LINCOLN- Public school districts in Nebraska could hire clergy to perform the same duties as school counselors under a bill presented at the Legislature. The proposal (LB1065) from Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City would allow school boards to adopt policies that would allow them to hire chaplains — who would not be required to obtain a teaching certificate — in either a volunteer or paid role.

Lippincott told the Education Committee that allowing school districts to hire chaplains would help alleviate some of the teacher and staff shortages experienced around the state, and he said it would benefit both students and teachers. “Chaplains are used in many places already in society like the military, hospitals and correctional facilities, as well as mental health facilities,” Lippincott said.

Lippincott’s bill, which has 12 co-sponsors, is based on a law passed in Texas last year that gives school boards until March 1 to decide whether or not to allow unlicensed chaplains to serve as counselors either as staff members or volunteers. School counselors, education groups, and civil rights organizations panned the idea, however, saying clergy were not trained to perform the wide-ranging duties of a school counselor, and questioning whether allowing districts to hire religious leaders would violate students’ rights.

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