Bill allowing chaplains in Md. schools opens the door to proselytizing

By Mickey Dollens

Religious Maryland lawmakers are offering a false solution to a real problem.

Like most states, Maryland faces a serious shortage of school mental-health professionals. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of 250 students per counselor, yet Maryland’s average is closer to 327. The gap is even wider for school psychologists, with roughly 1,000 students per psychologist — nearly double the recommended maximum.

Rather than investing in licensed, trained mental-health professionals, House Bill 24 attempts to address the shortage by inserting unlicensed volunteer chaplain aides into public schools to provide “support services” to students.

The bill lacks even the most basic safeguards. It does not prohibit proselytizing, require parental consent or list any professional standards for chaplains working in schools. It tramples the religious liberty of students and disregards the very same parental rights that some of the bill’s supporters claim to value so much.

Don’t fall for the rhetoric claiming that public school chaplains won’t proselytize. Of course they will — and that is precisely the point of this bill. HB 24 does nothing to prevent a volunteer chaplain from using a school-sanctioned role to advance religious beliefs during the school day. Imagine a county superintendent who attends a Baptist church recruiting that church’s pastor to serve as a school chaplain — encouraging students to meet with him during the school day and allowing the pastor to proselytize during those meetings. Such a school would obviously be favoring religion over nonreligion, and favoring the county superintendent’s own specific denomination over all others.

Then there’s the parental consent problem, or rather, the complete absence of it. Parents are routinely required to sign permission slips for field trips and school photos. Yet, HB 24 would allow chaplains to counsel children during the school day without notifying families, let alone obtaining their approval.

How about professional standards? There aren’t any.

Chaplains serving in other government settings, including the military, prisons and hospitals, are typically required to meet rigorous accreditation standards, including graduate-level theological education, endorsement by a recognized religious body, background checks, and specialized training in ethics, pluralism and professional boundaries. HB 24 requires none of that. Under this bill, a school chaplain would not need formal training, counseling credentials or any accreditation. There is no requirement that they understand child development, trauma-informed care, mandatory reporting obligations or the constitutional limits on religion in public schools.

A major driving force behind this legislation is the National School Chaplain Association. Its parent organization has openly stated that it places Christian chaplains in public schools with the goal of converting non-Christian students — “reaching the largest unreached people group inside of the public schools around the world” to ensure that “the saving grace of Jesus becomes well known.” The same organization has said it intends to exploit the “massive lack of school counselors throughout public schools” to insert chaplains to “share God’s word” and “disciple” students.

If lawmakers genuinely care about student well-being, the answer is not to blur the line between state and church. It is to invest in what actually works: hiring more licensed counselors and psychologists trained to support students of all backgrounds without pushing religious doctrine.

Supporters of the bill should reflect on the simple truth that religious liberty requires a secular government, including a secular public school system. The House  Ways and Means Committee should reject House Bill 24, as it has in the past two sessions without a vote.