Dear Friends,
In the last few days, Governor DeSantis signed the following education bills into law:
HB 931 establishes a statewide school chaplain program, which:
▪ Authorizes school districts and charter schools to allow volunteer chaplains to be on school campuses and provide additional counseling support to students.
- 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.
HB 1317 authorizes districts to allow civic and patriotic organizations to visit schools to encourage student participation and involvement. These organizations 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
SB 1264, which does the following:
▪ Adds to existing Communist history standards with instruction on the history of Communism in the United States and the tactics of Communist movements.
▪ Authorizes the newly-established Institute for Freedom in the Americas at Miami Dade College to promote the importance of economic and individual freedoms as a means to advance human progress—specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean.
- This institute will partner with the Adam Smith Center for Economic Freedom at Florida International University.
▪ Enables the Florida Department of State, in collaboration with the Florida Department of Education, to recommend to the Legislature the creation of a Florida-based museum on the history of Communism.
▪ Prepares students to withstand indoctrination on Communism at colleges and universities.
Thank you for reading this legislative update and for engaging in your government. As always, it is an honor to be your Senator.
Onward & Upward,
Senator Dennis Baxley
