2024 Session: Bill would give ‘patriotic organizations’ access to Florida public schools

Tallahassee Democrat | By Ana Goñi-Lessan | January 23, 2024

A bill that would give special access to what it terms “patriotic organizations” to pass out instructional materials in public schools is set to be discussed by a Florida Senate panel on Tuesday.

A bill entitled “Patriotic Organizations” (SB 1016/HB 1317), sponsored by Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, would allow “youth membership organizations” to “inform students of how the patriotic organization may further the students’ educational interests and civic involvement.”

“The motivation behind (the bill) stemmed from a desire to ensure that organizations with a long-standing tradition of fostering patriotism, leadership and community service have the opportunity to present their values and missions to students in schools,” Wright said in an email to the USA TODAY Network-Florida.

Over the past several years, Florida has enacted rules that have limited the media that public school students can access. Hundreds of books have been removed from school districts statewide in the name of parental rights.

The bill defines “patriotic organizations” as youth membership organizations serving young people under 21 that are chartered under a section of federal law for “patriotic and national organizations.” That includes the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, as well as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, for example.

Wright’s bill would permit schools to let representatives of the youth organizations speak to students during school hours and provide space for a display on school grounds for recruitment. It will also let the organizations use any school building or property if the instruction is outside of the school day.

“This bill aims to facilitate their access to schools, so they can continue to positively influence young minds,” Wright said. 

While the organizations covered by the bill are chartered under federal law, some legal experts believe the legislation could run afoul of the U.S. Constitution.

“If the law is intended just to let school districts know that they are free to invite civics groups onto campus, then it is inoffensive and does nothing that school districts can’t already do,” wrote Gary Edinger, a Gainesville-based First Amendment attorney, in an email.

But, he added, “if the law is intended in any way to favor the … organizations or is implemented in such a way that this occurs in practice, it is inviting a First Amendment challenge.”

Moms for Liberty delivered pocket Constitutions to middle schools

Last year, Moms For Liberty delivered pocket United States Constitutions to all middle schools in Brevard County for Constitution Week. Wright represents parts of Brevard and Volusia counties.

Some parents, though, questioned whether Moms for Liberty went against school policy when they passed out material that hadn’t been reviewed by a library specialist.

The Tennessee-based nonprofit that provided the booklets to Moms for Liberty, the 917 Society (Sept. 17 is Constitution Day), is not registered under federal law, and each booklet included an “oath of allegiance” for students to sign and a QR code directing them to a nonprofit’s website.

The 917 Society was involved in a dustup in Texas last year when it threatened to sue a school district there, which had denied the group’s request to distribute pocket constitutions. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also criticized the move, and the district later relented.

The booklet included a space for the student to print their name to renounce foreign authorities and vow to defend the United States. The oath also included promises to “bear arms on behalf of the United States” and to perform “noncombatant services in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pulled out of the race for the Republican spot for president on Sunday, said he would push for more civics education while on the campaign trail last year.

“In Florida we’ve really made an effort to go whole hog into this because we understand how important it is, but these are the unifying principles that make the country unique, and these are things we need to be embracing, and we need to be proud of the history,” he told The Washington Examiner in July 2023.