Tomorrow the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a hearing on SB 98, which would permit district school boards to allow prayers of invocation or benediction at public school events. This regrettable bill is unnecessary, unconstitutional, and would harm the religious rights of students.

SB 98 is completely unnecessary—Florida students already have many opportunities to pray in school. The U.S. and Florida Constitutions already guarantee students the right to engage in voluntary, student-initiated religious expression during non-instructional time. In addition, Florida law allows school districts to provide up to two minutes each day for students to silently pray. The bill is nothing more than a solution in search of a problem.

This legislation would unconstitutionally subject students to sectarian prayer at numerous school-sponsored events in violation of the U.S. and Florida Constitutions. Claims that students who don’t want to hear the prayers could simply not attend the events don’t hold up. Events like graduation and school assemblies are not truly voluntary.

SB 98 would allow those of the majority faith to promote their religious beliefs and practices at public school events. Indeed, the Senate Education Committee even eliminated language from the bill that had required the prayers to be “non-sectarian and nonproselytizing.” This would make students who believe in minority faiths and who are non-believers feel like “outsiders” in and not like “full members” of their own public schools. This is one of the very harms the First Amendment exists to prevent.

Finally, if enacted, SB 98 will violate the Establishment Clause because the student-delivered messages will still be school-sponsored. Under this legislation, schools would have to facilitate the prayers and the messages would be delivered on school property at school events. Additionally, only “inspirational” messages would be permitted, and so the content of any prayers would need to have the approval of the school.

Last November, three AU chapter leaders, along with eight other Florida AU chapters, sent a letter to members of the Senate Education Committee stating their opposition to the bill, which you can see here.