A north Alabama lawmaker wants public schools to allow religious prayer to be broadcast through microphones and public address systems.

House Bill 35, sponsored by Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, states: “A local board of education shall allow any student or students who are leading a prayer pursuant to this section to use school property, such as a microphone or public address system, to facilitate the prayer and communicate the prayer to those in attendance.”

The bill also states that no board of education or association inside or outside of Alabama “may prohibit, impede, or deter a student-initiated and student-led voluntary prayer.”

In 2022, the Freedom from Religion Foundation complained about broadcasted prayers before school football games in Jefferson County. The organization claimed the practice forced religion on nonreligious attendees. Jefferson County schools initially said it would stop the practice; Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin later said he planned to still let students offer voluntary prayers.

“The Jefferson County Board of Education remains firmly committed to respecting and protecting those rights and liberties in every way permitted by the Constitution and laws of the United States,” Gonsoulin said.

The U.S. Supreme Court banned school-sponsored prayers and Bible readings in the 1960s, but federal policy still protects voluntary prayer that does not disrupt instruction.

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a public school football coach whose after-game Christian prayers drew players and others to join him. Washington state coach Joseph Kennedy was fired from his job for continuing to pray after school administrators told him to stop.

In a 6-3 decision, justices ruled Kennedy did not violate a prohibition against school employee-initiated prayer by kneeling and praying on the football field.

The Alabama bill has been assigned to the House Education Policy committee. The session begins March 7 in Montgomery.