A bill being deliberated in the Senate would allow chaplains to work and volunteer in public schools to offer staff and students secular support and advice. (Lauren Chapman/IPB News)
Public school principals and superintendents could hire chaplains or allow them to volunteer at schools under a measure in the Indiana Senate. The chamber passed a similar bill last year but didn’t make it past the House.
SB 523 says chaplains who work in schools would provide secular support and advice to staff and students. It specifies that they could only provide religious or spiritual guidance to minors with explicit parental permission.
“The idea of a chaplain is not to convert people to a different religion,” said Sen. Stacy Donato (R-Logansport), the bill’s author. “They are there to support people regardless of their faith. If an employee or child does not feel comfortable with that support or talking to a chaplain, they don’t have to.”
Chaplains would be required to undergo extensive criminal background checks to work in schools and have at least a bachelor’s degree in divinity, theology or religious studies. They would also be required to have at least two years of counseling experience.
Donato said schools would not be required to use chaplains, but having the ability to would add another tool to their toolboxes.
“It is up to local control of the schools if they would like to add this resource to their district,” she said. “There is a parental consent provision for any supportive services that they request.”
Some advocates for the bill said chaplains could help students with anxiety and mental health struggles or mediate disagreements. They said giving schools the ability to hire chaplains could also help reduce the burden on school counselors.
Robert Thatcher, a real estate broker from Elkhart and a board member of the National School Chaplain Association, said lawmakers have poured state dollars into solving the school counselor shortage with few results. He said chaplains could go a long way toward solving that shortage.
“I believe SB 523 is the policy that supersedes yet more monetary funding, as important as that is,” he said. “This is the policy that can yield true results on a daily basis throughout Indiana.”
Some religious leaders who spoke in favor of the bill said chaplains can meet students where they are and provide encouragement, a listening ear and non-spiritual support.
The bill’s opponents said chaplains are not specifically trained to work with children and the counseling requirement is vague. Some lawmakers said they take issue with schools being able to hire someone with no official training, but they would support amending the bill to allow professionals from a variety of fields to volunteer in schools.
A handful of education leaders, community members and faith leaders also testified on the measure.
Sarah Lund is the senior pastor at First Congregational United Church of Christ and serves on the board of Mental Health America. She said chaplains are not trained to give secular advice and shouldn’t be placed in that role.
“I am concerned about this bill because you’re bringing my ministry that my church does into the schools, and I’m afraid that this bill will take away the mission and purpose of our faith communities,” she said, “That’s what we’re for. We’re the ones who provide spiritual care to our young people and families. So please honor that that’s our unique role in society.”
Some other faith leaders who testified on the measure said “chaplain” is the wrong term to use in the bill. A representative from Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Danielle Coulter, suggested changing it to something along the lines of “volunteer counselor.” She said anyone who receives the designation should have similar skills and training to licensed school counselors.
Robert Taylor, executive director at the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents, said his organization supports the bill. He said the idea behind who would be permitted to become a chaplain seems clear, and he is in favor of providing any additional support he can to schools to prevent tragedies stemming from poor mental health.
"When we’re talking about chaplains, we’re talking about priests. We’re talking about ministers. Rabbis. Any person of faith, to come and support schools," Taylor said. "And if they are inappropriate, which may happen, I believe the bill allows for the recourse to address those inappropriate behaviors."
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Many people who testified against the bill said chaplains are not a suitable alternative to school counselors, who are mandated to receive training on how to handle student mental heath crises.
Aaron Spiegel, executive director and president of the Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance, said there is no definitive definition of chaplains and no certification or process to become one. He said schools should not hire chaplains to replace school counselors.
“Even among those who are certified chaplains, nothing in their training gives them the skills to be a school counselor,” he said. “I recognize and sympathize with the shortage of school counselors, but chaplains are not the answer here.”
Gray Lesesne, a pastor at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis, also testified against the bill. He said he would be eligible to become a school chaplain under the measure, but he is not qualified to help students in the way the bill describes.
“I can attest that most seminaries, mine included, do not train clergy for these secular types of roles,” he said. “My pastoral counseling coursework from an accredited seminary was focused on spiritual matters, not the complex academic, emotional and developmental needs of young people.”
The bill passed committee and is expected to be heard by the full Senate.
Kirsten is our education reporter. Contact her at kadair@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @kirsten_adair.
