Montgomery — At its Dec. 11 meeting, the Alabama State Board of Education unanimously approved a new Digital Literacy and Computer Science State Course of Study and took several resolutions recognizing schools and scheduling 2026 meetings.

The board voted to adopt the digital literacy and computer science standards after the committee that developed the course presented its work. "They presented their work at last month's work session ... they're coming for final approval today," Doctor Mackey said, thanking Michelle Collier, superintendent in Escambia County, and committee members for their work. The board recorded the course as moving to voluntary implementation six months after adoption and required implementation the following year, per the committee's timeline.

In the same meeting the board unanimously adopted resolutions naming Meek Elementary School (Winston County) and New Bethel Elementary School (Colbert County) as ESEA Distinguished Schools, recognizing those schools for student outcomes despite higher-than-average rates of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

The board also voted to appoint a World Languages State Course of Study Committee to develop standards for language instruction and alternative delivery methods; Doctor John Moore of Leeds was named to chair that effort. "We'll be the board asking the board to appoint a new course of study committee for world languages, which will be our 2026 undertaking," Doctor Mackey said during the discussion.

Separately, the board declared January 2026 as Gifted Education Month. Doctor Mackey said gifted funding was included in the RAISE Act and that "we do have more money going into gifted education this current year than ever before," with a proposal to increase funding next year.

The board approved its K–12 meeting and work session dates for 2026 and noted that the Jan. 8 meeting will be held in Mobile at the University of South Alabama campus. All votes on the items above were recorded as unanimous during the meeting.

The board chair announced the next meeting will be Jan. 8, 2026, at 10 a.m. in Mobile. The meeting adjourned without further action.