Latest news with #AlabamaReflector
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
At least 14 'No Kings' protests planned across Alabama Saturday
President Donald Trump speaks during a special commencement event on Thursday, May 1, 2025, in Coleman Coliseum at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Laura Chramer for Alabama Reflector) A group of at least 14 protests under the banner 'No Kings' are planned for Saturday in Alabama. The demonstrations are part of nationwide effort that organizers say aim to reject President Donald Trump's 'made-for-TV' show of force coinciding with his birthday and Flag Day, a date chosen by organizers to reclaim the symbol of the American flag. 'Real power isn't staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else,' organizers stated on the website. 'The flag doesn't belong to President Trump. It belongs to us.' The nationwide 'Hands Off' protests drew thousands of people in early April to several cities around the state, including Montgomery, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. The protests focused on concerns about the administration's efforts to deport immigrants under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and attacks on federal agencies. Protestors pointed to concerns about federal workforce reductions and attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgender individuals. Protests Saturday are scheduled from Florence and Huntsville in the northern part of the state to Dothan and Mobile in the south. The following protests are planned at various times throughout Saturday. Auburn/Opelika: Toomer's Corner at 4 p.m. Birmingham: 27th Street South & 3rd Avenue South at 6 p.m. Dadeville: 125 N Broadnax St at 11 a.m. Dothan: Houston County Courthouse at 11 a.m Florence: Mobile Plaza at 11 a.m. Fort Payne: 205 Gault Ave N at 11 a.m. Guntersville: Marshall County Courthouse at 10 a.m. Huntsville: Campus 805 Butler Green at 11 a.m. Jacksonville: Jacksonville Square at 11 a.m. Mobile: Government Plaza at 12 p.m. Montgomery: Alabama Department of Archives and History at 10 a.m. Scottsboro: Jackson County Courthouse Square at 4 p.m. Selma: Edmund Pettus Bridge at 11 a.m. Tuscaloosa: Federal Building & Courthouse at 6 p.m.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alabama third grade reading scores show growth
Tracie West, the Alabama State Board of Education District 2 representative, looks at a bar graph as State Superintendent Eric Mackey presents the 2024 Alabama Comprehensive Assessment of Progress reading scores at the board's June work session in the Gordon Persons Building in Montgomery, Alabama on June 12, 2025. The scores revealed that Alabama's third graders have improved since the 2023-2024 school year. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) Alabama third grade students appeared to improve on a test of reading comprehension last year despite a slight increase in testing standards, according to numbers released by the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) on Thursday. According to the department, a smaller percentage of students who took the Alabama Comprehensive Assessment of Progress (ACAP) fell below the score considered 'sufficient' for grade-level reading. The ALSDE said 13.7% of third graders fell below the mark, known as the cut-off score, in the 2024-25 school year. That was an improvement over the 2023-24 year, when 20.8% of third graders tested fell below the cut score. The state increased the cut score from 435 to 444 in October. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX According to a Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) report, a student can score between 270 and 740 on the exam. 473 is the grade level score, but the lowered cut score allows for more statistical confidence that the correct students will be retained. According to the data, 6,470 third-graders scored below 444 out of the 55,930 that were tested (11.57%). 'If we take the current cut score and then apply it to last year's data and the data before, you see that we would have seen growth,' Alabama State Schools Superintendent Eric Mackey said during a meeting of the Alabama State Board of Education on Thursday. 'So that tells me that not only do we have 11.6% below grade level, but we are seeing growth across the board.' The 2019 Alabama Literacy Act requires students reading on grade level by the end of third grade. Students who fall short on the test and don't meet an alternative requirement can be held back. The cut score will increase to 454 for the 2026-27 school year. The data also showed that 44 schools around the state had no students score below the 444 cut off on the test. Mackey said only two school systems had no students score below a 444. 'So we're excited to see that,' he said. 