Leap of Faith? Miami-Dade School Board Considers On-Campus Chaplain Program

A new law that will open the door for chaplains in Florida schools has reignited a culture-war debate about the incorporation of religious values into the state's public education system.

Beginning July 1, the law will allow Florida public schools to bring volunteer chaplains on campus to provide counseling to students. If a school district decides to take part in the program, it must inform parents and require written parental consent before a student receives support or services from a school chaplain.

When he signed the legislation on April 18, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, "Faith leaders and civic organizations are important additional resources for students who may be facing challenges or need to build community and camaraderie."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), among other civil rights groups, warned the legislation could amount to a landmine for constitutional violations. Kara Gross, senior policy counsel at the ACLU of Florida, argued the law will endanger students' rights by exposing them "to the risk of chaplains evangelizing them or imposing religion on them throughout their school day."

The law requires participating school districts to list the chaplain volunteers, "including any religious affiliation," on a district website. The bill, HB 931, was similar to controversial legislation passed in Texas in 2023.

Exactly a month after DeSantis put pen to paper, Miami became ground zero for the debate when conservative school board member Roberto Alonso presented a measure to explore a possible chaplain program in Miami-Dade County Public Schools under the new law.

As with prior Miami-Dade school board meetings that considered divisive topics like book bans and prohibition on LGBTQ-flag-flying in schools, there was no shortage of tense exchanges, moral grandstanding, and trepidation about a "spiritual war" against children. Still, the May 15 meeting appeared relatively tame in comparison to the outbursts that transpired at the more vitriolic board meetings of the past two years.

At the meeting, critics of the on-campus chaplain law argued it will allow for religious zealotry to be injected into schools' counseling systems. They echoed some Floridians' concerns about how chaplains might try to inculcate students with religious beliefs, while lacking the training to deal with youth in crisis.

"In a time of crisis and trauma, the chaplains should not serve as frontline responders for schools. This should be the job of a licensed professional equipped to deal with various types of trauma and mental health issues. Then everyone can hold hands and pray at home," one local resident said.

Supporters bit back during the roughly one-hour-and-10-minute public comment period.

"Let's face it: This is a voluntary program. Children aren't being mandated to be part of it. By meeting the spiritual needs of our children, at least the ones that want to participate, what's so bad about that?" Max Price, a Miami-Dade resident and attorney said.

Another speaker in support of the program, who described herself as a mother and therapist, proclaimed, "It's not a secret that what we are witnessing in our world and in our country is a spiritual war. The attack is on the children because they are the future."

Tom Capo, minister at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Miami, said he's served as a hospital chaplain and separately as a counselor in his professional life. He insisted the roles should be kept independent of one another.

"As a chaplain, we are there for the spiritual enrichment and care of the individual," Capo said. "In schools, we are there for [children's] ability to learn and their ability to cope with difficult situations."

Toward the end of the meeting, discussion moved toward what, if any, qualifications Miami-Dade will require for school chaplains. Board member Luisa Santos made note that the county's in-school counselors and mental health coordinators need to have a minimum master's degree-level education in their field and certification with the Florida Department of Education.

As the ACLU has pointed out, the Florida law does not outline any qualifications for someone to act as a "chaplain." There is a national credentialing board that necessitates a graduate-level degree for chaplain certification, but no requirements of that nature are mentioned in the new Florida law.

"It appears that anyone can hold themselves out as a volunteer 'chaplain,' as there does not seem to be any credentialing required to become a volunteer chaplain in Florida’s public schools," said the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The new statute does include a provision that chaplains in Florida public schools will have to go through the state's standard background check.

Alonso defended the county measure by citing other government branches that have chaplains available for counseling. Chaplains are common in military facilities and some government hospitals, for instance.

"This program in no way, in no form, is going to replace our school counselors," said Alonso. "Quite the opposite."

School board member Steve Gallon requested that the board obtain a written legal opinion from the Florida Attorney General and guidance from the Department of Education to keep the evaluation on track. His amendment was added to the measure.

The board passed the measure to explore a Miami-Dade County Public Schools chaplain program with one dissenter: Lucia Báez-Geller, who warned it would further blur the line between church and state.