DES MOINES, Iowa – A bill under consideration in the Iowa Legislature would allow public schools to employ chaplains or engage with volunteer chaplains.
“I think all Iowans are concerned about the tough environment that our kids grow up in today. We hear so many concerns about the mental health of children, especially since the pandemic. For all of America’s history chaplains have played a significant role in the military, in prisons and hospitals, in law enforcement and businesses. But not in schools. Chaplains can provide Biblical counsel, spiritual care and support for staff, parents, and guardians creating a wholesome cooperative learning environment. This should be another tool in our K-12 schools,” State Senator Ken Rozenboom, R-Oskaloosa, sponsor of the bill, told The Iowa Torch.
The bill is modeled a bill passed into law in Texas last year.
In the Iowa Senate, the bill, SSB 3092, advanced out of a subcommittee consisting of State Senators Jeff Taylor, R-Sioux Center, Jesse Greene, R-Harcourt, and Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines. Trone Garriott opposed the bill. a
Under the bill, paid chaplains or volunteer chaplains would work under the board of directors of the school district, public charter school, or innovation zone school to support students, services, or programs as assigned by hte board.
The bill states that chaplains are not required to have “a license, endorsement, certification, authorization, or statement of recognition issued by the board of educational examiners.”
The bill also requires chaplains to undergo a background check and students can not be coerced or required to use a chaplain’s services.
The Iowa House companion bill, HF 2073, is scheduled for a subcommittee hearing on Tuesday.
Read the bill below:
SSB3092
