Controversial bill allowing chaplains in Oklahoma's public schools advances

Carla Hinton, The Oklahoman
·4 min read
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A bill that will allow public schools to hire faith-based chaplains or accept them as volunteers is advancing through the Legislature with some major additions.

Senate Bill 36 has been approved by the Oklahoma House of Representatives and now advances to the Senate for consideration. The bill's advancement via a 54 to 37 House vote, moves Oklahoma one step closer to passing a measure inspired by a controversial Texas law.

Authored by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, with Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, as its House sponsor, the bill would authorize public school districts to welcome chaplains as hired staff or as volunteers to provide support, services and programs for students.

SB36 is similar to a bill passed into law in 2023 in Texas. Texas legislators passed Senate Bill 763 allowing public schools to hire unlicensed chaplains with safety funds, in the wake of criticism that it did not include mandatory training requirements or define a chaplain's role in a manner that suited those in opposition of the measure.

More: Chaplains for public schools proposal reemerges in new bill

Some of the bill's language has remained largely the same. It would still require chaplains to pass a background check and they would need no certification from the Oklahoma Department of Education.

But new requirements were added to the measure before the recent House vote. Notably, under the newly amended bill, chaplains are prohibited from proselytizing — something the bill's critics have warned against.

In addition, other requirements were added:

  • A chaplain shall be a person who obtains an ecclesiastical endorsement from their faith group certifying that such chaplain is a minister, rabbi, priest, imam, lay leader, or similar functionary of the faith group;

  • Qualified morally, intellectually, and emotionally to serve as a chaplain;

  • Sensitive to religious pluralism and able to provide for the free exercise of religion by all students.

  • Chaplains also will be required to have completed or possess a baccalaureate degree, completing 120 semester hours, a graduate degree in theological or religious studies, and at least 72 hours in graduate work. Both degrees are required to be from accredited universities.

More: Should chaplains be allowed in Oklahoma's public schools? Lawmakers, faith leaders sound off

Support and opposition for chaplains in Oklahoma public schools

West and Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, who authored a similar bill, could not be reached for comment. Williams' bill and other proposed measures with similar language authored by Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, and Rep. Sherrie Conley, R-Newcastle, became dormant when they did not make it out of committee earlier in the current legislative session. The chaplaincy language then resurfaced in SB36, originally authored by Dahm and Rep. Jon Echols.

One of the bill's biggest supporters is Johnny Davis, chief development officer of the Norman-based National School Chaplain Association, has said chaplains are embedded in other areas of society such as corporate America, the military, sports teams, the U.S. Senate and hospitals — why not public schools? Along those lines, West, in a House debate over the bill, said he envisioned school chaplains operating similar to military chaplains under the new measure.

Opponents of the bill, including Rep. Mickey Dollens, D-Oklahoma City, and Rep. John Waldron, D-Tulsa, spoke out against the bill before casting their "no" votes.

Oklahoma Rep. John Waldron during Muslim Day at the Oklahoma Capitol Monday, March 13, 2023
Oklahoma Rep. John Waldron during Muslim Day at the Oklahoma Capitol Monday, March 13, 2023

Waldron said as a former school teacher, he is concerned that the bill would violate students' privacy rights and become a "massive liability." He also said he thought it would violate the principle of separation of church and state.

"No matter how you slice it, allowing them to serve in an official capacity in the school, cloaks them in the authority of the school, and that's going to be a violation of the Establishment Clause," he said.

Dollens said that chaplains are not trained to provide mental health services and the bill is part of a larger trend of theocratic legislation in Oklahoma.

The bill has other critics, as well. Oklahoma Faith Coalition, a coalition of Christian denominations, individuals churches and other faith groups; ACLU-Oklahoma and the Freedom From Religion Foundation remain opposed to the bill.

Mickey Dollens represents District 93 as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
Mickey Dollens represents District 93 as a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

Hot topic in Texas

Chaplains in public schools became a hot button topic in Texas this spring because school districts across the state had until February 28 to decide whether or not they would opt in on the chaplain program created by SB 763.

The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Interfaith Alliance and Texas Impact, an interfaith grassroots network, sent school districts across Texas a letter signed by more than 100 Texas chaplains urging school leaders to reject the chaplain law. But Texas lawmakers who voted to approve the bill said the measure was a way to support school districts facing a shortage of school counselors.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma bill allowing chaplains in public schools advances to Senate