Every Alabama Student Must Now Learn Conflict Resolution Before Graduating
Policy & Practice — School Conflict Resolution
Alabama Makes History: What SB364 Means for Mediation Education Nationwide
A landmark new law requires every Alabama public school student to complete violence prevention and conflict resolution training before graduation — and the research strongly backs it up.
For the first time in Alabama's history, conflict resolution and mediation have become a graduation requirement for every public school student. Act 2026-279 — known as SB364 — represents one of the most expansive state commitments to school-based peacemaking in the country. At the DC Mediation and Dispute Resolution Institute, we believe this signals a turning point worth every educator, administrator, and community leader paying close attention to.
What Alabama's SB364 Actually Requires
Signed by Governor Kay Ivey and effective October 1, 2026, Act 2026-279 adds Alabama Code §16-40-13 — a new mandate requiring all public school students in grades 6 through 12 to complete a course or program in violence prevention, conflict resolution, and mediation before they can graduate from high school.
The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support: the House voted 82–16 and the Senate 29–1. It was introduced by Senator Rodger Smitherman (D–Birmingham), who framed the legislation as a direct response to rising youth violence and the erosion of face-to-face communication skills in the social media era.
The law mandates instruction across seven core topic areas:
"They need to have some tools when they run into these kinds of conflicts — so that it won't escalate into violence."
— Sen. Rodger Smitherman, sponsor of SB364Implementation
How and When It Rolls Out
The law places responsibility for curriculum development squarely with the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), which must produce instructional materials, models, and curricula by June 30, 2027. Local school boards will then choose or adapt the curricula that satisfy the requirement. The State Board of Education is directed to adopt implementing rules, with the program fully operational beginning with the 2027–2028 school year.
Notably, the law requires no exemptions or opt-outs for public school students. Instruction may be delivered as a stand-alone course, embedded within existing subjects such as health or social studies, or structured as an advisory program — the flexibility sits with local districts.
The Evidence
Does the Research Support This Approach?
The short answer is yes — with important caveats. A substantial body of research on school-based Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), conflict resolution, and peer mediation supports Alabama's bet, though outcomes depend heavily on program design, implementation quality, and sustained investment.
- A systematic review of U.S. elementary programs found that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and Positive Action reduced violence, suspensions, and disruptive behavior when combined with SEL components.
- A meta-analysis of universal SEL programs found more than three-quarters of interventions reduced or slowed aggression and conduct problems — though average effects were modest, suggesting SEL works best as part of a broader strategy.
- Peer mediation programs consistently show that students trained in negotiation use more constructive conflict strategies, and schools often report fewer disciplinary referrals and suspensions as a result.
- National survey data show that heavy alcohol, marijuana, or other drug use is associated with youth being 3 to 10 times more likely to carry weapons, fight, and experience or perpetrate violence — supporting the law's specific inclusion of the substance abuse-violence connection.
- Key mechanisms behind effective programs include emotion regulation, empathy development, and constructive negotiation — all topics SB364 mandates.
- Evidence is consistent: program intensity, duration, implementation fidelity, and ongoing evaluation strongly determine outcomes. Brief, one-off programs or those relying primarily on information or scare tactics tend to underperform.
What Could Make or Break Implementation
The research is clear that the how matters as much as the what. Programs that succeed tend to be multi-year, culturally responsive, developmentally appropriate, and supported by trained facilitators who believe in the work. Programs that underperform tend to be short, narrowly focused, and poorly evaluated.
Alabama's law wisely mandates teacher training alongside curriculum development. Whether ALSDE delivers meaningful professional development — rather than a single afternoon workshop — will be one of the most consequential decisions made over the next eighteen months.
Broader Context
Alabama Joins a Growing National Movement
Alabama is not starting from scratch. Peer mediation programs have operated in schools across Kansas, Texas, and dozens of other states for decades. Oregon requires bullying prevention training in all schools. The federal CDC has documented that universal school-based violence prevention programs can reduce aggressive behavior among high schoolers by roughly 29 percent — at a cost that research suggests yields a 15-to-1 benefit-to-cost ratio.
Programs such as Second Step, Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies (PATHS), and the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program offer proven, ready-to-adapt curricula that align closely with what SB364 requires. Alabama's districts will have a rich library of evidence-based models to draw from when ALSDE's materials land in June 2027.
Senator Smitherman was deliberate in emphasizing the program's reach: "It's not just targeting urban. Not targeting rural. It's targeting all our students." That universality — treating conflict resolution skills as a civic necessity rather than a remedial intervention — is precisely the posture that the strongest programs in the country have adopted.
What This Means for Practitioners and Educators
- If your school or district has an existing peer mediation or SEL program, now is the time to document outcomes and position your model for adoption or replication under SB364.
- Organizations with conflict resolution curricula and training capacity should engage ALSDE proactively as its working groups form this fall.
- Teacher professional development in mediation skills — not just content knowledge — will be in high demand. Trainers who specialize in experiential, skill-based learning for adult educators are particularly well positioned.
- Districts should plan curriculum adoption as early as possible in 2027. The best programs require multi-year rollouts and cannot be rushed into a single semester.
- Equity advocates should monitor implementation closely: ensure that students with disabilities, English language learners, and students from under-resourced districts receive the same quality instruction as their peers.
A Moment for the Field
At the DC Mediation and Dispute Resolution Institute, we have long held that conflict resolution is not a niche skill — it is a foundational one. The ability to navigate disagreement constructively, to understand what drives conflict, to seek common ground without abandoning one's interests: these capacities make better citizens, better colleagues, and safer communities.
Alabama's SB364 is an affirmation of that premise at the state level. It is imperfect — no funding mechanism is attached, implementation details remain to be written, and the proof will be in how faithfully districts execute the mandate. But the law's passage represents a genuine institutional commitment to equipping young people with skills that courts, workplaces, and families have needed for generations.
We will be watching Alabama's rollout closely, and we encourage our colleagues across the mediation and education communities to do the same. This is a moment to learn, to contribute expertise, and — if the early evidence holds — to advocate for similar mandates in every state.
Interested in Mediation Training for Your School or Organization?
The DC Mediation and Dispute Resolution Institute offers professional training, curriculum consultation, and certification programs grounded in the same evidence base Alabama is now building into law.
Explore Our Programs