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Left: FILE – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gestures during a news conference, Jan. 26, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, File). Right: The Satanic Temple logo. (Satanic Temple website.)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may have just set himself up for a First Amendment fight from hell.
Last week, the Republican governor signed two bills into law known as HB 1317 and HB 931, legislation first introduced by Republicans in the Florida statehouse this January and December respectively.
HB 1317 pushed for “patriotic organizations” to have voluntary representation in K-12 schools and HB 931 specifically pushed for approval of access to public schools by voluntary chaplains. For proponents, the bills, as written, were a chance for “patriotic organizations to speak to students, distribute certain materials, and provide opportunities for certain displays relating to the patriotic organizations” among other goals.
Some of those “patriotic organizations” included the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America as well as Boy Scouts of America and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, the Marine Corps League, the Navy SEAL Cadet Corps and others, a statement from the governor’s office notes.
Under the law, parents are permitted to select a volunteer chaplain from a list provided by the school district in Florida. That list must show a chaplain’s religious affiliation, if any. Chaplains will also be assigned by the district school board or a charter school’s governing board.
Critics and opponents, however, argue the chaplain bill in particular is a ham-handed unconstitutional end run around the separation of church and state and stands to violate the religious freedom rights of families and students throughout Florida.
The American Civil Liberties Union noted in a statement last month before DeSantis signed the bills into law that often, chaplains are neither trained nor certified to provide educational or counseling services to young people.
“Students are likely to receive inadequate mental health support that, in some cases, may be harmful,” the organization said.
And they were hardly alone in their opposition: The ACLU was joined by 200 chaplains, 34 civil rights organizations and nearly 40 faith groups representing Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and other faith traditions.
When Florida Republican Sen. Erin Grall spoke of the bill last week prior to its passage, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that she hailed it but simultaneously seemed to worry about how it might function if, for example, the Satanic Temple wished to send its own volunteer chaplains to schools.
Grall reportedly remarked: “I think that as soon as we get in the middle of defining what is religion and what is not, and whether or not someone can be available and be on a list, we start to run (into) constitutional problems.”
And to that very possible end, during a press conference last week as he signed the bills, DeSantis told all of those watching:
Some have said that if you do a school chaplain program, that somehow you’re going to have Satanists running around in all our schools.
We’re not playing those games in Florida. That [Satanism] is not a religion. That is not qualifying to be able to participate in this.
But the Satanic Temple, whether DeSantis realizes it or not, is recognized as a tax-exempt church, and just as Grall suggested, getting into debates over whether one faith is a real or not is a sticky wicket.
Ahead of the law’s passage, the Satanic Temple said it fully anticipated participating in the school chaplain program in Florida. They told the Tallahassee Democrat that “any opportunity that exists for ministers or chaplains in the public sector must not discriminate based on religious affiliation.”
According to the Satanic Temple’s website, practitioners do not “believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural” and “do[es] not promote a belief in a personal Satan.”
Co-founder of the Satanic Temple Lucien Greaves told Law&Crime in an email Monday: “DeSantis has not only exposed himself to First Amendment liabilities if he attempts to pick and choose which religions are worthy of religious accommodations, but in stating during a press conference — after he signed the bill into law — that Satanists may not participate, he has exposed that he does not understand the chaplain bill, the law, or the limits of his authority as a governor.”
“We are not looking to stop the legislation, we are going to benefit from it,” Greaves also said. “We are going to put Satanic chaplains in Florida schools, nothing in the bill places limits on who can become a chaplain, and Ron DeSantis can not simply amend the Constitution limiting the religious liberty of some by proclamation from the podium. I have offered to debate DeSantis on this issue, which is not a matter of personal opinion, but procedural fact. He is clearly and unquestionably wrong, laying bare his gross incompetence,” Greaves said.
Similar bills in other states have met equal resistance and not just from members of the Satanic Temple. As Texas NBC affiliate KXAN reported last month, a large number of protesters showed up at the capitol in Austin to reject similar legislation allowing unlicensed chaplains to service students in the Lone Star State.
In Florida, the only criteria for school chaplains would be passing a background check. No training is required, according to the law. The law goes into effect July 1.
DeSantis’ office did not immediately respond to request for comment Monday.
