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The PARCA Version of the Alabama Constitution of 1901

 

Compiled by PARCA staff, with amendments related to the appropriate Sections.

 

Current as of Amendment 706.

 

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ARTICLE XIV.

 

EDUCATION.

 

Sec. 256. Educational policy of state; authority of legislature to provide for or authorize establishment and operation of schools by persons, municipalities, etc.; grant, donation, sale or lease of funds and property for educational purposes; election of certain schools for attendance by parents of minors. It is the policy of the state of Alabama to foster and promote the education of its citizens in a manner and extent consistent with its available resources, and the willingness and ability of the individual student, but nothing in this Constitution shall be construed as creating or recognizing any right to education or training at public expense, nor as limiting the authority and duty of the legislature, in furthering or providing for education, to require or impose conditions or procedures deemed necessary to the preservation of peace and order.

 

The legislature may by law provide for or authorize the establishment and operation of schools by such persons, agencies or municipalities, at such places, and upon such conditions as it may prescribe, and for the grant or loan of public funds and the lease, sale or donation of real or personal property to or for the benefit of citizens of the state for educational purposes under such circumstances and upon such conditions as it shall prescribe. Real property owned by the state or any municipality shall not be donated for educational purposes except to nonprofit charitable or eleemosynary corporations or associations organized under the laws of the state.

 

To avoid confusion and disorder and to promote effective and economical planning for education, the legislature may authorize the parents or guardians of minors, who desire that such minors shall attend schools provided for their own race, to make such election to that end, such election to be effective for such period and to such extent as the legislature may provide. [As amended by Amendment No. 111]

 

Sec. 257. Principal from sale, etc., of school property to be preserved; disposition of income therefrom. The principal of all funds arising from the sale or other disposition of lands or other property, which has been or may hereafter be granted or entrusted to this state or given by the United States for educational purposes shall be preserved inviolate and undiminished; and the income arising therefrom shall be faithfully applied to the specific object of the original grants or appropriations.

 

Sec. 258. Property donated or appropriated for educational purposes and estates of persons dying without will or heirs to be applied to maintenance of public schools. All lands or other property given by individuals, or appropriated by the state for educational purposes, and all estates of deceased persons who die without leaving a will or heir, shall be used or applied to the furtherance of education. [As amended by Amendment No. 111]

 

Sec. 259. Use of poll taxes for support of public schools. All poll taxes collected in this state shall be applied to the support and furtherance of education in the respective counties where collected. [As amended by Amendment No. 111]

 

Sec. 260. Certain income to be applied to support and furtherance of education; special annual tax for education; maximum annual levy on taxable property; priority for payment of bonded indebtedness of state; proceeds of certain taxes to be used for support and furtherance of education. The income arising from the sixteenth section trust fund, the surplus revenue fund, until it is called for by the United States government, and the funds enumerated in sections 257 and 258 of this Constitution, together with a special annual tax of thirty cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property in this state, which the legislature shall levy, shall be applied to the support and furtherance of education, and it shall be the duty of the legislature to increase the educational fund from time to time as the necessity therefor and the condition of the treasury and the resources of the state may justify; provided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to authorize the legislature to levy in any one year a greater rate of state taxation for all purposes, including schools, than sixty-five cents on each one hundred dollars' worth of taxable property; and provided further, that nothing herein contained shall prevent the legislature from first providing for the payment of the bonded indebtedness of the state and interest thereon out of all the revenue of the state.

 

Except as they may be specifically set aside in trust funds or otherwise applied to the payment of indebtedness, all proceeds of income or other taxes levied by the state, and of all special ad valorem or other taxes levied by counties and other municipalities, or school districts, pursuant to the Constitution as heretofore amended, for public school purposes, shall be applied to the support and furtherance of education pursuant to section 256 of the Constitution, as amended. [As amended by Amendment No. 111]

 

Sec. 261. Percentage of school funds for teachers' salaries. Not more than four percent of all moneys raised or which may hereafter be appropriated for the support of public schools, shall be used or expended otherwise than for the payment of teachers employed in such schools; provided, that the legislature may, by a vote of two-thirds of each house, suspend the operation of this section.

