Rep. Novstrup brings bill for religious chaplains to be installed in public schools.

@SoDakCampaigns

Have you ever noticed that there’s a lot of legislators who preach small government & local control.  Until they want to grab attention. And then they typically dump unfunded mandates on school districts.  Because we have another example of it.

Someone explain to me what schools exactly, are asking for legislation to install religious volunteers in public schools? Because House Bill 1054 was just dropped to do just that:

And, you can consider this yet another unfunded mandate that taxpayers will have to swallow, as schools will be required to publish a list, and for these people to submit to a criminal background check, and for space to be found.. with the bill going to taxpayers.

Of questionable constitutionality, it seems to reflect the rise in Christian Nationalism that we’re experiencing in this years’ legislative session where the lines of church and state are not just being pushed, but completely ignored and ran over with a truck, as with Senate Bill 51, the unfunded mandate for schools to print the ten commandments and hang them in every school classroom. Because everyone needs to learn about honoring their father and mother in gym, welding and accounting classes.

If a person wants to send their child to a religious or parochial school, by all means do so. I am a product of St. Joe’s in Pierre myself, and I enjoyed my elementary education. I have an Augustana Grad and a St. Scholastica grad among my kids. And they received fine educations.

But when we all attended in a public school setting, there is an expectation that there is a wall there – one that separates church & state.  I don’t get to expect my religious values are pushed on others, and there is the same expectation about others’ pushed on me & mine.

Yet some want to ignore Wednesday being viewed as church night, and make every day in school church day. A disturbing trend where principles that our country was founded on and ensconced in the first amendment are just being ignored.  We don’t live under sharia law. We don’t live under biblical canons – we are governed by the constitution, and the first amendment says that is not the way to act.

This bill, like several others, need to keep it in church. Religious counselors are fine on Wednesday church night when most students receive their religious instruction elsewhere. But they don’t belong in our schools.

19 thoughts on “Rep. Novstrup brings bill for religious chaplains to be installed in public schools.”

  1. This is insane. Paul Tenhaken was so right…unfortunately, his comments were construed to only be about book bans. This is the stuff that needs to stop.

  3. I volunteer to be a representative of The Satanic Temple for my local District. Stop by my office and say hi!

  4. So what will Rep. Novstrup say when Muslim students, or Buddhist students, or Hindu students, or even Satanist students want a religious leader posted in the school, as well?

    These “freedom fighters” forget that freedom means freedom for all. And just as our constitution guarantees our freedom, it also guarantees equality.

    1. Novstrud is throwing that out there because he has nothing of substance to offer.

      I don’t know that he can see anything bigger than what his narrow mind is conditioned to.

    2. Novstrup embarrassed Aberdeen and South Dakota with this doozy in a national radio program. Bills like this create equal opportunities for everyone.

      Excerpt from transcript.
      In this hotel ballroom in Aberdeen, South Dakota, people aren’t interested in a debate over the economics of immigration. This is a conversation about fear. The most memorable conversation I had was with this state rep Al Novstrup. He’s been in state government for 14 years, and he came to this meeting to get more information on Sharia law potentially taking over his city. Like it has other places, he says.

      Like where?

      Al Novstrup
      Dearborn, Michigan?

      Zoe Chace
      Have you seen that happen there?

      Al Novstrup
      I haven’t been to Dearborn, Michigan.

      Zoe Chace
      From my perspective, as a national reporter, there’s still the Constitution. There’s no Sharia anywhere.

      Al Novstrup
      You don’t think there’s Sharia anywheres in the United States?

      Zoe Chace
      Correct.

      Al Novstrup
      I think you need to read more.

      Zoe Chace
      I do read.

      Al Novstrup
      You don’t think there’s Sharia any place in the United States? You don’t think– wow. OK. You don’t think there’s Sharia? I’m just blown away. We’re living on two different planets.

      https://www.thisamericanlife.org/600/transcript

  5. Weekly PA announcement at local public school system.

    This week due to a SD taxpayer paid court decision equal time for all faiths our school Chaplain of the week will be Minister of Satan Schmidt from the local Satanic Temple of South Dakota. He will bring his spiritual Hell Hound Spike.

    Next week a Chaplain representing the Old Norse religion Norse talking about cosmology which revolved around a world tree known as Yggdrasil, with various realms existing alongside that of humans, named Midgard. These include multiple afterlife realms, several of which are controlled by a particular deity. Many Gods to share about.

      1. Kids would love it! More Marvel movies are coming. Btw! Hell Hound Spike is great with kids and can fetch.

  7. All this tells me is that Rep. Novstrup has no knowledge of how schools work and NO respect for teachers. When exactly is this chaplain talking to students? And how is the chaplain “drumming up business”? Will the AP Biology teacher have to take time of of his or her lesson to let the Chaplain make a comment or observe their class? Or stop teaching when a student says “I need to go and see the chaplain”? Schools can and absolutely should provide counseling services, which could include someone as a religiously affiliated chaplain, when there is a need to. But on a daily basis? Kids often ask to leave class to go see the athletic trainer because, guess what, they like the athletic trainer more than the classroom teacher. So now if their youth minister is in the building as the volunteer chaplain, just another place that they “need” to go instead of being in class…that ultimately the teacher has to deal with when the parents start calling to see why their grades are slipping. .

  9. We need to get rid of these duds who are legislators from district 3 next election. Their replacements could start campaigning after session ends. Wasted seats in Pierre.

    2. D3 had a great opportunity to replace one of the D3 dimwits with a high quality, well qualified, lifelong conservative, raised in the SDGOP last June – and they didn’t turn out to vote.
      Aberdeen better wake up and pay attention before they all have to start their day by singing “hail to our exalted Leader Doeden”, cash is the only accepted currency, and go karts the only feasible means of transportation; as mandated by their esteemed legislative representatives.

      Never happier to have moved from Dist 3 to Dist 13 in my life!

  10. This won’t pass because it shouldn’t pass. The debate would be good, though. I’ll bring the popcorn.

  11. D3 representation is one big CF. Outside of Rohl, D1 is too.

    I now see our exhalted ruler King Doeden has hired a spy, er lobyiest, to be in Pierre. Gotta make sure his legislators are doing the work he wants done.

    Popcorn is popped with butter and salt, and beer is poured. I am ready for this sh!tshow.

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