Iowa school children may spend the first minute of every school day in silence if a bill presented to the House of Representatives becomes law.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View, and Rep. Danny Carroll, R-Grinnell, Monday, the first day of the 2002 Legislative Session.

“[We] felt that after the events of Sept. 11, it became important that all Iowans reflect on what it means to be an American,” Kettering said.

House Speaker Brent Siegrist, R-Council Bluffs, has voiced his support for the bill.

Dan Fogleman, communications director for Siegrist, said the bill would allow students to spend a minute at the beginning of each day to pray, meditate or relax and gather their thoughts for the day.

“We have our own personal time in our day, but students don’t have that time built in,” Fogleman said. “Now, they will.”

The bill was modeled after a minute of silence bill in Virginia that passed three months ago, he said.

The Supreme Court refused to hear the bill in April, ending a series of court battles about violation of students’ First Amendment rights.

Discipline and order are issues that always come up with teachers, Carroll said. The bill would help students reflect on things that are happening in society and quiet their minds in preparation for the day ahead, he said.

The effectiveness of the bill is closely related to how the teacher implements the law, Fogleman said. If the teacher lets the students do homework or other activities for that minute, the meaningfulness of the moment is gone, he said.