Gov. DeSantis signed the bill (HB 529) into law at the Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside, Fla., which is an Orthodox Jewish community center.
“It’s important to be able to provide each student the ability every day to reflect and be able to pray as they see fit,” said DeSantis after signing the bill. “The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I’m sorry, our Founding Fathers did not believe that.”
The new law’s summary states, “The bill requires a moment of silence to be set aside for students during each school day. The bill directs the principal of each public school to require teachers in first-period classrooms in all grades to set aside one to two minutes daily for a moment of silence, during which students may not interfere with other students’ participation.”
The bill also provides that a teacher:
- May not make suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence.
- Must encourage parents to discuss the moment of silence with their children and to make suggestions as to the best use of this time.
The legislation passed in the Florida Senate 94-24, and in the Florida house, 32-6.