The Lone Star State made the change after a U.S. Supreme Court case examined the concept of separation of church and state.
Texas passed a groundbreaking law this year allowing chaplains in public schools.
Now, the concept is gaining support in other states, as lawmakers file proposed bills to follow the lead of Texas.
The Texas law requires trustees of public schools to vote by March 1 on whether to allow chaplains to “provide support, services, and programs for students” in their institutions.
In Texas, school chaplains now can take on some of the duties of school counselors, who have been in short supply in Texas. They can be volunteers or paid. And they must meet specific standards, such as passing a background check. Convicted sex offenders are banned from serving.
Conservatives across the country have sought to put religion back into public schools after it was banned 50 years ago through a series of rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court.
But in 2022, the high court’s ruling on Kennedy v. Bremerton School District opened the door for religion in schools again, according to some legal experts.
The Supreme Court looked at whether Joseph Kennedy, a high school football coach in the public school system in Washington state, had the right to pray on the field after each game.
School officials asked Mr. Kennedy to pray elsewhere or at a later time. But he continued the practice of taking the field immediately following games.
Players and others joined him in praying publicly on the football field. That raised concerns by some that it would be seen as a violation of the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause, which prohibits the “establishment” of a state religion.
After his contract was not renewed, Mr. Kennedy sued the school board.
Seven years later, the nation’s highest court ruled 6-3 in the landmark decision finding that the school had violated his rights of freedom of speech and freedom to exercise his religion. Both are protected by the Constitution’s First Amendment.
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