Alabama lawmakers debated Wednesday whether to require schools to start their day with the Pledge of Allegiance and a Judeo-Christian prayer. If a school refuses, it could lose a quarter of its annual state funding. The measure, HB231, is a state constitutional amendment that would appear on ballots in a future election.

Alabama lawmakers are weighing a new rule that could require schools to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and a Judeo-Christian prayer at the beginning of the day—or forfeit state funding. The proposal,