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Indianas student-to-counselor ratio ranks worst in the nation, according to the 2023 State of the Indiana Girl Report published in September.

Two bills introduced in the General Assembly one in the House, the other in the Senate seek to fill the counselor void, but critics say their solution is unconstitutional and could end up further harming some childrens emotional and mental health.

House Bill 1192 and Senate Bill 50 would allow public and charter schools to employ chaplains, or approve them as volunteers, to counsel students and staff. Though school chaplains wouldnt be required to divulge privileged or confidential communications, the bills are written to invite skepticism as to the ultimate goal of allowing pastoral care.

The Senate version, authored by Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, says a chaplain may only provide secular assistance, unless the student (or their parent or guardian) gives consent for religious advice, guidance and support services. The House proposal of Rep. Doug Miller, R-Elkhart, does not include such language.

The primary role of chaplains is to provide pastoral or religious counseling to people in spiritual need, the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana said in a statement. Allowing them to assume official positions whether paid or voluntary in public schools will create an environment ripe for religious coercion and indoctrination of students.

Without any oversight to prevent chaplains from imposing their own religious viewpoint on the children they counsel, HB 1192 and SB 50 could undermine the religious freedom of students of all faiths and no faith.

For a transgender student experiencing mental health concerns, especially in light of Senate Enrolled Act 480 that banned childrens gender-affirming care last year, having a chaplain provide counsel could be harmful.

The Indiana Youth Institute and Girl Coalition of Indiana examined mental health data and surveys completed by school-age children and found schools statewide employed just 1,494 counselors for more than 1 million students.

Proponents of HB 1192 and SB 50 likely will tout the proposals as remedies to the mental health needs of Hoosier students.

Chaplains are trained and certified to provide spiritual and emotional support. Lawmakers should leave mental health care services to the professional school counselors qualified to do that job.

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Faith-based school chaplains would test First Amendment - Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

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Arrested citizen journalist wasn't 'martyr' for journalism, 5th Circuit says in tossing her First Amendment suit  ABA Journal

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Arrested citizen journalist wasn't 'martyr' for journalism, 5th Circuit says in tossing her First Amendment suit - ABA Journal

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First Amendment Bowled Over by Lanham Act Again  The National Law Review

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First Amendment Bowled Over by Lanham Act Again - The National Law Review

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Pointing to childrens mental health and online sexual predators, the Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that seeks to prevent children under age 16 from having social media accounts.

The House voted 106-13 to approve the measure (HB 1), a priority of House Speaker Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast. The issue will go to the Senate, amid arguments from parts of the tech industry that the bill would be unconstitutional.

This is about protecting children from addictive technology and what we know harms them, Renner told House members after the vote. And what the social-media platforms know. For years, they have known this and they have failed to act. By your vote today, we have done so.

Lawmakers said children have suffered mental health problems because of such things as bullying on social media. They also said the technology makes children targets for sexual predators.

The truth is, people use these platforms to prey on our children, Rep. Kevin Chambliss, D-Homestead, said.

But opponents questioned the bills constitutionality and said it would take away the rights of parents to determine whether their children use social media. Thirteen Democrats voted against the bill, while 23 Democrats joined Republicans in supporting it.

Rep. Daryl Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, called the bill a complete governmental overreach.

Parents should have the ultimate decision-making ability for their child, Rep. Ashley Gantt, D-Miami, said. I 100 percent agree with the bill sponsors position of making sure that we protect children. I 100 percent agree. But it should not come at the cost of parents being able to make the ultimate decision in how they raise their child.

The bill would prevent minors under 16 from creating social media accounts and would require social media platforms to terminate existing accounts that are reasonably known by the platforms to be held by children younger than 16. It also would allow parents to request that minors accounts be terminated.

The bill would require platforms to use independent organizations to conduct age verifications when new accounts are created and would require denial of accounts for people who do not verify their ages. The organizations would be required to delete the data after ages are verified.

Meta, the parent company of platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, and NetChoice, a tech industry group, last week criticized the proposal and raised the possibility that it would be challenged in court.

NetChoice posted testimony on its website that said the bill has constitutional flaws. It said federal courts have blocked similar social-media restrictions in other states.

If passed, HB 1 would violate minors First Amendment rights by imposing a blanket restriction on access to constitutionally protected speech for anyone who is either under the age of 16 or refuses to comply with the laws age-verification requirements, the industry group said. The fact that HB 1 covers the internet rather than books, television programs, or video games, does not change the First Amendment issue.

But Renner, an attorney, told reporters that the bill doesnt violate the First Amendment. He said the bill is directed toward addictive technology, not content.

This is why weve narrowly defined it, because Its a situation in which kids cant stay off the platforms, and as a result of that, they have been trapped in an environment that is harming their mental health, Renner said.

The Senate version of the bill (SB 1788) has not started moving through committees as lawmakers near the end of the third week of the 60-day legislative session.

Also Wednesday, the House unanimously passed another Renner priority (HB 3) that would require age verification to try to prevent minors under age 18 from having access to online pornography.

The bill would set a series of standards for determining whether online material would be harmful, such as whether it appeals to the prurient interest and lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value for minors.

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Florida House passes HB 1 to ban kids 16 and under from having social media accounts - NBC 6 South Florida

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Lawmakers debate whether mostly banning mugshots violates the First Amendment - My Buckhannon

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