TALLAHASSEE -- School districts could allow voluntary student prayer at graduations and other non-required student assemblies under a bill the state House passed Tuesday.
It was the third time in less than a year the House has passed a school prayer measure. A similar proposal passed last spring and again in a special session in October but the Senate took up neither.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Wilbert "Tee" Holloway, would let school districts permit invocations, benedictions or inspirational messages at graduations and other assemblies. It passed 88-28.
Duval County, which includes Jacksonville, has such a policy allowing student-led prayers that has been upheld in the federal courts as constitutional.
Holloway has said the bill (CS HB 667) simply clarifies that it's OK for other districts to do the same. He said it would permit districts to allow prayers or inspirational messages, such as a poem, not require them to, and was nonsectarian.
"This bill is not intended to advance or endorse any religious belief," said Holloway, D-Miami.
A similar bill (SB 572) is pending in the Senate.
Gov. Jeb Bush said Tuesday he hasn't had time to review the legislation but questioned whether it was needed in light of the Jacksonville ruling.
"I'm not sure what the difference here is compared to what already exists and I'm not sure we need to pass laws if it's already allowed," he said.
Jewish members of the Legislature have been the most vocal opponents, saying it infringes on freedom of religion and argued against the bill again Tuesday.
"Well, here we go again," said Rep. Mark Weissman, D-Parkland.
He said the measure's supporters were trying "to force the religious will of the majority on all the minority religions in our pluralistic society" and said the bill smacked of the religious intolerance of the Taliban.
Rep. Ken Gottlieb said the proposal restricted religious freedom because if districts adopt such policies it would force non-Christian students to listen to Christian prayers or forgo important events such as graduation.
Gottlieb, D-Hollywood, said students already have the right to pray individually and in groups or discuss their religious beliefs with their peers as long as they are not disruptive.
Under the House bill, a prayer or inspirational message could be delivered by a student volunteer and would have to be "nonsectarian and nonproselytizing." The bill specifies school staff can't participate in the message.