HB1009: A State Motto For Every Classroom

The secretive playbook behind Rep. Daniels’ Religious Expression and Classroom Requirements in K-12 Schools bill

Back in 2018, Rep Kim Daniels passed a bill requiring all Florida’s public schools and school administrative buildings to prominently display “In God we trust,” Florida’s State Motto. It was an unfunded mandate and there were no requirements as to what the display needed to look like but districts were expected to be in compliance when the bill went into effect in July 2018. Her supposed reasons for the bill:

“This motto is inscribed on the halls of this great capitol and inked on our currency, and it should be displayed so that our children will be exposed and educated on this great motto, which is a part of this country’s foundation,” she said when a House committee took up her bill (HB 839). “Something so great should not be hidden.”

“In God We Trust” has been part of Florida’s state seal since 1868 and on the state flag since 1900, but has been the state motto only since 2006, according to the Florida Department of State. Aug 13, 2018 wptv.com

Some school districts complied by installing the motto in large block letters in their schools, others had framed images, some used the Official State Seal, which features the motto. Every district funded the displays themselves.

Now, 7 years later, Rep. Daniels is back with HB1009, detailing allowable religious expression in schools, mandating the playing of the national anthem each morning, AND expanding where and how the motto must be displayed.

If passed, every classroom, library, cafeteria, gymnasium and main office will have a 22 x 28 posterboard featuring the state motto. I feel exactly like I did back in 2018: the legislature should “spend its time on “real education issues.”

Well, not every classroom because charters (and of course private) school are exempt.

HB1009 also requires school districts to conduct a public information campaign regarding the display of the motto, daily required moment of silence and the new rules for allowable religious expression. There is no mention regarding who will pay for that.

As for the Student Religious Liberties part of the bill – similar bills, with nearly identical language (see Minnesota and Missouri, for example), have popped up across the country suggesting they are all part of a national effort…

That national effort appears to be Project Blitz.

According to Blitz Watch, Project Blitz is a “coordinated effort by Christian Nationalists to inject religion into public education, attack reproductive healthcare, and undermine LGBTQ equality using a distorted definition of ‘religious freedom.’” Project Blitz assists state-level politicians, like Rep Daniels, with model bills, proclamations, and talking points through a legislative guide referred to as their playbook.

The initiative recieved support from Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation, National Legal Foundation, and Wallbuilders, groups who advocate for policies that promote a Christian-centric vision of government and law. Project Blitz is a clear example of Christian Nationalism in action.

After openly publishing their playbook for several years, Project Blitz went underground making their guides no longer available to the public.

But their work continues and Rep Daniels’ HB1009 contains Student Religious Liberties language that is almost identical to their model legislation (see page 122 of the 2018-19 version of the playback).

Daniels’, a self proclaimed “demonbuster that writes laws,” appears to be the perfect lawmaker to move these bills forward in Florida.

You can read more about Daniels’ relationship to Project Blitz here.

HB1009 was filed yesterday, on 2/25/25, and there is no senate companion yet. Still, it is one to watch.

Session begins next Tuesday. Buckle up.