Jason Delgado
A bill that would require athletic associations to allow prayer before a high school sporting events is moving to the House floor.
The bill (HB 1027) cleared its final committee Wednesday, garnering a 15-6 vote from the Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee.
Sponsored by Republican Rep. Webster Barnaby of Deltona, the bill would afford a speaker two-minutes of public remarks over a loudspeaker before a high school championship game.
Under the bill, an association — such as the Florida High School Athletic Association — would be required to announce that a school’s opening remarks are “not endorsed by the association, nor do they reflect the views and opinions of the association.”
Notably, state law designates the Florida High School Athletic Association as the governing nonprofit organization for school athletics for grades 6 through 12 in public school.
Associations would also be barred from controlling the school’s remarks or choice of speaker.
“The bill provides that the decision to allow opening remarks before regular-season contests is at the discretion of each school,” a staff analysis adds.
The proposal comes after the Florida High School Athletic Association prohibited two schools from using a loudspeaker to broadcast a pre-game prayer at a high school championship game in 2016.
In 2019, the Eleventh Circuit determined the decision “may have violated constitutional free speech protections,” according to a staff analysis. The federal lawsuit is still ongoing.
“The court’s analysis hinged on whether the speech over the loudspeaker was considered government or private speech,” the analysis adds.
When asked, Barnaby told committee members the proposal may prevent future instances.
“This bill is necessary because nothing is codified in state law that would allow this to proceed,” he said.
The bill now awaits a full House vote. If signed into law, the bill would take effect July 1.
Meanwhile, a Senate companion bill (SB 880) sponsored by Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez is postponed.
