effective immediately
The board voted unanimously to approve State Superintendent Eric Mackey’s recommendation to intervene in Dallas County schools. Mackey’s Feb. 21 letter to the district’s board of education outlined two areas of concern: financial issues and board governance.
The letter says that district officials did not follow purchasing rules while spending $12.2 million in federal funds. It states that professional development services were not properly procured, monitored or contracted, and vendors performed services outside of their original agreements.
Mackey told reporters that while no theft is alleged, the district must repay the $12.2 million.
“Obviously, they can’t write a check like that,” Mackey said. If the district cannot repay the money to the federal government, it could become the state’s responsibility, he added.
Among other financial record-keeping problems, the letter also stated that the district has at least $1.4 million in outstanding invoices to Frasier-Ousley, a construction and engineering firm.
The state board appointed Daniel Boyd as chief administrative officer overseeing the takeover, which could last two years or longer. Boyd is also CAO in the ongoing Bessemer City intervention.
After the board’s work session, Board Vice President Tonya Chestnut, who represents Dallas County as part of District 5, said taking over the district, where she previously worked for several years, is “bittersweet.”
“We have an obligation to respond when school districts request support and help,” she said. “Dallas County recognized that they needed some assistance, and so today we opened the door for them to get that assistance.”
Alternative teacher preparation program approved
In a 6-to-2 vote, the board approved American Board, an online program offering an alternative path to teacher certification. American Board, formerly known as American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, was neither approved nor denied during its first request to the board in April when no motion was made to vote.
The board initially resisted adding non-college-based teacher preparation programs, prompting lawmakers to pass three laws in consecutive years (2022, 2023 and 2024) to establish rules for alternative programs and clearing the way for the programs to be considered.
American Board officials spoke to the board during their Feb. 13 work session, stating their typical candidate is someone looking to change careers to become a teacher. The organization has certified more than 19,000 teachers in 14 states.
Two other alternative teacher preparation organizations currently are operating in Alabama: iteach, approved in April, and #TEACH, approved in September.
Board unanimously approves new teacher preparation rules
The board voted unanimously to approve a re-write of the rules and regulations for teacher preparation, which were discussed at length during their January work session.
The updated 100-page document represents a comprehensive review of current teacher preparation program rules, eliminating outdated regulations and ensuring consistency.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, speakers were evenly split with three educators supporting the changes and three opposing different parts of the regulations.
Educators in favor said the updates modernize outdated rules and provide clearer expectations. Those opposed cited concerns that the standards for special education, math and school psychologists were not rigorous enough.
After the meeting, Mackey said the rules for teacher prep are constantly reviewed to ensure they set a high standard, but the educator preparation programs themselves should be setting high standards within their own programs.
The updated regulations take effect immediately, though Mackey noted that programs will continue to be reviewed for quality and alignment with state expectations.
Purple Star Schools growing in number and recognition
Alabama will add 124 schools to the Purple Star Schools program this year, bringing the total to 374 recognized schools since the program launched in 2022. Mackey said Alabama ranks second only to Ohio in the number of schools earning the designation.
Purple Star Schools are recognized for their commitment to supporting military families and students who face high rates of mobility.
“This has become like a competition to get your school recognized as a Purple Star School,” Mackey said. Schools must apply for the designation and complete multiple requirements, including having a military liaison to assist families with unique challenges.
According to a report from the Military Child Education Coalition, the Purple Star program started in Ohio in 2017. As of January 2025, more than 43 states have Purple Star School designation programs or laws and five more are considering legislation.
Alabama schools recognized by year:
- 2022 – 53 schools in 12 school districts,
- 2023 – 122 schools in 13 school districts,
- 2024 – 75 schools in 11 school districts, and
- 2025 – 124 schools in 15 school districts.
The newly recognized schools will be honored during the April 10 board meeting in Montgomery.
Board considers arts, social studies textbook committees at work session
The board was given a list of 14 names for each of two proposed textbook committees, one for the arts and one for social studies during their work session. The textbook selection process follows the board’s December adoption of new standards in each subject.
“I will tell you we have to beg, borrow, steal and pull teeth usually to get people to serve,” Mackey told board members.
“This is probably the hardest committee we do,” he said. “Because they have to read hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of pages – maybe thousands of pages – of textbooks and go through them and answer questions about them and review them for content quality, for alignment to our standards.”
The board recently added additional review requirements to consider whether material in the textbooks fit with Alabama culturally and whether the material could cause concerns, he added.
The governor will appoint nine members of the committee. The Senate then must then confirm all members.
The textbook committees will give the board a list of their recommendations, ranked according to a rubric, in November or December for the board to adopt. The new standards and textbooks will be implemented at the start of the 2026-27 school year.