A Florida school board paused a plan for a chaplain program after receiving First Amendment concerns — and interest from The Satanic Temple.
In a move that school officials present said was rare, the Osceola County School Board pulled the plan from consideration during its Tuesday meeting. It highlights the complexities and complications school districts face in implementing a new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis this year that allows volunteer chaplains to provide support services for public K-12 students.
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Fast-forward nearly four months, and the school board voted 3-2 to take the policy out of a bundle it was voting on for the new academic year. The school board members in the majority said concerns brought to them shortly before the meeting warranted more discussion.
“I need more time to make a decision,” said Heather Kahoun, the board chair. “I haven’t had an opportunity to think about these things, to think about the implications regarding the First Amendment, regarding federal litigation that we could receive if we were to approve this as it is today.”
The Satanic Temple, for example, sent the board an email on Tuesday saying they were “enthusiastic about the opportunity this policy presents for our Ministers of Satan.”