Login | May 31, 2025
Pair of lawmakers want meditation time in schools
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: May 29, 2025
The sponsors of a bipartisan bill to promote mindfulness among Ohio’s schoolchildren believe a moment of silence each day at school is the appropriate place to start.
Rep. Gary Click of Vickery said taking a few minutes to slow down, focus, meditate or even pray could have an empowering effect on a student who may have had to rush to get ready and make it to school on time that day.
“Meditation improves health in many ways,” the Republican lawmaker said, citing reduced levels of stress and anxiety, increased self-awareness and improved memory and cognitive function. “Mindfulness is becoming a lost art in the hustle and bustle of modern society and is a discipline worth teaching. Our students are engaged in exploring the world around them from the depths of outer space to the depths of the ocean leaving little time to explore what is inside them, in their hearts, their minds and their souls.”
Click and Democrat counterpart, Rep. Eric Synenberg of Beachwood, shared details of the bill with members of the Education Committee in the Ohio House of Representatives this week.
House Bill 187, titled The Me, Myself and I Act, would change one word in existing state law, which already permits teachers to have a moment of silence at some point during the school day.
The legislation replaces the word “may” with “shall,” while leaving the discretion of timeframe and implementation up to the instructor, Click said.
“We are at a critical time, one where our students are constantly surrounded by technology, screens, pressures to perform well academically and athletically, with hardly little or no time for reflection or rest,” Synenberg said.
He cited 2020 data from private, non-profit social service agency Pathway Caring for Children which estimated that 1 in 8 Ohio children were diagnosed with anxiety, depression or both and that 1 in 3 students struggle with anxiety.
“While we, as lawmakers, can’t solve every mental-health challenge students face, we do have the ability to create a space for a brief opportunity of peace and quiet,” Synenberg continued. “A moment of silence gives students and educators a valuable chance to pause, reset, and find calm in their day. It is a simple step that can support emotional well-being and mental clarity.”
Click described HB 187 as non-prescriptive, noting it does not say where, when or how long such a practice should be.
“It just says simply a ‘moment,’” he added.
“The bill allows school districts the flexibility to implement the moment of silence in a way that works best for their specific community, grade level and educational setting,” Synenberg said. “The bill is not intended to undermine authority or tell teachers how to run their classrooms. We recognize that teachers are best positioned to understand the needs of their students and how to manage their classrooms. Rather, we hope it provides an additional tool for schools to foster a positive and mindful environment each day.”
Synenberg specified that HB 187 had no religious goal in mind.
“We want to give every student an opportunity for personal reflection, mindfulness or quiet contemplation, regardless of religious belief or background,” he said.
Fourteen House members have co-sponsored the legislation, which awaits further consideration by the committee.
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