BOISE, Idaho — Idaho schools may soon be required to hold a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.

A bill making its way through the Legislature requires that teachers in all public school classrooms implement a minimum of 60 seconds of silence every morning. Students can spend the time reflecting, meditating, praying or doing any other silent activity, as long as they don’t interfere with other students, the bill says. Public schools would need to let families know and encourage parents to “provide guidance” to their kids.

Supporters said the practice would give students time to decompress and set themselves up to learn. Opponents worried it represented government overreach and was an attempt to insert religion into public schools.

After public testimony and a short debate, lawmakers voted to advance the bill to the Senate floor, where it will have to clear its final hurdle before going to the governor’s desk. It already passed the House 51-17.

During the hearing in the Senate Education committee, some parents and former teachers said the bill doesn’t serve a purpose and dictates to schools how time must be spent. Every moment of time in the classroom is important, one former teacher said, and teachers already have practices that work to calm students and let them settle in for the day. They also raised concerns about the use of the word pray in the bill, and questioned whether the bill could lead to prayer in schools.

Supporters of the bill said a moment of silence would give kids time to think and reflect at the start of each day without distractions — and argued it could ultimately save lives. The language in the bill doesn’t force students to pray, or call out a specific religion, but it could have a positive impact on mental health, they said.

State Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Nampa Republican who sponsored the bill, pushed back against much of the opposition, arguing this was common practice across the country and wouldn’t single out any students. The wording varies by state, with some with such laws requiring the silence period and others offering it as an option. Many mention religion or prayer in their statutes, according to a list compiled by Gateways to Better Education, which offers prayer cards to use during that time.

“This isn’t a sneaky way to get prayer in school. Prayer has been in school ever since there’s been tests,” Skaug said. “It does protect minorities. This is a time to be equal.”

Lawmakers asked Skaug about any repercussions teachers would face if they didn’t implement the moment of silence, but Skaug said the bill includes no penalties, so it would be up to the school district. State Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, a Boise Democrat, said the implementation could be problematic, especially in classrooms of younger kids or students with disabilities.

“I guess I don’t like the idea of punishment for a child if they can’t sit still for a full minute,” she said. “As a former classroom teacher, it was my job to engage them in an activity that they could do and wanted to do, and learn from that. So I don’t want to put teachers in a position where they have to enforce something that a child just can’t do at that time in his life or her life.”

Other senators said this bill would do more good than harm, and has the potential to help students.

“If there is one chance in hell that we save one life by doing something like this that’s absolutely harmless, I’m all for it,” state Sen. Christy Zito, a Mountain Home Republican, said.

The bill will now go to the Senate floor.

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