SAN ANTONIO – Among the 774 new state laws that went into effect on Sept. 1 is SB 763, which allows public schools to utilize chaplains as volunteers or as hired staff.
Schools can use safety funds to hire chaplains to work alongside or in place of mental health counselors.
Emily Witt, of the Texas Freedom Network, a nonpartisan, grassroots organization that supports religious freedom, individual liberties and public education, said there’s one part of the new law that she and other civil rights groups take issue with.
“It’s very egregious to us that after the deadliest school shooting in Texas public schools, only almost a year ago, we wouldn’t be using these funds to keep our kids safe from being shot in our schools. But instead, we would be hiring religious leaders, which violates the religious freedom of Texas families and students while not actually keeping them safe,” Witt said.
Chaplains across the state also voicing their concerns.
“We are trained to provide religious and emotional support for those who request it. There’s no place for that in a public school system where children, you know, don’t have the wherewithal to be able to do that,” said Cantor Sheri Allen, who helped create The Arlington Interfaith Consortium.
The chaplains hired by schools don’t have to be licensed in the same way that a school counselor does.
KSAT 12 News reached out to several school districts in the San Antonio area to find out if they have plans to hire chaplains.
Seguin ISD told KSAT it already has licensed counselors to fill that need. NEISD said no word on when this issue would be on the school board’s agenda and NISD said it, too, has licensed counselors and has no plans to hire chaplains.
School boards across Texas will have until March 2024 to decide whether or not to hire chaplains.