An Ohio-based Christian group that delivers biblical education to public school students anticipates 30,000 children enrolling in the program this school year.
LifeWise Academy, a 2019 nonprofit that provides released-time religious teaching to public school children, recently announced that more than 300 schools in 11 states will join.
In addition to Ohio, the program will be available in the following states: Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
LifeWise founder and CEO Joel Penton told The Christian Post that the program went from being in 133 public schools last year to around 315 this year.
Penton partially attributed the sharp increase to his organization’s “simple 10-Step launch process that any community can initiate.”
“It begins with local communities cultivating interest through our ‘Community Interests List’ signature campaign that can be found on our website LifeWise.org. After interest grows, we then establish local steering committees and formulate a plan to launch,” he said.
Although bringing religion into a public education context can often be a lightning rod for controversy, Penton said that LifeWise has “received far less resistance than we anticipated.”
“Most schools and parents are very open to the idea. Schools know there is a great need in the lives of students. And seeing as it’s an entirely optional program, there simply aren’t many people who see it as a problem,” Penton continued.
Release-time programs involve public school students leaving campus during school hours to take part in religious instruction with the permission of parents and the school itself. The concept was outlined by the 1952 U.S. Supreme Court decision of Zorach v. Clauson, where the high court determined the practice was constitutional.
Released time laws allow students to attend religious classes off school property during the school day, as long as they are privately funded and have parental approval. LifeWise, a replicable model, began with two Ohio public schools in 2019 and is expected to spread to hundreds of other schools nationwide by 2023-2024.
The Anti-Defamation League states that these programs are constitutional as long as they take place off school grounds without public school funds being expended.
“A released time program must be structured to avoid any perception of public school promotion or endorsement of religious instruction,” the ADL continued.
“If any element of the program gives the impression of public school support for religion — or if any actual support is given — then the program will likely be struck down by the courts as a violation of the Establishment Clause.”