In April, Governor Ron DeSantis gave Florida public schools permission to send volunteer clergy to school campuses to counsel students whose parents consented.
When the law went into effect on Monday, many county officials said they had no plans to implement it.
This is similar to what happened in Texas, where the state’s largest districts rejected the state’s 2023 school chaplaincy legislation, according to the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
One of the biggest concerns in Florida is who might apply to be a chaplain. While the law requires a background check, it does not include any educational requirements.
“It’s too controversial,” said Hillsborough County School Board member Nadia Combs, who did not expect the idea to resonate with her colleagues. “We need professional specialists to care for children with mental health issues.”
Combs also questioned whether the schools would be able to accommodate students of many different religions and raised security issues.
Richard Shirley, superintendent of schools in Sumter County, north of Lakeland, said implementing the law could potentially create legal complications. He noted that the phrase does not fully define “chaplain” and feared that “offshoot groups” that are not necessarily welcome could find their way into schools under the program.
The Satanic Temple, known for its activism defending pluralism and secularism in American public life, announced its desire to provide military chaplains shortly after DeSantis signed the bill. DeSantis responded that the group, which does not worship Satan but uses the controversial name, is “not a religion” and will not be allowed into schools.
The IRS recognizes the Satanic Temple as a tax-exempt church.
Co-founder Lucien Greaves said DeSantis is intentionally misleading school districts about what is legally allowed simply because he disagrees with religion.
“It has no legal significance if he just says it from the podium,” Greaves said. “He’s just misinforming school districts and suggesting they can reject us when in reality they have no reason to do so and could suffer huge losses in court.”
In 2023, the Satanic Temple won a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania school district that had banned it from participating in extracurricular activities with other outside organizations. The lawsuit included $200,000 in legal fees.
Such potential conflict strengthened Shirley’s stance.
“Neither I personally nor this very conservative school board (representing a very conservative constituent) would ever allow these marginalized groups access to our children,” Shirley said via email. “There is much debate about the unintended consequences of opening that door, as good as that may be – at least until we better understand the parameters, intent, definitions and regulations. Negative influences can mess up a law that is meant to be positive.”
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Other factors also play a role.
Some officials said schools already had enough to do without having to deal with the work of an unnecessary program.
“It just said, you are allowed “We desperately need clergy,” said Laura Hine, chair of the Pinellas County School Board.
She added that the issue is not on the district’s radar. District officials said they will likely rely on existing practices to bring volunteers and mentors into classrooms.
The legislature made participation in the pastoral care program voluntary not only for families but also for schools, in part to avoid the expected accusation that the state was forcing religion on people that contradicted the U.S. Constitution.
They took a similar approach in 2012 with a bill that would have allowed districts to enact policies allowing students to deliver “inspirational messages” at public events. No districts responded to the bill.
Others argued the chaplaincy law was unnecessary, pointing to programs that already exist. Suwanee County School Superintendent Ted Roush, for example, said his district northwest of Gainesville would rely on its longstanding volunteer policy to determine who could participate in school events and activities.
“Our schools and district office currently have relationships with faith-based organizations and we will continue to support them and maintain our current practices,” said Paul Abbatannozi, assistant superintendent of schools in St. Johns County.
The Orange County School District had similar plans as part of its decades-old Faith-Based Initiative, which includes partnerships with about 150 outside organizations, spokesman Michael Ollendorf said. “The district has been able to connect our students with community members who inspire and support our students through mentoring and other programs.”
This does not mean that the discussion is not taking place at all.
Counties like Pasco and Hernando are reviewing their jurisdictions coming out of the 2024 legislative session and will decide what they need to do to meet the new requirements. Osceola County is taking this idea a step further.
“Our Chief of Staff will assemble a committee of community and school stakeholders to discuss the legislation so that our district can draft a school chaplain policy for our school board to consider adopting,” spokeswoman Dana Schafer said in an email.
But with the school year fast approaching—districts could begin classes as early as August 12—it is increasingly unlikely that any district will take action before students return.
Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau reporter Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
