Other States Eye Copying Texas in Allowing Chaplains in Public Schools

Bremerton High School assistant coach Joe Kennedy takes a knee and prays at the 50-yard line after Bremerton's win over Mount Douglas in a high school football game at Bremerton Memorial Stadium in Bremerton, Wash., on Sept. 1, 2023. Meegan M. Reid/Kitsap Sun via AP

Texas passed a groundbreaking law this year allowing chaplains in public schools.

Now, the concept is gaining support in other states, as lawmakers file proposed bills to follow the lead of Texas.

The Texas law requires trustees of public schools to vote by March 1 on whether to allow chaplains to “provide support, services, and programs for students” in their institutions.

In Texas, school chaplains now can take on some of the duties of school counselors, who have been in short supply in Texas. They can be volunteers or paid. And they must meet specific standards, such as passing a background check. Convicted sex offenders are banned from serving.

Conservatives across the country have sought to put religion back into public schools after it was banned 50 years ago through a series of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.

But in 2022, the high court’s ruling on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District opened the door for religion in schools again, according to some legal experts.

The Supreme Court looked at whether Joseph Kennedy, a high school football coach in the public school system in Washington state, had the right to pray on the field after each game.

School officials asked Mr. Kennedy to pray elsewhere or at a later time. But he continued the practice of taking the field immediately following games.

Players and others joined him in praying publicly on the football field. That raised concerns by some that it would be seen as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause, which prohibits the “establishment” of a state religion.

After his contract was not renewed, Mr. Kennedy sued the school board.

Seven years later, the nation’s highest court ruled 6-3 in the landmark decision finding that the school had violated his rights of freedom of speech and freedom to exercise his religion. Both are protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment.

‘A National Movement’

In June, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed the new Texas law allowing chaplains in public schools.

And it has a good chance of withstanding legal challenges, Texas attorney Jonathan Hullihan told The Epoch Times. That’s because the high court’s decision on Kennedy v. Bremerton changed how the establishment clause in the U.S. Constitution is viewed, he said.

Joe Zamecki protests outside a meeting of the Texas Board of Education in Austin on July 21, 2011. Eric Gay/AP Photo

Texas state Sen. Mayes Middleton, a Republican who sponsored the chaplain bill, Senate Bill 763, stated on X in April that chaplains played an important role “for pastoral care and representing God’s presence within our public schools.”

Julie Pickren, a conservative recently elected to the Texas State Board of Education, said officials from 11 other states, mainly in red states such as Florida, Oklahoma, and Indiana, have contacted her about writing similar legislation.

She also was contacted by officials in blue states, such as California and New Jersey, who expressed interest in writing legislation to allow chaplains in their public schools, too.

“I had no idea this was going to be a national movement,” Ms. Pickren told The Epoch Times.

Earlier in December, ahead of the state’s regular legislative session that starts in January, Florida lawmakers pre-filed identical bills in both chambers—HB 931 and SB 1044. If passed, the legislation would allow school districts to adopt policies authorizing volunteer school chaplains in 2024.

In Oklahoma, SB 968 died before it could be considered in 2023. So, it will be carried over to the 2024 legislative session.

That bill would allow a school district board of education to contract with a chaplain to perform school counselor duties.

Indiana pre-filed SB 0050 that would allow a principal or superintendent of a public school, including a charter school, to employ or approve as a volunteer, a school chaplain if certain requirements are met.

At least 132 Texas school districts are said to have voted so far on the measure, Ms. Pickren said, with 75 approving chaplain participation in their districts. Twenty districts voted to pay chaplains to work in schools.

There are more than 1,000 independent school districts (ISD) in Texas.

Putting Clergy To Work in Schools

The Texas law gives districts flexibility on how to incorporate chaplains in schools.

Friendswood ISD near Galveston hired a chaplain to help teachers deal with the pressure they face, Ms. Pickren said.

And when she served on the board of trustees of Alvin ISD, the district created a team of volunteer clergy from different faiths to come into the schools to help deal with bullying, drugs, and student depression.

Julie Pickren, a conservative advocate for education, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas on August 6, 2022. Bobby Sanchez for The Epoch Times

The law does have some unlikely opponents.

In August, more than 100 Texas chaplains signed a letter to school board members asking them to “reject this flawed policy option,” writing that chaplains shouldn’t be used as school counselors.

The letter stated it represented a partnership between the Baptist Joint Committee, Interfaith Alliance, and Texas Impact, all politically left-leaning organizations.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty contributed to a report attempting to link the Jan. 6 Capitol breach to Christian nationalism. The group has been involved in the “Confronting White Supremacy” House Oversight Committee.

The Interfaith Alliance supports transgender rights. Texas Impact supports United Nations climate-change regulations.

People opposed to the new Texas law say allowing chaplains in school violates the separation of church and state.

Schools that have rejected chaplains include Dallas ISD, one of the largest school districts in the state. Smaller districts, such as Kerrville ISD, passed resolutions rejecting chaplains, as well.

The legislation faced stiff opposition during a second reading by several state House Democrats.

Democrat Rep. Gina Hinojosa said she believes chaplains in schools would be unconstitutional and schools shouldn’t be “indoctrinating our kids on any kind of religion.”

She criticized a group speaking in favor of school chaplains, saying members want to “infiltrate” the system and support “Christians functioning and operating inside the school system.”

Ms. Pickren remains steadfast in her support of the measure she helped create.

“We brought [chaplains] into our schools because we had things that, in my opinion, only God can solve,” she said. “We just saw incredible results.”