The Alabama House passed two bills this week aimed at addressing a persistent shortage of career and technical education instructors, part of a broader CTE package lawmakers unveiled earlier this session.

HB517, the TRAIN Act sponsored by House Majority Whip James Lomax (R-Huntsville), passed 104-0. HB520, sponsored by State Rep. Marcus Paramore (R-Troy), also passed unanimously.

Lomax said the TRAIN Act addresses the instructor shortage from the employer side, creating a mechanism to bring working industry professionals directly into CTE classrooms without pulling them away from their companies permanently.

“This bill puts experts directly in the classroom to teach career tech classes,” Lomax said. “It establishes a tax credit that will encourage employers to loan their employees — who are otherwise being productive within their companies — to teach these classes and make sure the next generation has proper career tech. It also creates a workforce teaching certificate that makes sure these teachers are properly certified, trained, and able to participate in a classroom setting with proper background checks.”

Lomax emphasized that the arrangement costs the state nothing in salaries.

“They won’t be paid by the state at all,” Lomax said. “Their employer will continue to pay them and their employer is essentially loaning their expertise to the state. In return, that employer receives a tax credit they can use against that employee’s salary while they’re covering it. It’s really just lending their expertise to our education.”

Under the bill, the tax credit program is capped at $10 million statewide per year, with a per-employer cap of $250,000. Credits can be carried forward for five years, and new credit approvals sunset after December 31, 2031 unless extended by the Legislature.

Paramore said HB520 complements the TRAIN Act by tackling the credentialing side of the same problem.

“HB520 deals with a little bit of part of what Representative Lomax just passed, and that’s the career tech teacher certification,” Paramore said. “We’re streamlining the process, making it a little bit more applicable for people from outside the state to come in and be certified to teach career tech.”

Both bills are part of a broader CTE package Alabama lawmakers unveiled earlier this session, which also includes a House Joint Resolution calling for a $150 million state investment in career and technical education programs.

Both bills now head to the Senate for consideration.

Thursday marked the 19th day of the 2026 legislative session.

Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].