Kentucky’s bill requiring ‘moment of silence’ in schools advances in General Assembly

A bill that would mandate a moment of silence in Kentucky public schools at the beginning of each day — strengthening a law that already gives school boards the option — was unanimously approved last week by the Senate Education Committee.

Senate Bill 19, sponsored by state Sen. Rick Girdler, R-Somerset, was supported in the committee hearing by a Lexington rabbi and was opposed by some other members of Kentucky’s Jewish community. Officials from the American Civil Liberties Union-Kentucky wrote a letter to lawmakers expressing their opposition and asking them not to vote on the bill.

It now goes to the full Senate and is set for a Tuesday vote.

Similar bills failed in 2022 and 2024.

Under the bill, the board of education of each local school district must establish a policy and develop procedures in which at the beginning of the first class of each day in all public schools, there shall be a moment of silence or reflection of at least one minute, but not to exceed two minutes.

All pupils must remain seated and silent and not distract others, under the legislation. Students can meditate, pray or engage in any other silent activity that does not interfere with others.

The policy enacted by each school board must prohibit district staff from providing instruction to any student regarding the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence or reflection.

The policy shall require notification be sent to parents or guardians providing information on the policy and encouraging them to provide guidance to students regarding the moment of silence or reflection.

Kate Miller, Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Kentucky, wrote a letter to Senate Education Committee members that said the measure could unconstitutionally encourage prayer during moments of silence.

“Simply mentioning prayer raises constitutional concerns,” she wrote.

The Supreme Court has noted there are “heightened concerns” with protecting students from the “subtle coercive pressure in the elementary and secondary public schools” that comes from school-mandated religious activities, Miller wrote.

”If this bill were to pass, certain students might feel inappropriate pressure to join in prayer each day at school, particularly if they do not share the same religion as others in their classroom,” she wrote.

Miller said students already have the right to pray in public schools. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Kentucky State Constitution clearly protect students’ rights to pray, so long as it is voluntary, non-disruptive, student-led and student-initiated.

“While we appreciate that SB 19 explicitly includes alternatives to prayer, we still feel that SB 19 may be used to coerce students. Praying is inherently religious and choosing to pray is a deeply personal decision. No person, least of all a student in a public school, should feel compelled to pray to fit in or to gain favor from a teacher or coach,” she said.

Under current state law, a local board of education can, but is not required to, authorize the recitation of the traditional Lord’s Prayer. Senate Bill 19 does not address that measure.

Girdler told lawmakers that even though a moment of silence is allowed each day in Kentucky schools, he is unaware of any school that is implementing it.

Senate Bill 19 has no religious connotations, Girdler said.

Rabbi Shlomo Litvin, a director of Chabad of the Bluegrass in Lexington who, at the hearing, represented the Kentucky Jewish Council, spoke in favor of Senate Bill 19.

Litvin said a moment of silence is a valued practice in schools, offering students an opportunity for reflection, mindfulness and focus.

Ben Freed, a Louisville rabbi, spoke against it. He said the problem he had with the bill is that it changes language in state law from saying the class “may” have a moment of silence or reflection to “shall.”

Mandating it goes a step too far, Freed said, especially since the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer is already allowed under state law.

Mindy Haas, executive director of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, said at the committee meeting she strongly opposes Senate Bill 19 and stands alongside Freed. She named two Lexington rabbis who she said also don’t support the bill.

Freed said the vast majority of organizations and synagogues that represent Jews in Kentucky have not supported the bill.

Sen. Reggie Thomas, D-Lexington, voted for the bill. He said it allows students to gather themselves for the day and have a moment of reflection.

This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 11:24 AM.