LifeWise Academy is a Hilliard-based religious instruction program that started in 2019 and now enrolls 50,000 students across 29 states. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal.)
More than 400 people submitted a mix of proponent and opponent testimony on a bill that would require Ohio public school districts to put a policy in place that would allow students to be released from school for religious instruction.
Supporters of the bill say this would leave the decision up to the parents, not the school district, to decide if their child can go to released time for religious instruction.
Opponents argue these programs disrupt the classroom learning environment, cause children to miss valuable class time and students bully their classmates who do not attend.
State Sen. Michele Reynolds, R-Canal Winchester, introduced Ohio Senate Bill 293 this summer and the Senate Education Committee heard in-person testimony from more than a dozen people during this week’s meeting. Ohio House Bill 445 is a companion bill and more than a hundred people recently submitted opponent testimony against the bill.
Ohio law currently permits school district boards of education to make a policy to let students go to a course in religious instruction, so this would strengthen the state law by requiring a policy by changing the wording in the Ohio Revised Code from “may” to “shall.”
This means that instead of being an option for Ohio school districts, it will be a mandate.
The United States Supreme Court upheld released time laws during the 1952 Zorach v. Clauson case, which allowed a school district to have students leave school for part of the day to receive religious instruction.
Supporter testimony
Most testimony focused on LifeWise Academy, a Hilliard-based religious instruction program that began in 2019 and now enrolls 50,000 students across 29 states. LifeWise, a non-denominational Christian program that teaches the Bible to public school students during the school day, is in 169 Ohio school districts.
“I am here to support Senate Bill 293 because we believe parents should have the ultimate choice as to whether their children can receive religious instruction,” said Joel Penton, founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy. “Our organization has been growing rapidly because so many parents want their children to receive Bible education as part of their school day.”
He said religious education like LifeWise improves a student’s mental health, character, and grades.
State Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware, asked why LifeWise is receiving pushback now after being around for five years.
“I think it’s simply because it’s more popular,” Penton said. “The larger something becomes, the more it becomes a target. And for whatever reason, those who would oppose such efforts of students studying the Bible during school hours has at this point, I guess, hit their radar as something they want to attack.”
Westerville City Schools Board of Education recently voted to end their religious release time policy that allowed LifeWise Academy to take public school students off-campus for Bible classes during school hours.
Hilliard City Schools Board of Education Member Zach Vorst was on the board when the district passed their release time for religious instruction policy in September 2022. He said there were concerns about fair access, logistics, safety, and missed class time when the policy was being implemented.
“There is zero expense to the district, in accordance with the statute,” he said. “The policy is working well and none of these concerns have come to fruition.”
Two of his children have attended release time for religious instruction programs.
“I appreciate the ability to choose, for our children, the opportunity to grow in our faith while participating in an educational opportunity,” Vorst said. “My daughters have had a wonderful experience learning and growing in their faith by attending.”
Westerville parent Kelly Walk wants to give the choice back to the parents.
“As parents, we no longer have the right or the choice to have our children excused from school to participate in the program,” Walk said. “LifeWise is simply about Bible stories.”
Center for Christian Virtue Policy Director David Mahan shared results of a survey that found 99% of the 2,646 parents polled feel “LifeWise helps their children make better decisions, and that they recommend the program to other parents. Responses from 769 educators were also included in the survey and 90% said “their school and students benefit from the LifeWise program.”
Opponent testimony
Morgan Zickes, public policy manager for Equality Ohio, talked about how release time for religious instruction programs negatively affect LGBTQ+ students and families.
“Senate Bill 293 forces public schools to allow religious instruction of students that serves to further marginalize groups like LGBTQ+ students and families,” Zickes said. “LifeWise’s curriculum is blatantly anti-LGBTQ+, and we have seen this create a dynamic ripe for bullying and harassment of students already at higher risk, in districts that have adopted a similar RTRI policy.”
Gary Daniels, chief lobbyist of the ACLU of Ohio, listed possible concerns that mandating a religious instruction program policy could create, such as a situation involving divorced parents.
“You got one custodial parent who says, ‘I’m fine with my child attending,’ but another parent does not,” he said. “How exactly does that get ironed out? Are these programs equipped to handle students with learning disabilities, IEPs, physical and behavioral health issues and so on?”
Zachary Parrish, a parent in Defiance Schools, testified about how his daughter has been bullied for not attending LifeWise. She goes to an uninstructed study hall in the school’s gymnasium while her classmates attend LifeWise.
“In the schools’ internal emails a school administrator was found to be saying a student ‘needs some Jesus in his life’ while corresponding with a LifeWise employee,” Parrish said. “They also show teachers referring directly to my daughter and others as ‘LifeWise leftovers’ and admitting there’s no instruction or educational plan for the children being sent to study hall.”
Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools Board of Education President Kara Coates said she opposes SB 293 for three reasons: elimination of local control, time available and disruption during the school day, and safety risks. LifeWise has previously approached Gahanna-Jefferson for release time, but they didn’t adopt a policy.
“Some might say to use the lunch period, but that is a time students develop relationships with all their peers, which is also central to whole-child learning,” she said. “It will also cause significant disruption to the school day, affecting the learning environment for all students. The disruption is not only the departure and arrival but also students coming back with candy, invitations to recruit, and reported bullying.”
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