'A lot of them tested around the mid 90s, but we do have some districts that are around 70% still, and so we're working on that.' One of those systems was Orange Beach City Schools in Baldwin County. Randy Wilkes, the superintendent of the system, said in a statement the score reflects the dedication of the system's teachers and leadership. This is the second year in a row the system had 100% of students scoring above the cut off, even with the increased cut score. 'It's a signal that every child in our district is being prepared for long-term academic success,' Wilkes said. 'We believe that strong readers become strong learners. Our goal is not only to meet the standard but to set it.' Satsuma City Schools in Mobile County was the other system to record all students reading at a sufficient level or higher. A message seeking comment from Superintendent Dana Price was left Thursday afternoon. Although the number of students scoring above 'sufficient' reading improved, Mackey said that the students between the cut score and grade-level scores are not necessarily proficient in reading. 'They're reading on grade level statistically, but they are so close that they could easily slip below grade level the next year. So we want parents to know that,' Mackey said. 'We don't want them to think that because their students were promoted to the fourth grade, that they're in the clear.' Montgomery County's Chisholm Elementary School had the highest percentage of third grade students scoring below a 444 at 47.25%. The school reported testing 91 students, so 43 of those scored below the cut score. Huntsville City's McDonnell Elementary School is the second lowest, with only 75 students tested, at 41.33% of students scoring below a 444. Bessemer City's Charles F Hard Elementary School tested 55 students with 22 scoring below a 444, the third lowest percentage. Bessemer City Schools has been under state intervention for almost a year.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voting rights, access bills stopped in the Alabama Legislature
Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville (right, at lectern) raises his hand during a debate in the Alabama House of Representatives on March 6, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Jackson filed an early voting bill this session, which was not considered by a committee, along with other voting-related bills. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A collection of bills aimed to enhance voting access in Alabama were never considered by committees during the 2025 legislative session, but advocates say the fight for enhanced voting rights in Alabama is not over HB 59, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, would have required one early voting precinct in each county for one week before Election Day. According to a study by the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR), about 70% of the ballots cast nationwide in 2020 were cast before Election Day, and 40% were cast before Election Day in 2016. In 2016, 25% of ballots nationwide were cast through early in-person voting, of the states that offer the option, according to the study. 'Senior citizens really brought it to my attention,' Jackson said in an interview on Monday. 'So I drafted it, and I put it the simplest way that I could do it: a week out before the election, four days prior to the elections, and nobody liked that. Republicans don't like that.' Alabama does not allow early voting and does not have no-excuse absentee voting. Amid the COVID pandemic in 2020, state leaders effectively allowed anyone to cast an absentee ballot, but that was rescinded after the election. The League of Women Voters of Alabama supported the measures. Kim Bailey, president of the league, said in an interview Thursday that the bills would expand access to voting in Alabama, which would increase voter turnout in the state. 'You can make a plan, but if something comes up on voting day, you may not be able to get to the ballot box,' Bailey said. 'Voting as a right and not a privilege. I think that's important that they'd be able to exercise that right.' In 2024, there were 3.7 million people registered to vote in Alabama, according to the Secretary of State's website. But only 2.2 million (59%) people voted in the 2024 Presidential election. That was significantly less than the national voter turnout of 88% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the lowest percentage of Alabama voters to cast ballots in a presidential election since 1988. The bill was assigned to the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee, but Rep. Bob Fincher, R-Woodland, chair of the committee, said he did not take HB 59 up in his committee because he is not in favor of early voting due to the cost to the state. 'It costs the state extra money when you vote early,' he said. 