A Florida Man wants to mandate prayer in South Dakota public schools. The Attorney General’s office is releasing an initiated measure explanation for the proposal, which could appear in the 2026 election.
The proposal is backed by Hillel Hellinger who lives in North Miami Beach.
If approved, teachers and students would recite the prayer phrase by phrase. The text of the prayer is “Almighty God, who is aware of His creation, who keeps it going and judges it, please have mercy on us.”
Instead of filing in Florida, Hellinger said he’s filing the measure in South Dakota because of its low signature requirement to make the ballot.
“It only has to be submitted in one state," Hellinger said. "If I were to admit it in Florida, I could do the exact same thing, but I would need more than 50 times as many people to sign the petition to get it on the ballot. I mean, South Dakota may be a very crime-free state, but most of the country is going through a lot of crime. By children knowing there’s a god in this world it would have an influence on their behavior.”
Hellinger must gather 17-thousand signatures to place the measure on the 2026 ballot.
The text of the proposal says teachers and students can opt out of the prayer if they object on religious grounds.
Hellinger said he’s confident in the legality of the proposal. He said he’s spoken with prominent lawyers who suggest if this measure passed, it could lead to the overturning of a US Supreme Court ruling that prohibits public schools from starting the school day with prayer.
“I emailed Alan Dershowitz regarding this issue, and he says that with the present supreme court it’s very likely they would overturn the 1962 ruling and allow for non-denominational prayer in public schools,” Hellinger said.
In 2019, state lawmakers passed a law requiring South Dakota schools display the “In God We Trust” motto in prominent areas of a building.
In a press release, Attorney General Marty Jackley says the measure could be challenged on Constitutional grounds. The ACLU of South Dakota was not immediately available for comment.