The state won\u2019t allow satanists to take advantage of a new law allowing religious chaplains to serve as counselors in public schools for students whose parents approve, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday while signing the legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The governor also predicted the state would prevail if the new law draws a legal challenge over separation of church and state concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s our view that if school districts want to bring in chaplains to offer voluntary services, they\u2019re within their right to do so. But there\u2019s been a lot of confusion about that, about what\u2019s permitted and what\u2019s not. This legislation clarifies that, yes, school districts and charter schools have the authority to allow volunteer chaplains to be on campus and provide additional counseling and support to students,\u201d DeSantis said during a bill-signing ceremony at Tohopekaliga High School in Kissimmee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Help fund stories like this. <\/em>Donate now!<\/strong><\/a><\/p> Students with problems may benefit from \u201csome soul craft,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s totally voluntary for a parent or a student to participate. No one\u2019 s being forced to do anything. But to exclude religious groups from campus, that is discrimination. You\u2019re basically saying that God has no place. That\u2019s wrong. That\u2019s not what our Founding Fathers intended,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome have said that if you do a school chaplain program that, somehow, you\u2019re going to have satanists running around in all our schools. We\u2019re not playing those games in Florida. That is not a religion. That is not qualified to be able to participate in this. So, we\u2019re going to be using common sense when it comes to this. You don\u2019t have to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Representatives of the Satanic Temple have told the Florida Gannett newspapers<\/a> that they intend to take advantage of the law. The group claims IRS recognition as a church<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The measure, HB 931<\/a>, allows schools to authorize religious figures to offer counseling on campus. They would publish lists of these chaplains \u201cto provide support, services, and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board,\u201d the legislation says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cParents must be permitted to select a volunteer school chaplain from the list provided by the school district, which must include the chaplain\u2019s religious affiliation, if any,\u201d the law adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The legislation doesn\u2019t outline qualifications for the volunteer chaplains other than passing a background check.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor also signed HB 1317<\/a>, which allows \u201cpatriotic organizations<\/a>\u201d to address and recruit students with their parents\u2019 consent. The state law refers to a list of groups designated by Congress, including the Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the United States of America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the Civil Air Patrol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis reflected on the chaplains he encountered while in the U.S. Navy, some of them on the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think that model of just having this available as part of the services that you\u2019re providing like we do in the military, we should be doing the same for our students here in school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regarding chaplains, groups including the ACLU, Interfaith Alliance, and National Education Association warned that the measure faces litigation<\/a> on ground that the program would allow religious indoctrination. The ACLU of Florida urged DeSantis to veto the bill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis seemed primed for a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat the ACLU is basically saying is that it\u2019s OK to discriminate against religious organizations. They think the church should be a second-class citizen. They think you should not have the same access to come to campus that any other student organization or other types of groups would have, that it\u2019s an inferior status,\u201d he said Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe First Amendment was enacted to prevent that. The First Amendment was enacted to ensure that people weren\u2019t discriminated against on the basis of religion or the basis of their faith. So, I think it\u2019s a bogus challenge. I do not think it\u2019s gonna go anywhere,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Legislature crafted the bill, DeSantis said, so that \u201cif this is something that you don\u2019t want, it doesn\u2019t affect you at all and you don\u2019t even have to worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Phoenix reached out to the ACLU for comment but hasn\u2019t heard back yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The governor appeared to endorse arguments proffered by Christian nationalist writer David Barton, who said that the writers of the Constitution favored an active role for religion in government. Other scholars have refuted such claims<\/a>, and Barton\u2019s publisher withdrew his 2012 book, \u201cThe Jefferson Lies,\u201d on the ground that \u201cbasic truths just were not there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen education in the United States started, every school was a religious school. I mean, that was just part of it. Public schools were religious schools,\u201d DeSantis insisted. \u201cYou know, there has been things that have been done over the years that veered away from it, that original intent. But the reality is, I think what we\u2019re doing is really restoring the sense of purpose that our Founding Fathers wanted to see in education.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ACLU of Florida issued a written statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPublic schools are not Sunday schools and chaplains are not school counselors. Allowing chaplains to assume official positions \u2014 whether paid or voluntary \u2014 in public schools as counselors or other support staff will undermine this right by creating an environment ripe for evangelizing and religious coercion of students in violation of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,\u201d the organization said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAcross the country, families and students practice a wide variety of faiths, and many are nonreligious. All should feel welcome in public schools. Even well-intentioned chaplain policies will undermine this fundamental premise of our public-education system and violate our longstanding First Amendment principles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida Phoenix<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Diane Rado for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The state won\u2019t allow satanists to take advantage of a new law allowing religious chaplains to serve as counselors in public schools for students whose parents approve, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday while signing the legislation. The governor also predicted the state would prevail if the new law draws a legal challenge over separation of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":725780,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[190],"tags":[7230,1103,966,1656,4786],"series":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725730"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":725733,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/725730\/revisions\/725733"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/725780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=725730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=725730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=725730"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=725730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/span>\n\n\n\nCounseling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Veto Urged<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Christian Nationalism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n