Florida’s proud ascendency as the left’s Worst Place in America almost makes you forget the yeoman’s work Texas has been doing in that field for decades. Big hats, big trucks, big steaks, big guns – so many things about the Lone Star State would curdle the soy milk in a Brooklyn dweller’s latte.

And Texas may be poised to recapture the coveted Mordor title. According to USA Today, (motto: “Sky Mall’s Gone, You’re Stuck With Us!”), “Lawmakers in Texas have passed a bill that could allow chaplains to work in public schools as soon as the 2023-24 academic year.”

“As soon as …” Clearly, the journalists at USA Today need more time to digest the news.

Texas House members passed Senate Bill 763 on Monday which will permit school districts to hire chaplains. Unlike school counselors in the state who must have master’s degrees and two years of classroom teaching experience, the chaplains are not required to be certified by the State Board for Educator Certification.

Wait, Texas would allow people without a string of letters after their name to interact with children? The recklessness is stunning.

Chaplains, however, must pass a background check, be endorsed by a religious organization, and must have some training to meet the Department of Defense chaplain standards.

Well, there’s that. But without extensive education and training, how will they guide confused children into gender transition? Will they cause a fuss over the smutty books in the school library? This can’t end well.

USA Today said, “The chaplain passage in Texas comes amid an ongoing debate nationwide on the use of religion in public schools.”

First, one doesn’t use religion like it’s a workbook or New Math approach. Second, the debate is not ongoing. It’s over, and God was driven from the public schools, as He’s been driven from so many parts of public life. The consequences are plain to see.

“Many Texas Republican legislators strongly favored the chaplain in schools bill as objecting Democratic lawmakers preferred the measure go to GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, according to the Religion News Service. The vote fell along party lines, with 89 members voting in favor and 58 voting in opposition.”

That makes sense. The party that booed God certainly doesn’t want His representatives in the schools.

“I worry that this bill will lead to Christian nationalists infiltrating our public schools and indoctrinating our students,” Democratic Rep. James Talarico told Religion News Service. Probably as he said it a shadow passed over the sun and a sudden wind slammed a screen door.

Talarico got into a heated exchange with the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Cole Hefner, on the floor of the Texas House. According to Religion news service, “Talarico sought to bar chaplains from proselytizing and require parental consent before meeting with students.”

To which Hefner replied, “Well, we currently do not require parental consent to meet with school counselors.”

Other Democrat efforts to change or kill the bill were just as desperate. “Rep. Toni Rose sought to limit the bill to schools in counties with populations of less than 150,000. Separately, Rep. Gene Wu attempted to bar the use of public funds and require schools to provide a religious leader of a different faith for students who request them.”

“I want to make sure that we’re making it clear – that everybody knows – that schools may choose to do this or not, and that they can put whatever rules and regulations in place that they see fit,” Hefner said.

“The bill will require school boards to vote on whether to hire chaplains,” said Religion News Service, “but critics argue such votes will only invite the kind of political controversy seen at school board meetings across the country over the past year.”

Yeah, all those icky redneck parents showing up demanding a say in how their kids are taught. Democrats love “our democracy” until they see it in action.