Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Requiring Public Schools to Hold Moment of Silence for Prayer or Reflection

SURFSIDE, FLORIDA - JUNE 14: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs two bills at the Shul of Bal
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday signed a bill requiring public schools to carve out a daily moment of silence so students can “reflect and be able to pray as they see fit.”

Joined by members of the Jewish community at the Jewish Community Center Shul of Bal Harbour, the Republican governor signed two measures, HB 529 and HB 805.

“The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I’m sorry, our Founding Fathers did not believe that,” DeSantis said Monday.

“HB 805 ensures that volunteer ambulance services, including Hatzalah, a free emergency transport service operating in South Florida, can operate. HB 529 requires Florida schools to hold a daily moment of silence,” according to his office:

HB 529, described as an “expansion” of current law, which merely “encourages” a moment of silent prayer, directs a public school’s principal to “require teachers in first-period classrooms in all grades to set aside 1 to 2 minutes daily for a moment of silence, during which students may not interfere with other students’ participation.”

The teacher must “encourage parents to discuss the moment of silence with their children and to make suggestions as to the best use of this time” and is barred from making suggestions “as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence,” per a summary via DeSantis’s office.

“Every family in our state should be able to send their children to school and know that they will be protected from harm and be able to practice their faith,” the governor said in a formal statement.

“I’m proud to sign these bills today to help protect religious freedom in Florida and increase the safety and security of our Jewish communities,” he continued, promising to continue to “root out antisemitism” and  “show our support for Israel and our Jewish communities.”

Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran praised HB 529 as a measure that “empowers families to begin those ongoing conversations with their child on what they might reflect on during the moment of silence, and help them use this time as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming day.”

“In this often times frantic pace of modern life, students need a moment to gather themselves in a quiet moment of reflection,”  Florida State Senator Dennis Baxley (R) said. “Who knows how much a moment of silence and reflection may direct their day?”

Additionally, DeSantis signed HB 805, which according to his office:

  • This bill ensures faith-based volunteer first responder services, like Hatzalah, can operate if the service has operated in Florida for at least 10 years and meets numerous other rigorous conditions.
  • The bill allows authorized volunteer ambulance services to use emergency lights and sirens when responding.
  • These services are critical for Holocaust survivors who have a fear of uniforms and of being taken away. Members are trained to treat patients according to Jewish law.
The laws go into effect July 1st.

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