DeSantis signs bills allowing 'patriotic organizations,' chaplain programs in Florida schools
"This is a terrible way for religion to insert itself wrongly in public schools," said Reverend Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, the president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance.
Interfaith Alliance is one of 38 groups, including more than 200 chaplains, that fear untrained chaplains will try to "counsel" students. "We care about student mental health and safety concerns. As trained chaplains, we are not qualified to address the needs of public school students that these proposals purport to address," they wrote to the governor.
"Imagine if you are an LGBTQ student, or are having a struggle with depression and someone is not trained to deal with that, they're just 'Joe Chaplain' who comes in there, that could do more harm than good," Raushenbush said.
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Interfaith Alliance Opposes the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA)
On April 29th, Interfaith Alliance joined our colleagues at over 30 other organizations across civil society in opposing the Antisemitism Awareness Act (AAA). By giving the federal government the power to withhold funding from organizations who run afoul of a particular definition of antisemitism, the AAA would needlessly stifle political free speech and empower the administration’s repressive agenda.
Rally for Patients’ Rights: A Day at the Supreme Court
On April 2nd, I joined Policy Intern Jeffrey Jordan and Policy and Advocacy Associate Tranée McDonald at the “Rally for Patient’s Rights” outside of the Supreme Court. That week, SCOTUS was hearing arguments on whether Medicaid patients would retain their right to choose their healthcare provider, stemming from South Carolina’s attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. The case, which began in 2018 when South Carolina’s governor barred Planned Parenthood of South Atlantic from providing Medicaid-funded services, threatens not only Planned Parenthood’s operations but could also reshape how states control access to healthcare.
New Interfaith Alliance Memo Details Trump Admin’s Attacks on Faith Communities
Trump announced at the National Prayer Prayer Breakfast an EO on countering ‘anti Christian bias,’ yet Interfaith Alliance is calling out the Trump administration for “incendiary and unprecedented attacks on faith communities”.