 

Sec. 262. Selection, qualifications, powers, duties and tenure of state board of education and superintendent of education. 1. General supervision of the public schools in Alabama shall be vested in a state board of education, which shall be elected in such manner as the legislature may provide.

 

2. The chief state school officer shall be the state superintendent of education, who shall be appointed by the state board of education and serve at its pleasure. The authority and duties of the superintendent of education shall be determined by the state board of education according to such regulations as the legislature may prescribe. The superintendent of education shall receive an annual salary which shall be fixed by the legislature of Alabama and shall be paid from the state treasury in installments as the salaries of other state officers are paid.

 

3. The legislature shall enact appropriate laws to implement or enforce this article of amendment.

 

4. The provisions of article V and XIV of the Constitution of Alabama as amended in conflict with this article are expressly repealed. However, this amendment shall not be so construed as to effect the election or term of the state superintendent of education chosen before it becomes valid as a part of the Constitution. [As amended by Amendment No. 284, which repealed all provisions in conflict therewith]

 

Sec. 263. School funds not to be used for support of sectarian or denominational schools. No money raised for the support of the public schools shall be appropriated to or used for the support of any sectarian or denominational school.

 

Sec. 264. Board of trustees of state university. The state university shall be under the management and control of a board of trustees, which shall consist of two members from each congressional district in the state, an additional member from the congressional district which includes the site of the first campus of the university, the superintendent of education, and the governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board. The members of the board of trustees as now constituted shall hold office until their respective terms expire under existing law, and until their successors shall be elected and confirmed as hereinafter required. The additional trustees provided for by this amendment shall be elected by the existing members of the board, and confirmed by the senate in the manner provided below, for initial terms of not more than six years established by the board so that one term shall expire each three years in each congressional district. Successors to the terms of the existing and additional trustees shall hold office for a term of six years, and shall not serve more than three consecutive full six-year terms on the board; provided however that a trustee shall retire from the board and vacate office at the annual meeting of the board following that trustee's seventieth birthday. Election of additional and successor trustees or of trustees to fill any vacancy created by the expiration of a term or by the death or resignation of any member or from any other cause shall be by the remaining members of the board by secret ballot; provided, that any trustee so elected shall hold office from the date of his election until his confirmation or rejection by the senate, and, if confirmed, until the expiration of the term for which elected, and until a successor is elected. At every meeting of the legislature the superintendent of education shall certify to the senate the names of all who shall have been so elected since the last session of the legislature, and the senate shall confirm or reject them, as it shall determine is for the best interest of the university. If it rejects the names of any members, it shall thereupon elect trustees in the stead of those rejected. Upon the vacation of office by a trustee, the board, if it desires, may bestow upon a trustee the honorary title of trustee emeritus, but such status shall confer no responsibilities, duties, rights, or privileges as such. [As amended by Amendment No. 399]

 

Sec. 265. Annual payment of interest on funds of University of Alabama; authority to abolish military system at university. After the ratification of this Constitution there shall be paid out of the treasury of this state at the time and in the manner provided by law, the sum of not less than thirty-six thousand dollars per annum as interest on the funds of the University of Alabama, heretofore covered into the treasury, for the maintenance and support of said institution; provided, that the legislature shall have the power at any time they deem proper for the best interest of said university to abolish the military system at said institution or reduce the said system to a department of instruction, and that such action on the part of the legislature shall not cause any diminution of the amount of the annual interest payable out of the treasury for the support and maintenance of said university.

