---
type: "Bill"
title: "Moments of Silence in Public Schools"
description: "Moments of Silence in Public Schools; Requires principals to require teachers to set aside time for moment of silence; prohibits teachers from making suggestions to nature of any reflection during moment of silence; deletes provision authorizing district school boards to provide brief period of silent prayer or meditation; requires certain teachers encourage parents or guardians to discuss moment of silence & make suggestions as to the best use of this time."
jurisdiction: "us/states/fl"
legislature: "Florida Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "HB 529"
citation: "Florida HB 529 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
chapter_law: "2021-89"
primary_sponsors: ["Fine"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 41
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2021-01-28"
last_action: "2021-06-15"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/242eb11e-a00e-41ea-bfb8-275d9903eee5"
source_url: "https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/529/ByCategory"
source_hash: "41c02a8515f1d2941abf1b68bc764bea130c5fc6b24dd8e631430f2d69d713c7"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-fl"]
---

# Florida HB 529 (2021) — Moments of Silence in Public Schools

Moments of Silence in Public Schools; Requires principals to require teachers to set aside time for moment of silence; prohibits teachers from making suggestions to nature of any reflection during moment of silence; deletes provision authorizing district school boards to provide brief period of silent prayer or meditation; requires certain teachers encourage parents or guardians to discuss moment of silence & make suggestions as to the best use of this time.

**Enacted** — Laws of Florida, Chapter 2021-89.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **H 529 Filed** (filed) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/529/BillText/Filed/PDF)
2. **H 529 er** (enrolled) — [source](https://flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2021/529/BillText/er/PDF)

## Votes

- Favorable (Education & Employment Committee) — **20–0** (pass) · lower
- Third Reading — **32–6** (pass) · upper
- Passage, Third Reading — **94–24** (pass) · lower
- Favorable (Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee) — **12–6** (pass) · lower
- Favorable (Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee) — **17–1** (pass) · lower
- Favorable — **12–5** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Fine — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-01-28** Filed `filing`
- **2021-02-08** Referred to Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08** Referred to Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08** Referred to Education & Employment Committee `referral-committee`
- **2021-02-08** Now in Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee
- **2021-02-09** Added to Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee agenda
- **2021-02-16** Favorable by Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-02-16** Reported out of Early Learning & Elementary Education Subcommittee
- **2021-02-16** Now in Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee
- **2021-03-02** Added to Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee agenda
- **2021-03-02** 1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
- **2021-03-04** Favorable by Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-04** Reported out of Secondary Education & Career Development Subcommittee
- **2021-03-04** Now in Education & Employment Committee
- **2021-03-08** Added to Education & Employment Committee agenda
- **2021-03-10** Favorable by Education & Employment Committee `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-10** Reported out of Education & Employment Committee
- **2021-03-10** Bill released to House Calendar
- **2021-03-10** Added to Second Reading Calendar
- **2021-03-11** Bill added to Special Order Calendar (3/18/2021)
- **2021-03-18** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2021-03-18** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-03-18** Passed; YEAS 94, NAYS 24 `passage`
- **2021-03-25** In Messages
- **2021-03-25** Message sent to senate
- **2021-03-30** Referred to Rules `referral-committee`
- **2021-03-30** Received
- **2021-04-01** On Committee agenda-- Rules, 04/06/21, 9:30 am, 412 Knott Building --Pending Reconsideration (Favorable; YEAS 12 NAYS 5)
- **2021-04-09** On Committee agenda-- Rules, 04/14/21, 9:00 am, 412 Knott Building
- **2021-04-14** Favorable by- Rules; YEAS 12 NAYS 5 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-04-14** Placed on Calendar, on 2nd reading
- **2021-04-16** Placed on Special Order Calendar, 04/21/21
- **2021-04-21** Read 2nd time `reading-2`
- **2021-04-21** Placed on 3rd reading
- **2021-04-22** Read 3rd time `reading-3`
- **2021-04-22** Passed; YEAS 32 NAYS 6 `passage`
- **2021-04-22** In Messages
- **2021-04-22** Ordered enrolled
- **2021-06-11** Signed by Officers and presented to Governor
- **2021-06-14** Approved by Governor `executive-signature`
- **2021-06-15** Chapter No. 2021-89

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/242eb11e-a00e-41ea-bfb8-275d9903eee5`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Florida legislature records).