I don’t think chaplains should be in schools

In July 2023, I wrote a commentary piece for The Buckeye Flame on a bill that would have allowed public school districts in Ohio to hire or bring in volunteer chaplains. Ultimately, that bill didn’t go anywhere, but it was recycled in October 2025 as Ohio House Bill (HB) 531, or the School Chaplains Act. Recently, HB 531 had a second hearing (proponent testimony) on March 3, 2026, and is scheduled for a third hearing (opponent testimony) on March 10, 2026.

Conservative Christian lawmakers push for chaplains to serve as ‘substitute mothers and fathers’ in Ohio public schools

HB 531 would allow, but not require, Ohio school districts to adopt policies allowing trained clergy to volunteer as chaplains in public schools. The chaplains would, according to the text of the bill, provide “spiritual programming, support, and counseling.” Each chaplain would have to pass a criminal background check and receive “endorsement or certification by a recognized ecclesiastical endorsing agency.” Beyond those requirements, each district would have the ability to impose their own restrictions and requirements.

While the bill is clear that chaplains couldn’t replace school counselors, they could work in conjunction with those counselors.

The only change, substantive or otherwise, made from the bill proposed in 2023 is that school districts could only allow volunteer chaplains. Such chaplains could not be hired by the districts.

While neither HB 531 nor its sponsors state this as the bill’s purpose, Ohio has a deficit of school counselors. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of one school counselor for every 250 students. The ratio in Ohio is one counselor for every 380 students (which is slight improvement from when the bill was proposed in 2023, when the ratio was 1:400).

The clearest reason for HB 531 is to close that gap. But that framing begs our initial question: Why chaplains?

Unfortunately, neither HB 531 nor its primary sponsors have answered that question. In their respective sponsor testimonies, Republican Reps. Johnathan Newman, himself an evangelical pastor, and Kevin Ritter offered statistics about chaplain programs in other states and how universities, hospitals, prisons and the military have had chaplains. Rep. Newman traced the history of military chaplains back to the American Revolution, though he omitted how the first Jewish chaplain wasn’t appointed until 1862 and the first Muslim chaplain wasn’t appointed until 1993.

The greater point they both miss is that universities, hospitals, prisons and the military are typically the realm of adults, K-12 education is obviously different.

My commentary essay in 2023 asked several questions of the bill and those questions have still not been answered by HB 531, its sponsors or its proponents. In fact, Rep. Newman and Rep. Ritter’s sponsor testimonies introduce new questions. First, who are these chaplains and what education and training do they need to receive to be a chaplain in K-12 schools? Professional chaplains receive comprehensive training to provide care in particular environments. I’m a trained pastor with both a masters degree and a doctorate in education. I am not trained to be a chaplain in a hospital, prison or the military, much less a public K-12 school.

Second, if the chaplains are drawn from particular congregations, denominations and religions, how well will they be able to support students of diverse faiths, particularly religious minorities? This question is particularly important for rural districts where certain traditions may have no clergy to represent them – but it’s also a question that needs to be asked of any clergy as they work with people, particularly children, from different denominations and congregations even within their own tradition.

Third, what supervision will the chaplains receive? While HB 531 requires that each chaplain will need to clear a criminal background check and allows each district or school to create other requirements, it offers no further guidance about how and from whom each chaplain will receive supervision. Will schools and districts need to hire additional staff? Will already busy administrators be assigned additional responsibility?

Fourth, will chaplains be required to utilize and promote evidence-based interventions? Would they be required to treat sexual orientation and gender identity as identities and not pathologies? If the chaplains received little supervision relative to what they can tell students, a non-affirming chaplain could attempt to “change” a student’s sexual orientation or gender identity through conversion “therapy” and other harmful, pseudoscientific means.

Fifth, and this question is perhaps the most important, could Ohio school districts employ other strategies to meet the same results? In his testimony, Rep. Newman cited statistics from the National School Chaplain Association (NSCA), whose founder and CEO later testified as a proponent of the bill.

One of those data points: “No suicides in schools with chaplains present for two or more years.” Assuming that statistic is accurate, it’s a commendable accomplishment. But we also know that LGBTQIA+ students who feel supported by their school community and the adults in their lives have a far lower incidence of suicidal ideation. In addition to sponsoring HB 531, Rep. Newman is currently sponsoring or co-sponsoring eight anti-LGBTQIA+ bills.

Placing chaplains in schools without substantive requirements and regulations presents major problems. While HB 531 may, in some sense, seek to resolve the shortage of school counselors in Ohio, it does so at the risk of students. 🔥

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The Buckeye Flame’s Ohio LGBTQ+ legislation guide for 2025-26 can be found here.
To find contact information for your Ohio state representative, click here.
To find contact information for your Ohio state senator, click here.
If you are a young LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact the Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
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