Scores of school chaplains from around Texas wrote a letter to school boards across the state urging them to reject a Republican state proposal that would put state-endorsed volunteer religious advocates in schools instead of school guidance counselors.
“Because of our training and experience, we know that chaplains are not a replacement for school counselors or safety measures in our public schools, and we urge you to reject this flawed policy option: It is harmful to our public schools and the students and families they serve,” the chaplains wrote. [Emphasis in original.]
Republican Texas Governor and Rio Grande drowning advocate Greg Abbott signed the bill in June allowing schools to provide chaplains to handle situations typically handled by trained school counselors, crisis management teams or mental health professionals. The bill, SB 763, includes the use of religious chaplains to counsel students considering suicide, which might include helping students who are trans or who find themselves pregnant, issues that a chaplain may not work for in the best interests of the child given the chaplain’s religious belief.