'If there's a change in the campaign, you cannot go back and change your vote.' The Legislative Services Agency did not provide a fiscal note for any of the election access related bills. Although a total cost is not available, Bailey said early voting would utilize state employees that are already working and would be held at locations that are already staffed. 'That wouldn't require a lot of infrastructure cost in those kinds of things, so depending on what the legislation that passes the cost could be not really very much,' Bailey said. Jackson said the potential cost to the state for a week of early voting would be much less than the cost to the state for unconstitutional bills and the congressional redistricting trial. In the state's General Fund budget, a $300,000 line item was added for 'reapportionment litigation fees.' 'We don't have an idea of the cost to the state. Look at all these lawsuits, these millions of dollars that are being paid to lawyers for these unconstitutional bills. That's a cost to the state,' Jackson said. 'See, they can come up with any excuse when they don't want something.' Jerome Dees, the Alabama policy director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an interview Thursday that he was not surprised the bills were not considered. He said the state has been regressing in voting access and inclusivity for the last decade. 'This bill is really kind of an effort to try and present a new vision of what democracy can and should be in Alabama, which is kind of the home of the civil rights movement,' Dees said. In fact, Dees said the state's congressional redistricting trial has highlighted the need for more voter protections and access. 'The fact that not a single one of these bills that aimed to expand voter access to create oversight over the redistricting process, whether that's at the municipal level, drawing of city council districts or at the state and federal level,' Dees said. 'According to the federal courts, is obviously a problem, just based on recent rulings. The fact that the Legislature intentionally chose not to touch any of those, I think, is as telling as anything.' In 2021, the Alabama Legislature approved congressional district maps that were later challenged in court and struck down in 2022 by a three-judge panel, which ordered the districts to be redrawn. In 2023, the Legislature redrew the maps, which were again challenged by plaintiffs for not meeting the court's requirement of allowing Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice in a second district. The court struck down the 2023 map passed by the Legislature and appointed a special master to submit three potential remedial maps in time for the 2024 election. The Alabama Attorney General's Office said last month the state may forgo drawing new congressional district maps before 2030 to prevent federal oversight of future redistricting, pausing the redistricting for five years. HB 97, sponsored by Rep. Kenyatté Hassell, D-Montgomery, would have allowed voters to cure their absentee ballot affidavit if they submit them before the election and the absentee election manager finds an error. Currently, the ballots are set aside and not counted if election officials find a defect with the affidavits. Hassell said in an interview on Wednesday that the bill would have given absentee voters a better chance for their ballot to be counted. 'People were making mistakes on their ballots, and even though they didn't know they made mistakes,' he said. 'We might have people who voted on an absentee ballot for the last 20 years, and their vote never counted because they made the same mistake over and over again not knowing they made that mistake.' The bill was assigned to Fincher's committee, but Fincher said he did not take it up because of conversations with Hassell and the Secretary of State Wes Allen. 'I've been very clear, I believe in Election Day, not Election month,' Allen said in a statement Monday. Hassell raised concerns that the executive branch had control over what bills did or did not get taken up in committee. 'When one person in the executive branch has an agenda, that shouldn't dictate if we all feel like this is a good piece of legislation that'll help the citizens,' Hassell said. 'That's why we have a House. That's why we have a Senate.' HB 31, sponsored by Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, allows people with a disability, or those unable to read or write, to designate someone to assist them with delivering an absentee ballot application or the absentee ballot itself, to the election manager. Messages seeking comment from Clarke were left Wednesday and Monday. Dees and Bailey expect the bills to be filed again for the 2026 Legislative Session. 'We're going to keep filing this year, I'm gonna keep filing until something happens,' Jackson said. 'We just have to keep hitting that rock until they crack. That's why I'm still pushing it, because it's the right thing to do, and the people of the state want it.'
