Alabama’s 2024 legislative session is underway. Tohelp keep the people of Walker County informed on what is happening, I’m going to continue providing weekly updates to highlight the top issues but to also to include some of the less high profile, but still important things happening with your state legislature. Based on the feedback that I received when I wrote these updates last year, it seemed that people appreciated them, so I’m going to try to do it again this year. As we begin the 2024 legislative session, I have high hopes that we are able to build on last year’ssuccesses for the betterment of Walker County.
Week one started with Governor Ivey giving the state of the state address in which she highlighted her priorities. The Governor’s top priority was school choice legislation which would provide a tax credit up to $7,000 for parents and guardians of students who qualify for the credit. These funds could be used to reimburse for educational expenses such as private school tuition and homeschool curriculum, among other allowable expenses. If passed, her plan is expected to cost around $100 million per year, which is far less than many other universal school choice bills that were considered in the past.
School safety and security was another top priority. Governor Ivey called for the creation of a $100 milliongrant program that would allow schools to apply for grants to pay for needs associated with safety and security of our students. The Governor has also included a 2% pay raise for educators and state employees thanks to another strong year in Alabama’s economy and conservative budgeting.
Week two was a busy week for me as I filed two of my main bills for the year. The first is the House version of the “Parents Right to Know” Transparency in Public Education bill. I am pleased to be working with SenatorGreg Reed to carry this bill. Sen. Reed was able to shepherd it through the Senate during week one. This bill requires the curricula that will be used in each classroom to be posted on the school website at the beginning of each school year or within 30 calendar days after a new or revised curriculum is adopted. The posting shall be verified by the local superintendent of education and local board of education. This bill would also require each classroom teacher, upon request, to allow the parent of a child enrolled in the class to examine a summary (via email, phone call, or other electronic means) of all instructional and supplemental materials and books available to students in the classroom. The goal is to have more parents engaged in their children’s education by making their child’s curriculum easily accessible. Our educators do a great job of preparing students and I appreciate their hard work. Having engaged parents will improve their child’s academic success.
I also filed a bill that will be one of the strongest in the country to fight against child exploitation: the “Alabama Child Protection Act.” With the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) there are a vast number of both positive and negative potential impacts. One of those negative impacts is the rise of AI-generated child pornography across the country. With AI technology, images and videos are created by using pictures or faces of real children to then generating highly realistic pornographic pictures or videos, commonly called deepfake videos. My Alabama Child Protection Act would give our state prosecutors a law that would allow them to charge someone who creates, holds, or disseminates AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Because of the accessibility and sophistication of artificial intelligence, we are often unable to identify the victim of these evil images. They have no place in our society and only feed into the addiction of pedophilia. If passed, my bill would also expand protections to more school-aged children by raising the age covered from 16 to 17 years old. It would also provide civil penalties for damages and expenses up to $25,000 per image for victims. As technology evolves, our laws must adapt to face the new challenges that arise. I am pleased to have the support of Attorney General Steve Marshall on this important piece of legislation to protect our children.
There will be plenty more to discuss as the session moves along and I plan on providing recaps regularly. As always, it is my honor to serve the people of House District 13 and I look forward to another productive year for Walker County.
Matt Woods is the Representative for State House District 13. He is a small business owner in Jasper who is currently serving in his first term of office. You can reach him at [email protected]
