Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that mandates a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day so that students have time to pray, Fox News reported.
The bill received bipartisan support in the Florida legislature, passing easily in both the House and the Senate.
The bill does not mandate that students pray in a particular way, or even pray at all.
It simply gives them a moment to quietly prepare for the day.
“We think it’s something that’s important to be able to provide each student the ability at every day to be able to reflect and to be able to pray as they see fit,” DeSantis said.
He also argued that America has always been a fundamentally Christian nation, and that Christianity is essential for good citizenship.
“The idea that you can just push God out of every institution and be successful, I’m sorry, our founding fathers did not believe that,” he stated.
DeSantis has made waves in the last year, providing much-needed leadership in the Republican party by taking a stand on important issues.
For example, he has opposed critical race theory and has penalized Big Tech for censorship.
In recent weeks, DeSantis has also signed an election integrity bill and a bill which limits local COVID restrictions.
The writers of the prayer bill emphasized that children will not be required to use the time for any sort of prayer in particular, while suggesting that it will help children mentally prepare.
Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said the bill “empowers families to begin those ongoing conversations with their child on what they might reflect on during the moment of silence, and help them use this time as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming day.”
State Rep. Randy Fine added that “children desperately need time for quiet reflection” during times of “technological, media-driven, and societal turmoil.”
