Florida students in public school will now be able to observe a “moment of silence” at the start of each school day, if they so choose.
Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed HB 529 into law Monday, which requires teachers in first-period classrooms in all K-12 public schools to set aside at least one minute, but no more than two minutes every day “for a moment of silence.”
During that time, “students may not interfere with other students’ participation.”
"We have an opportunity here to really protect the religious freedom of everybody who's going to school:" Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law, which requires Florida teachers to set aside at least one minute "for a moment of silence." Read more: https://t.co/jZ9f1kmrKH pic.twitter.com/Z4NGpGn3Mp
— WPTV (@WPTV) June 15, 2021
In addition, “a teacher may not make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence.”
“We think it’s something that’s important to be able to provide each student the ability, every day, to be able to reflect and to be able to pray as they see fit,” DeSantis said Monday during a news conference at the Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside.
Republicans cheered the move as the first step in getting God back in our communities. Whereas Democratics say this is something that local school boards should decide.