PHOENIX — Gov. Doug Ducey has signed legislation requiring the state's schools to hold a moment of silence at the start of each school day.
House Bill 2707 will require all K-12 public and charter schools to set aside no more than two minutes each day for a moment of silence in the classroom.
Arizona law previously only obligated schools to set aside time for reciting the pledge of allegiance. But now students will be allowed to silently sit with their thoughts for at least one minute.
"As we’re working to get Arizona kids refocused in the classroom, we should also work to get them refocused emotionally,” Ducey said. "This gives our kids the opportunity to take time to remember, reflect, meditate, pray, prepare for the day ahead or anything they—and their parents—choose.”
Teachers and school employees are prohibited from suggesting what students should think about during the moments of silence, public records show.
Students are additionally prohibited from interfering with other students' participation in the moment of silence.
The governor's office said HB 2707 was inspired by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who advocated for holding moments of silence in schools in the 1980s after President Ronald Reagan was shot.
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