Written by Don Byrd
Florida’s SB 98 became law with plenty of fanfare earlier this year, but school districts are not keen on putting lawmakers’ vision into place. The bill empowers school districts to allow students to deliver “inspirational messages” at school events, provided they are not led by faculty or staff. So far, though, the option is being ignored.
Wayne Blanton, the executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, told the News Service of Florida this week that the measure is a “political bill” that school districts are unlikely to impose because of the threat of costly litigation
“On our advice, they are going nowhere with it,” Blanton said, adding that only one district, Clay County, has even considered implementing the policy.
This bill is a classic election-year bad idea. It doesn’t serve the cause of religious liberty. It serves only to drag a school district down a path of expensive litigation in a likely futile effort to end-run the constitutional prohibition against school-sponsored prayer. Ignoring it seems like a good idea.
