Talking about the law Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed last year, state Senator Mayes Middleton (R-Dist. 11) recently told American Family Radio that schools are not God-free zones, and students, faculty, and staff would benefit from being able to talk to a chaplain on campus.
Middleton then credited the Supreme Court for recent rulings in First Amendment cases like Kennedy v. Bremerton as righting wrongs from past decisions that led people to repeat the "fake doctrine of separation of church and state."
"This is putting God back in government, and it's a choice," the senator said. "The students don't have to see the chaplains, but this is an additional tool that's available to our students that they did not have before."
Middleton went on to point out that police and fire departments have chaplains. So do the armed forces and hospitals.
"This allows students, faculty, [and] staff to freely exercise their religion and have this tool available of someone to talk to from a godly perspective," he reiterated. "Chaplains represent God and government -- that's what they do, and that's what we need more of in this country."
Because of Coach Kennedy's case, he said states can do that without any legal challenges. Atheist groups, for example, oppose chaplains in schools, but Middleton said their legal arguments are now "totally meritless," and they will not win if they try.
As part of the legislation, every independent school district in the state has until March 1, 2024 to take a record vote on whether to adopt the chaplaincy policy.
Meanwhile, other states are looking to copy this and implement chaplains in public schools as well.
