On June 15, 2021, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB529, requiring all K-12 public schools in Florida to hold a minute, but not more than two minutes, of silence during the first class of their school day. Before signing the bill, DeSantis said, “It’s important to be able to provide each student the ability every day to reflect and be able to pray as they see fit.”

Representative Randy Fine, who introduced HB 529, intended his bill to give children a time of quiet reflection amid today’s hectic pace. Fine also encouraged parents to guide their children at home on how best to use the time of silence for prayer, meditation, or simply an opportunity to identify and prepare for the upcoming day’s challenges.

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Not many would disagree that students face a myriad of challenges in their lives and need some quiet time to reflect on how to handle life’s obstacles. Indeed, a moment of silent reflection couldn’t hurt, but it didn’t take long for the firestorm of opposition to surface.

Democrat Florida State Rep. Omari Hardy quickly tweeted a criticism of the moments of silence. “The Republican who sponsored the bill said it wasn’t about prayer in school. (Of course, it was!)…No, Republicans lie, and we need to call them out every time.“ The American Atheists issued a statement labeling the bill as a backdoor for mandating prayer in the classroom.

The opposition of any reference to God in public schools is not new. Our public school system was founded in the 1830s by Horace Mann, a Unitarian who wanted to separate children from the religious roots of their parents. Mann knew that if taxpayer money were used to fund public education, every citizen would have a voice in school decisions. The opinions of the secular public ruled the day. Gradually laws and curricula removed references to God. The use of money from taxes became the reason for the Supreme Court ruling in 1962 to remove prayer from school. Justice William Douglas stated in his opinion that government-mandated prayer was unconstitutional on the grounds of misappropriation of public funds.

Horace Mann was so successful in his secularization of public education that education historian Samuel Blumenfeld credits Horace Mann as the person most responsible for changing the course of America from its religious roots to socialism, through education.

The critics of Moments of Silence may voice their opposition and look for Social Justice programs to save failing schools, but another program is not what we need. Governor DeSantis spoke the truth when he said, “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.”

It remains to be seen whether Governor DeSantis’ Moments of Silence will be challenged in the courts, but astute and honest men and women perceive the pressures of the world against our youth and realize that in a Moment of Silence, God can speak His plans into their lives and breathe hope into the hopeless. Let us pray that God will do just that.

About the Author: Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. Currently, Nancy serves as the Heartland Apostolic Prayer Network (HAPN) Lead Prayer Coordinator for the Mountain of Education. For additional information go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/