Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB 1317 and HB 931. The two bills allow mentoring organizations (HB 1317) and volunteer chaplains (HB 931) on public school campuses.

The organizations permitted by HB1317 include:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
• The Boy Scouts of America
• The Boys & Girls Clubs of America
• The Civil Air Patrol
• Future Farmers of America
• The Girl Scouts of the United States of America
• Little League Baseball
• The Marine Corps League
• The Navy Seal Cadet Corps

“I’d like to thank Governor DeSantis for signing HB 1317,” said Florida State Rep. Berny Jacques. “This is an important piece of legislation that allows patriotic organizations in our schools, organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters — a mentoring organization that I’ve been involved with for over 10 years, starting back when I was a young prosecutor. Big Brothers Big Sisters works well with many of our schools, but this legislation will help us double down on our efforts so kids will turn out to be productive members of society, and not as a file on a prosecutor’s desk.”

HB 931 permits volunteer chaplains for K-12 schools across the state. Chaplains will be assigned by the district school board or charter school governing board. A student may only receive support offered by school chaplains with written parental consent.

““At a time when much of the country is facing a mental health crisis, having volunteer chaplains for K-12 schools is a common sense solution ,” Rep. Stan McClain said.  “We are selling our kids short if we only focus on meeting their intellectual needs but fail to make provision for their spiritual and emotional needs. Once again, Florida and Gov. DeSantis lead the nation in a policy change that will make public education better for everyone.”