Families and advocates from across Alabama gathered Tuesday on the steps of the State House for the Alabama Campaign for Camp Safety rally, calling for urgent support of the Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act.
With bipartisan support, the Alabama Senate passed House Bill 381 on Tuesday, establishing the state’s first Emergency Preparedness License for overnight camps.
Speakers at the rally included Patrick and Jill Marsh, the parents of 8-year-old Sarah Marsh of Mountain Brook, who died in the July 4, 2025, flash flood at Camp Mystic in Texas, and Representative David Faulkner, R-Mountain Brook, the bill’s House sponsor.
“The Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act is about protection. It’s about protecting our state’s most valued and treasured asset—our children—our future,” Patrick Marsh said. “It’s about ensuring that no parent in Alabama ever has to experience what our families have endured. It’s about requiring the safety standards that should have always been required of camps.”
Currently, Alabama has no uniform statewide system for camps, leaving safety standards inconsistent.
The Sarah Marsh Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act requires comprehensive, agency-approved emergency plans; severe weather and flood safety protocols; NOAA all-hazards weather monitoring; reliable emergency communication systems; and background checks and annual training for staff.
“Let me say this loud and clear. We have some of the finest camps in the country, right here in Alabama,” Faulkner said. “I think most of us expect that there are laws in place that require those camps to have safety training, to have safety communication, safety measures and background checks being done. Frankly, that has not been the case at most camps, and today, we are proud to change that standard for all children and for Sarah’s legacy, which will outlive us all.”
“Natural disasters happen. Floods happen, but a flood did not kill 27 girls at Camp Mystic on July 4—complacency did. Complacency kills,” Patrick Marsh said. “These girls, the Heaven’s 27, were daughters, friends, teammates and dreamers. And while we can’t bring them back, we are honoring them by refusing to let complacency take another child.”
