Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have proposed legislation to allow spiritual chaplains in public schools, a move that proponents say will ease a youth mental health crisis, bolster staff retention and offer spiritual care to students who can’t afford or access religious schools.
Proponents also argue religious foundations will act as a “rescue mission” for what they say are public schools’ declining values, a topic that has galvanized Republican-controlled Legislatures to fight for issues such as parental oversight of curriculum, restrictions on books and instruction on gender identity and state-funded tuition assistance for private and religious schools.
Texas became the first state to allow school chaplains under a law passed in 2023.
The National School Chaplain Association, which identifies itself as a Christian chaplain ministry, says on its website it was “instrumental” in spearheading the Texas law. The organization is a subsidiary of Mission Generation, which was established in 1999 to bring Jesus to classrooms worldwide. In a December 2023 newsletter, NSCA celebrated Texas for starting a “national movement placing God back in public education.”
The chaplains “deliver holistic care, guidance, and safety to all people regardless of their personal beliefs, or non-beliefs”.