 

Sec. 266. Board of Trustees of Auburn University.  Auburn University shall be under the management and control of a board of trustees. The board of trustees shall consist of one member from each of the congressional districts in the state as the same were constituted on the first day of January, 1961, one member from Lee County, two at-large members both of whom shall be a resident of the continental United States, the state superintendent of education serving on the date this amendatory language is ratified, who shall serve until leaving the office of superintendent, one additional at-large member who shall be a resident of the continental United States, and who shall succeed the current State Superintendent of Education on the board of trustees immediately upon the superintendent leaving office, and the governor, who shall be ex officio president of the board.

Appointment of the initial two at-large members shall be made by the Governor by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Otherwise, the trustees from each congressional district, from Lee County, and all subsequent at-large trustees, including the at-large position created upon the vacating of office of the current State Superintendent of Education, shall be appointed by the appointing committee created herein, by and with the advice and consent of the senate. The appointment of members to fill a vacated position with a partially expired term of office shall also be made by the appointing committee as provided herein.

A board of trustees appointing committee is established composed of the following members:

The President Pro Tem of the Board of Trustees of Auburn University or the designee of the President Pro Tem. The designee shall be a member of the Board of Trustees of Auburn University.

A member of the Board of Trustees of Auburn University selected by the board of trustees.

Two members of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors, who are not current employees of Auburn University, selected by the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors.

The Governor or a designee of the Governor who is an alumnus of Auburn University but who is not a current member of the Auburn Board of Trustees nor a current member of the Auburn Alumni Association Board of Directors nor a current employee of Auburn University.

The Governor, or the designee of the Governor, shall serve as chairperson of the appointing committee. If the chairperson fails to call a meeting within 90 days prior to the expiration of the term of a sitting board member or within 30 days following the creation of a vacancy by death, resignation, or other cause, a majority of the committee, in writing, may call a meeting giving at least 10 days notice. In the absence of the chairperson or another member designated by the chairperson to preside, the majority of the committee shall choose its own chairperson.

When appropriate, the appointing committee shall meet to address the appointment of any of the following:

A person to fill the at-large position on the Board of Trustees of Auburn University created upon the vacating of office by the current State Superintendent of Education.

Persons to fill an expired or soon-to-be expired term of office of any member of the Board of Trustees of Auburn University, including the two at-large positions initially appointed by the Governor.

Persons to fill the remainder of a partially expired term of office of any position on the Board of Trustees of Auburn University which has been vacated by reason of death, resignation, or other cause, including the two at-large positions initially appointed by the Governor.

The appointing committee, by majority vote, shall appoint an individual to fill the respective position on the board of trustees. The committee shall ensure that appointments are solicited from all constituencies, are inclusive, and reflect the racial, gender, and economic diversity of the state. A person may not be appointed to the Board of Trustees of Auburn University while serving on the appointing committee.

A trustee shall hold office for a term of seven years, and may serve no more than two full seven-year terms of office. Appointment and service for a portion of an unexpired term shall not be considered in applying the two-term limit.

Each member of the board of trustees as constituted on the date this amendatory language is ratified may serve the remainder of his or her current term and shall be eligible, if otherwise qualified, to serve for no more than two additional seven-year terms.

No person shall be appointed as a member of the board of trustees after having reached 70 years of age.

Of the two persons initially appointed by the Governor to serve in the at-large positions, one shall be appointed to serve an initial term of four years and one shall be appointed to serve an initial term of seven years. Thereafter, successors to these positions, who shall be appointed by the appointing committee, shall serve terms of office of the same duration as other members. These initial terms shall be considered as full terms in applying the two-term limit.

One more than half of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller number may adjourn from day to day until a quorum is present.

A term shall begin only upon confirmation by the Senate. A member may continue to serve until a successor is confirmed, but in no case for more than one year after completion of a term.

No trustee shall receive any pay or emolument other than his or her actual expenses incurred in the discharge of duties as such.

No employee of Auburn University shall be eligible to serve as a member of the board of trustees.

The appointing committee, or the Governor, in regard to the two initial at-large appointments, shall submit the name of the persons selected for appointment to the Secretary of the Senate, who shall inform the Senate of the receipt of such submission. If the Senate is in regular session at that time, the submission shall be made by the conclusion of the next legislative day following the appointment. If the Senate is not in regular session at the time of appointment, the submission shall be made before the commencement of the next regular session.