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The path not taken
Lake Martin outside of Dadeville is seen on May 25, 2025. A nonprofit maintains a trail in and around the lake that is free to the public. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) My wife and I spent the Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend hiking near Lake Martin in Dadeville. From a stunning view of the lake, we walked through a canopied forest with all kinds of rocks, ridges and flora. The trail took us to the lake shore, where we took in the vistas and the $1 million homes all around them. It's a reminder of how many natural jewels we have in Alabama. And it's free. All you have to do is drive there and start walking. No painful real estate investment required. I really needed that reminder after a long and bruising session in the Alabama Legislature. Any session of any lawmaking body anywhere means fighting over bills that could prove helpful or destructive to their interests. We see more of it because Alabama's constitution makes certain the interests of a few powerful elites always take precedence over public concern. Worse, a growing number of lawmakers view themselves less as representatives of their communities than lobbyists for whatever right-wing zealots reside there. So we get bills that could have subjected librarians to criminal prosecutions (not passed); would have required mandatory performances or broadcasts of the Star-Spangled Banner (a constitutional amendment, mind you, also not passed) and allowed local governments to separate men and women for whatever reason they deem fit (that one did pass, and within the first 10 days of the legislative session). Meanwhile, Alabama can't run safe prisons; rural residents struggle to access health care and our lax gun laws have created nation-leading rates of firearm deaths. The Legislature didn't spend nearly the time on these issues that they should have. Lawmakers did pass bills extending Medicaid coverage to pregnant people and making it a state crime to possess devices that convert semi-automatic weapons into automatic ones. Good steps. But just steps. Not the comprehensive, thorough fixes these issues demand. Maybe the political lift is too tough. Perhaps lawmakers don't see them as problems. The prison crisis persists because far too many people think prisoners deserve to live in violence and terror, not thinking about the safety of prison staff or what happens to the rest of us when those people brutalized in the system get out. But there's a larger problem preventing us from finding solutions. Alabama politics has no concept of the common good. We'd live in a much different landscape if it did. For one thing, Alabama's top income earners would pay a larger percentage of their income in taxes than the bottom income earners, and not the other way around. The no-questions-asked attitude our lawmakers take to any request from Corrections would apply to Medicaid expansion. Right now, that's a nonstarter for most Republicans in the Legislature. Even though it will improve health and create jobs. And even though the state's largest insurer supports a version of it. We wouldn't send $180 million out of public school classrooms for 'nonpublic education purposes.' Most of that will go to private school tuition for the wealthy. Instead, the state might finally overhaul a Jim Crow-era tax system that denies poor and rural school districts adequate resources. Certainly, we wouldn't burn down public safety to satisfy a few paranoid gun owners. Or deny lifesaving health care for transgender youth for a handful of fertility-obsessed weirdos. Or rage at people coming to our state from foreign countries, trying to build better lives. All too often, the state's leaders see policy as a zero-sum game: if this person wins, someone has to lose. If I'm a winner, I need to push someone down. But that's not the case. And we know that from the things Alabama has done right. Expanding Medicaid access for pregnant people will be good for everyone. Doctors will be able to catch and treat more pregnancy complications before they become fatal. Infant and maternal mortality will drop. We have one of the nation's best pre-K programs, thanks in no small part to years of investment in it. One wishes lawmakers wouldn't have stopped the push to make pre-K universal. But it's still changing lives and leading to improved school outcomes around the state. And we have state parks, in Dadeville and elsewhere. Alabama government can help people. And there are issues that lawmakers, even those ostensibly allergic to any kind of government spending, will turn out their pockets for. But all too often, we funnel taxpayer money toward wealthy companies that don't need the help; wealthy families who don't need the help, and an incarceration system that punishes without rehabilitating. These are choices. They are not inevitable. But all too often, our leaders see their jobs as protecting the privileged, not making a government as good as its people, or as inspiring as its landscapes. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
A conversation with Beth Shelburne on ‘Blood Money'
The cost of defending lawsuits against individual officers and larger, class-action cases against the entire department has pushed ADOC's legal spending over $57 million since 2020. In the last five years, the department has spent over $17 million on the legal defense of accused officers and lawsuit settlements, along with over $39 million litigating a handful of complex cases against ADOC, including a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice over prison conditions. (Alex Cochran for Alabama Reflector) Journalist Beth Shelburne spent over a year investigating the Alabama Department of Corrections, pulling court documents, financial records and internal documents to track settlements over excessive force and what happened to those involved. In 'Blood Money,' a four-part series that ran on the Alabama Reflector last month, Shelburne revealed the state had spent tens of millions of dollars to settle litigation alleging assaults on inmates that led to hospitalizations, brain damage or death. Most of that money went to attorneys for corrections officers. Some officers at the center of multiple allegations excessive force received promotions afterward. Shelburne discussed the series with Louisiana Illuminator Editor Greg LaRose on the Illuminator's podcast, 'The Light Switch.'
