Florida Department of Education rolls out guidelines for Volunteer School Chaplain Program

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Tue., Aug. 20, Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. announced policy to provide Florida schools with credible chaplains.

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The Volunteer School Chaplains Program has been created to help provide schools with additional student resources.

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“Florida welcomes only legitimate and officially authorized chaplains to become volunteers at their local schools and to provide students with morally sound guidance,” Diaz Jr. said in a statement.

The model policy reads that examples of student resources include “mentoring students, assisting with extracurricular activities such as religiously affiliated clubs, building resiliency skills, and offering spiritual guidance as requested.”

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Principals will need to notify all parents, every year, of the availability of the Volunteer School Chaplain Program. The guidelines are also meant to ensure each person who applies to serve as a volunteer chaplain meets minimum requirements to ensure credible chaplains are part of the program.

Read the Model Police: Volunteer School Chaplains Program in its entirety:

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