DeSantis signs law mandating daily moment of silence in Florida schools

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed a new law mandating that public schools in the Sunshine State have a daily moment of silence.

The bill, which DeSantis signed into law on Monday, requires teachers to set aside at least one minute each day in the first period of school for a moment of silence.

Teachers are prohibited “from making suggestions as to the nature of any reflection that a student may engage in during the moment of silence,” the law states.

DeSantis spoke about the new law in religious terms when signing it on Monday, saying it allows students to “reflect and be able to pray as they see fit,” according to local television station WJXT.

The governor, a close ally of former president Trump, signed the bill at a Jewish community center while behind a placard that read “protect religious liberty,” the local outlet reported.

The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Randy Fine (R) and passed the state House in a 94-24 vote and the state Senate in a 32-6 vote.

Democratic lawmakers have opposed the new law, criticizing it as a new prayer bill.

State Rep. Omari Hardy (D) took to Twitter on Monday to knock GOP lawmakers over the new law.

The Republican who sponsored the bill said that it wasn’t about prayer in school. (Of course it was!)

But when you question their motives, or their honesty, it’s called a personal attack & deemed out of order.

No. The Republicans lie, and we need to call them on it every time. https://t.co/BSDKJuS3fu

— Rep. Omari Hardy (@OmariJHardy) June 14, 2021

This comes after Florida adopted a new rule pushed by DeSantis that bans the teaching of critical race theory in schools. 

The new moment-of-silence legislation will go into effect on July 1.