A bill requiring a moment of silence to start every day in Idaho’s public schools is headed to the Idaho house floor.
The legislation is modeled after nearly three dozen other states with similar requirements or encouragement.
Bill sponsor Rep. Bruce Skaug (R-Nampa) said students get to choose how to spend the time in silent reflection.
“Just that 60 seconds - no screen time, no outside influence - just to reflect, to pray or whatever they want to do in that 60 seconds,” he described to the House Education Committee Friday.
The legislation has the support of some local religious leaders like Boise Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz.
“The moment of silence has a proven track record,” he told the committee. “States that have implemented it, which run the gamut from Massachusetts to New Jersey and Rhode Island, to Texas, Florida and Tennessee, have all seen declining and lower juvenile crimes rates.”
A local Christian pastor and a representative of online curriculum provider PragerU, also testified in favor of the legislation. The idea of a moment of silence dates to the 1980s, as a way to return thoughtful reflection to classrooms after even voluntary prayer in schools was ruled unconstitutional.
The bill does not allow teachers or students to coordinate or direct any religious activity during the daily moment of silent reflection. Any student would be free to use the time as they wanted, provided they do not disrupt the moment for others.
Rep. Soñia Galaviz (D-Boise), a teacher, did not support the bill. While noting the importance of mindfulness and quiet time for students, she urged caution in linking that time to behavioral outcomes, and called the requirement an overreach.
“It should be within the purview of the educator before their students to know when is the right time and how to bring mindfulness into the classroom,” she said.
The bill passed the house education committee on a 10-4 margin, with Republicans Michael Veile (R-Soda Springs) and Jack Nelson (R-Jerome) joining Democrats Galaviz and Chris Mathias (D-Boise) in opposition.
