Florida voters could see a proposal next year to enshrine broad religious protections in schools into the state constitution. The measure comes from new legislation filed in the Florida House, though groups advocating for separation of church and state warn the amendment could be applied selectively.
“There’s just an overwhelming attack on faith throughout this country,” said State Representative Chase Tramont (R-Port Orange), sponsor of the joint resolution.
Tramont’s proposal incorporates elements from existing state laws, including a mandatory moment of silent reflection at the start of the school day, the right to offer a prayer over the loudspeaker before state athletic championship games, the right for students to express religious viewpoints on school topics, and protections allowing students, parents, and teachers to wear clothing reflecting their religious beliefs.
Tramont argued that Florida already leads the nation in protecting religious freedoms for students, teachers, and parents but wants those protections to be safeguarded long-term. “Because this is not policy that we’re discussing here, these are constitutional, inalienable God-given rights,” he said.
However, critics question the state’s record on applying such laws equally. Devon Graham with American Atheists pointed to incidents like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 claim that the Satanic Temple was “not a religion” after it sought participation in a state school chaplain program. Graham also cited cases where Muslim charter schools faced scrutiny over state funding while Christian charter schools did not.
“Especially when the Attorney General, maybe a couple weeks ago, decried a Muslim charter school taking state funds, but didn’t do the same for the hundreds of Christian charter schools,” Graham said. He argued the amendment would largely reinforce the predominant religion rather than protect all faiths.
Supporters, however, say the amendment ensures equal protection for all religions. Anthony Verdugo with the Christian Family Coalition of Florida said, “It sends the message that this is so important to us, our first right in the U.S. Constitution is so important to us, that we are willing to amend our state constitution to reflect it as such.”
Tramont is working to secure a Senate sponsor. The legislation would need 60 percent approval in both chambers to appear on the 2026 ballot, and then 60 percent voter approval in November to become part of the state constitution.
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