Many parents have heavily criticized Florida’s chaplain program, as they believe it violates their constitutional rights and goes against the separation of church and state.

The Osceola County School Board pulled this chaplain plan from consideration during its meeting this week in a rare move.

The superintendent of this school district attended this conference and announced his support for it. Now, however, the school district has decided to halt the plan.

Marion County school board member Dr. Sarah James said: “Having a chaplain on campus gives a parent an opportunity to choose to have their child have an extra arm of support for when that child may need spiritual help.”

James said: “We have programs like FCA, which are student-led ministries. So we are already bringing God into the classroom as much as we can. This is another opportunity to meet families where they are.”

Heather Kahoun, the board’s chair, explained, “I need more time to make a decision. I haven’t had an opportunity to think about these things, to think about the implications regarding the First Amendment, regarding federal litigation that we could receive if we were to approve this as it is today.”

The Osceola County School Board is the first district to act on truly installing a chaplain program under Florida’s new law. However, many parents and organizations have made it known that they will legally fight this issue if the school district truly passes it.

A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida stated, “Untrained chaplains lack the necessary qualifications and expertise to address the diverse spiritual and religious needs of students in a sensitive and inclusive manner.”

James said: “I think it’s a really good thing that we’re prioritizing God in our classrooms. If they don’t want their child to participate in the chaplain program, they have every right to decide that.”

They could also end up violating First Amendment rights. The letter explained, “The use of untrained chaplains may inadvertently blur the lines between church and state, raising constitutional concerns and legal challenges.”

The email said they were “enthusiastic about the opportunity this policy presents for our Ministers of Satan.”

The temple sent the email to Osceola County school board members hours before the vote on the chaplain policy was tabled.

DeSantis has fought against the temple by saying that Satanism “is not a religion.” The Satanic Temple doesn’t truly worship Satan, though the group does fight for religious freedom and for the First Amendment.

Rachel Chambliss, the Satanic Temple’s executive director, wrote: “While we believe that investing in licensed, professional counselors would be more beneficial for Osceola County students, we are […] eager to build positive, supportive relationships with students and become an active part of the school community.”

The group argues that the guidelines were designed to exclude them.

“Freedom of religion means that parents and faith communities — not government officials — have the right to direct their children’s religious education and development,” Kara Gross, the group’s legislative director and senior policy counsel, said. “Allowing chaplains in public schools would cross these well-established boundaries.”

ACLU attorney Heather Weaver wrote: “Courts have repeatedly ruled that it is unconstitutional for public schools to invite religious leaders to engage in religious activities with students or to promote religious doctrine to them.”

Board Member Jon Arguello said, “I think it was the intention of the board members all along to vote this down. This, to me, is a very blatant and obvious sinking of a program that the governor came and started here.”

Lucien Greaves, a spokesperson to the temple, said: “[Florida’s policy] defines religion too narrowly in a way that not only excludes Satanists, but Buddhists, Humanists, Jains, Confucianists and many others.”

Greaves wrote: “It’s divisive, it is legally unsound (and will not survive its forthcoming lawsuits that the Florida taxpayer will finance), and it’s born of cheap political grandstanding without any real concern for the children in Florida public schools.”

The governor argues banning chaplains from campus violates the Constitution. “The First Amendment was enacted to be able to ensure that people weren’t discriminated against on the basis of religion or the basis of their faith,” DeSantis said.

Most notably, Louisiana has recently passed a law requiring all public school classrooms to have a Ten Commandments poster.

At least 16 states across the country are looking into allowing school chaplains. With over 30 bills pushing for chaplaincy programs in these states, only Florida, Texas and Louisiana have passed these laws.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers said in a statement: “This outcome is a testament to the respect for trained school counselors and the power of local control and community advocacy. We must remain vigilant. Similar bills targeting public education have already appeared in several other states.”