(The Lion) — Public school chaplains could have a positive effect on student mental health, according to proponents of an Arizona Senate bill now advancing in the House.
Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff, filed legislation to permit volunteer religious chaplains to offer counseling and programs to public school students.
Participating school districts would provide parents with a list of the available chaplains and their religious affiliations. The measure would also require parental consent for children to speak with the chaplain.
So far, the proposal has passed in the Arizona Senate and cleared a House of Representatives Education Committee vote, both along partisan lines, according to the Arizona Mirror. Republicans support it and Democrats oppose it.
Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, thinks the legislation would improve students’ mental health.
“I’ve heard that there is a mental health crisis afflicting kids,” Gress said during the House Education Committee meeting March 11. “Now, I don’t necessarily think in many of these cases that something is medically wrong with these kids. I think, perhaps, there is a spiritual deficit that needs to be addressed.”
However, opponents, such as Rep. Stephanie Simacek, D-Phoenix, want to keep religion out of public schools.
“No one is saying that you may not go and celebrate your God however you see fit,” Simacek said during the hearing. “But this is not the place, in public education, where our students go to learn math, reading, and writing and history.”
But Rep. Justin Olson, R-Mesa, disagrees, saying there’s no harm in letting students speak with spiritual leaders of their respective faiths.
“I heard comments here today that this is going to harm kids – harm kids by being exposed to religion? That is absolutely the opposite of what is happening here, today in our society,” Olson said at the hearing. “We have become a secular society, and that is damaging our society. We need to have opportunities for people to look to a higher power, and what better way than what is described here in this bill?”
The measure comes as states such as Indiana, Nebraska, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota consider similar proposals.
Last month, the South Dakota House Education Committee advanced its measure, though no further action has been taken.
Florida and Texas have already passed this proposal into law in past sessions.
“School counselors who divorce the child from their spirit and soul are deficient, while trained and certified chaplains can provide comprehensive support that treats every child as a divine, unique gift from God,” Texas Pastors Council President Rev. Dave Welch said in 2023 in support of that state’s law. “Chaplaincy support to children seeking counsel is simply a faith-based support that is voluntary for students. The schools most definitely should not discriminate against those students.”
