A proposal continued advancing Tuesday in the Senate to allow school districts to authorize chaplains to provide services for students.
Under the bill (SB 1044), districts and charter schools could adopt policies to allow volunteer school chaplains “to provide supports, services and programs to students as assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board.”
Such policies would have to describe the services and programs and would require principals to inform parents of the availability.
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The Republican-controlled Senate Education Appropriations Committee voted 4-1 to approve the bill. The measure also would give parents the option to select a chaplain from lists supplied by school districts, with the lists including chaplains’ religious affiliations.
“Any school district that adopts a volunteer school chaplain policy shall publish the list of volunteer school chaplains, including any religious affiliation, on the school district’s website,” part of the bill said.
Chaplains would be required to undergo background screenings required for “noninstructional” school employees and contractors.
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Opponents of the bill have argued that chaplains should be required to undergo training exercises — a requirement that is not included in the bill.
The proposal would need approval from the Senate Rules Committee before it could go to the full Senate. A similar House bill is ready for consideration by the full House.
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