In July 2023, I wrote a comment to Buckeye Flame on a bill that would allow public school districts in Ohio to hire or bring in volunteer chaplains. Ultimately, this bill went nowhere, but in October 2025 it was recycled as Ohio House Bill (HB) 531or the School Chaplains Act. Most recently, HB 531 had a second hearing (opposing party testimony) on March 3, 2026, and a third hearing (opposing party testimony) was scheduled for March 10, 2026.
HB 531 allows, but does not require, Ohio school districts to adopt policies allowing trained clergy to volunteer as chaplains in public schools. According to the bill’s text, chaplains would provide “spiritual programming, support and counseling.” Each chaplain would be required to pass a criminal background check and receive “endorsement or certification from a recognized ecclesiastical approving agency.” In addition to these requirements, each district would be able to impose its own restrictions and requirements.
While the bill clearly states that chaplains cannot replace school counselors, they could work with those counselors.
The only change – substantive or otherwise – made in the 2023 proposed bill is that school districts could only accept volunteer chaplains. Districts could not employ such chaplains.
Although neither HB 531 nor its sponsors state that as a goal of the bill, there is a shortage of school counselors in Ohio. The American School Counselor Association recommends that there should be one school counselor for every 250 students. The intercourse in Ohio there is one counselor for every 380 students (which is a slight improvement over the bill’s proposal in 2023, when the ratio was 1:400).
The clearest reason for HB 531 is to close this loophole. But this formulation raises our first question: why chaplains?
Unfortunately, neither HB 531 nor its primary sponsors have answered this question. In the testimony of the respective sponsors, Republican Representatives Johnathan Newmanthe evangelical pastor himself and Kevin Ritter presented statistics on chaplaincy programs in other states and how universities, hospitals, prisons, and the military have chaplains. Rep. Newman traced the history of military chaplains back to the American Revolution, although he omitted the fact that the first Jewish chaplain was not appointed until 1862 and the first Muslim chaplain only in 1993.
The larger point they both forget is that universities, hospitals, prisons, and the military are usually the domain of adults, and primary and secondary school education is obviously different.
In my 2023 commentary essay, I raised several questions about the bill that HB 531, its sponsors, and supporters still have not received answers to. In fact, the testimony of sponsors Rep. Newman and Rep. Ritter raises recent questions. First, who are these chaplains and what education and training must they receive to be chaplains in primary and secondary schools? Professional chaplains receive extensive training in providing care in specific settings. I am a trained pastor with both a Master’s and Doctorate in Education. I am not trained to be a chaplain in a hospital, prison or military, much less a public elementary school.
Second, if chaplains come from specific congregations, denominations, and religions, to what extent will they be able to support students of different faiths, especially religious minorities? This question is especially vital for rural districts where certain traditions may not represent clergy – but it is also a question that should be asked of all clergy as they work with people, especially children, from different denominations and congregations, even within their own tradition.
Third, what supervision will chaplains receive? While HB 531 requires that every chaplain must pass a criminal background check and allows each district or school to set different requirements, it does not provide further guidance on how and from whom each chaplain will be supervised. Will schools and districts need to hire additional staff? Will already busy administrators be given additional responsibility?
Fourth, will chaplains be required to employ and promote evidence-based interventions? Would they have to treat sexual orientation and gender identity as an identity rather than a pathology? If chaplains were given little oversight over what they may say to 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, this question is perhaps most vital, could Ohio school districts employ different strategies to achieve the same results? In his testimony, Rep. Newman cited statistics from the National School Chaplains Association (NSCA), whose founder and CEO later testified as a supporter of the bill.
One of these data points: “No suicides in schools where chaplains have been present for two or more years.” Assuming the statistics are true, this is a commendable achievement. However, we also know that LGBTQIA+ students who feel supported by their school community and the adults in their lives are significantly less likely to have suicidal thoughts. 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 creates a grave problem. While HB 531 may go some way to solving Ohio’s school counselor shortage, it does so at the risk of students. 🔥
START ACTION
- The Buckeye Flame Ohio’s 2025-26 LGBTQ+ legislation guide can be found here.
- To find the contact information for your Ohio State Representative, click here.
- To find contact information for an Ohio State Senator, click here.
- If you are a newborn LGBTQ+ person in crisis, please contact Trevor’s project: 866-4-U-Trevor.
- If you are a transgender adult in need of immediate assist, please contact National Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