If the entire Senate, by a majority vote, confirms the submission, the appointee shall immediately assume office. An appointee may not begin service prior to Senate confirmation.

If the submission is not confirmed by the entire Senate by a majority vote by the conclusion of the legislative session, the submission shall be considered rejected.

A submission to the Senate may be withdrawn at any time by the Governor in regard to the two initial at-large appointments made by the Governor. A submission to the Senate may be withdrawn at any time by the appointing committee in regard to appointments made by the committee.

Upon the rejection of a submission or the withdrawal of a submission, the appointment and confirmation process specified in this amendment shall commence anew.

The same name may be submitted to the Senate for the same position on the board more than one time.

Upon the expiration of a term of office, a member of the board of trustees shall continue to serve until a successor is appointed pursuant to this amendment, is confirmed by the entire Senate by majority vote, and assumes office. If a successor is not confirmed by the conclusion of the regular session in which one or more names for the position were initially submitted, the former holder of the position may continue to serve until a successor is appointed and confirmed, but in no case shall this continuation be longer than one year after completion of the term of office.

If any position on the board of trustees becomes vacant during a term of office by reason of death, resignation, or other cause, a person shall be appointed by the appointing committee to fill the remainder of the unexpired term of office pursuant to the procedure provided for other appointments made by the appointing committee. The position shall be considered vacant until a person is confirmed by a majority vote of the entire Senate. [As amended by Amendments 161 and 670]

 

Sec. 267. Change of location of Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Alabama Schools for the Deaf and Blind or Alabama Girls Industrial School. The legislature shall not have power to change the location of the state university, or the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, or the Alabama Schools for the Deaf and Blind, or the Alabama Girls' Industrial School, as now established by law, except upon a vote of two-thirds of the legislature taken by yeas and nays and entered upon the journals.

 

Sec. 268. Provision for taking school census. The legislature shall provide for taking a school census by townships and districts throughout the state not oftener than once in two years, and shall provide for the punishment of all persons or officers making false or fraudulent enumerations and returns: provided, the state superintendent of education may order and supervise the taking of a new census in any township, district, or county, whenever he may have reasonable cause to believe that false or fraudulent returns have been made.

 

Sec. 269. Special county school taxes. The several counties in this state shall have power to levy and collect a special tax not exceeding ten cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property in such counties, for the support and furtherance of education in such manner as may be authorized by the legislature; provided, that the rate of such tax, the time it is to continue, and the purpose thereof shall have been first submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of the county, and voted for by three-fifths of those voting at such election; but the rate of such special tax shall not increase the rate of taxation, state and county combined, in any one year, to more than one dollar and twenty-five cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property; excluding, however, all special county taxes for public buildings, roads, bridges, and the payment of debts existing at the ratification of the Constitution of eighteen hundred and seventy-five. [As amended by Amendment Nos. 52 and 111]

Sec. 270. Applicability of article to Mobile county. The provisions of this article and of any act of the legislature passed in pursuance thereof for educational purposes, shall apply to Mobile county only so far as to authorize and require the authorities designated by law to draw the portions of the funds to which said county shall be entitled for school purposes and to make reports to the superintendent of education as may be prescribed by law; and all special incomes and powers of taxation as now authorized by law for the benefit of public schools in said county shall remain undisturbed until otherwise provided by the legislature. [As amended by Amendment No. 111]

 

NOTE: The following section is related to Article XIV but does not relate directly to any of the original sections therein.

 

Title to sixteenth section of school lands in Mobile county. The legislature shall have power to divest the state of Alabama of title to that certain sixteenth section of school lands described as follows: section 16, township 4 south, range 2 west, St. Stephens meridian, in Mobile county, and may provide for the grant of such lands and the income therefrom to the board of trustees of the University of South Alabama. [Amendment No. 289]