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Senate rejects bill to authorize school chaplains after debate on religious role and safeguards
Summary
Senate Bill 164, which would have expressly authorized public schools to employ or accept volunteer chaplains subject to criminal- and child-maltreatment checks, failed on the floor after extensive questioning about church-state separation, equal-protection issues and immunity language.
Senate Bill 164, which would have allowed public schools and open-enrollment charter schools to employ or accept volunteer chaplains, failed on the Senate floor. Sponsor Senator Dodson framed the bill as a safety-and-vetting measure to ensure any chaplain serving in schools meets background-check requirements.
Dodson told colleagues the bill “allows for school chaplains” and requires those chaplains to pass criminal-record and child-maltreatment registry checks; it also defines credentialing standards and said local districts…
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