Osceola school board rejects putting religious chaplains in schools, at least for now

The Osceola County School Board decided Tuesday night not to implement Florida’s new, controversial school chaplain program , at least not immediately.

The Osceola board was the first in Central Florida, and among the first in the state, to consider the program, signed into law in the spring by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The voluntary program would allow students to be counseled by chaplains with permission from their parents.

But it put off a decision earlier this month in part because the Satanic Temple, a group committed to the separation of church and state and opposed to Florida’s law, said Satanic chaplains would try to take part to highlight the dangers of allowing religious representatives in public schools.

Tuesday, the board heard about an hour of public comment — with many of the speakers opposed to chaplains on campus — before taking up board member Jon Arguello’s motion that the school district enact the chaplain program.

The vote failed when three members of the five-person board failed to approve Arguello’s motion.

Some members said they still would consider the chaplain program in the future after more feedback from school administrators and community members and after the district had more time to consider the “model” chaplain policy the Florida Department of Education last week suggested school districts adopt.

Arguello blasted his board colleagues for failing to quickly enact the program.

“If there was a student who came up here asking hey, ‘I want to be chemically castrated because I’m a transgender ideologist,’ the school board members on this dais would pay for the Uber to send that student to the clinic,” he said, to audible gasps and a “What?” from others in the meeting.

“But here, in this situation,” Arguello continued, “a student comes and they ask for spiritual guidance because they need something that is different than what we are offering, and they want to cut it down or provide some lukewarm voting because they are running for office. It’s ridiculous.”

Board member Scott Ramsey, appointed to fill an open seat on the board by DeSantis in July and running for his seat in November, said he supports chaplains in schools but wants teachers and school administrators surveyed before the board votes on a policy.

“Wow! I mean if that’s the way that you fight for the community, I’d hate to see the way you fight for your family,” Arguello said in response to Ramsey’s proposal.

Ramsey ultimately voted with Arguello to enact the program.

The state’s model chaplain program policy seemed designed to keep out the Satanic Temple as it defined a chaplain as a person “who is officially authorized by the leadership of a religion under the religion’s governing principles to conduct religious exercises.” DeSantis had previously said the group could not take part because it was “not a religion,” though it defines itself that way on its website.

Those opposed to the program said they do not want any religious representatives counseling public school students on campus.

Rabbi David Kay, chair of the Interfaith Council of Central Florida, told the Osceola school board a chaplain program was unnecessary since chaplains are already available to Osceola residents outside of schools. School resources would be better spent on certified mental health counseling for students, he said.

The program, Kay added, would predominantly, if not exclusively, be made up of Christian chaplains and that could make non-Christian students uncomfortable.

“Unless you have experienced being part of a minority faith tradition, or professing no faith tradition whatsoever,” Kay said, “you may not understand the profound discomfort that would be caused by walking into your public school each day and encountering a chaplain who not only does not share your beliefs, but quite likely personally…condemns your personal beliefs or even you.”

Lucien Greaves, a co-founder and spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, said the state’s model policy was meant to exclude his group, which wants to make clear that religious chaplains in schools are in appropriate.

“You’re voting on a policy that is unpopular, divisive, poorly planned, obviously dishonest in its goals, unnecessary and introduces new risks to children even if you are allowed to implement it according to your wishes,” Greaves said.

But Osceola pastor James Book said school chaplains could help students of all backgrounds.

“We might be able to lessen the fears and frustrations of these students,” he said. “I just would like to see a fellowship, a camaraderie between people of faith…and our school system. The marginalization and demonization we’ve heard tonight is just not called for.”

DeSantis signed into law in April at Osceola’s Tohopekaliga High School.

Civil liberties groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Americans United for Separation of Church and State opposed the program and the state’s model policy, with the latter last week applauding Osceola for not approving chaplains in schools.

“The model policy is misguided and unconstitutional – and demonstrates why other Florida school boards should follow Osceola’s lead and reject the idea,” the group wrote on its website.