Senate Bill 325

SB 325 authorizes local school systems and public schools to employ or accept as volunteers school chaplains, requiring school boards to vote on whether to adopt a policy authorizing the employment of school chaplains. It also amends the definition of “child protection professionals” to include school chaplains, allowing them to assume responsibilities typically reserved for licensed school counselors. Moreover, it does not require chaplains to hold professional certifications and exempts them from rules and regulations propagated by the Professional Standards Commission.

The ACLU of Georgia opposes SB 325 because it endangers student well-being and could lead to the evangelizing and religious coercion of students.