What is Released Time Religious Instruction?

Released time religious instruction (RTRI) is the process of students being released from school to attend a religious class or service. The student's guardian must give written approval for the program; the program must be off school property, and no public funds can be used to facilitate the religious program. These are the main talking points every RTRI program uses to operate. The Supreme Court case Zorach v. Clauson(1952) made these requirements a case law and set parameters within which RTRI programs must operate. Other requirements are also in the opinion of the court. No announcements of any kind can be made in the public schools, and the school or its employees can use no coercion of any kind to persuade students to attend the religious program.

What is Lifewise Academy?

LifeWise Academy is an RTRI program. LifeWise facilitates Christian Bible classes for public school students during the school day. Lifewise operates within some of the guidelines the Supreme Court case outlined. Lifewise operates under the idea that parents can send their children to religious instruction when no other options exist. The mission of Lifewise is to reach unchurched students. This flies in direct contrast with the spirit of the Supreme Court case. Giving parents an option for their children to receive religious instruction. Lifewise has used the Zorach case as its umbrella to permit itself to use the public schools as its mission field and has overstepped the boundaries set up to ensure the public schools remain a neutral party in the RTRI process.

How Does Lifewise Academy Recruit and Increase Enrollment?

Lifewise Academy uses public schools as its marketing platform. The mission of Lifewise is to recruit as many students as possible. Lifewise has a very systematic method to increase enrollment numbers. The first thing Lifewise does is require, at a minimum, three local churches to be on the steering committee and committed to starting the Lifewise program. This gives the program a broader base of volunteers and students to start the program with.

The key to increasing enrollment in Lifewise is the students enrolled in the program. A critical statistic to remember when reading about how Lifewise boosts enrollment is 80% of the classes Lifewise has are K-5th grade. These are 6-11-year-old children that Lifewise is targeting. Lifewise leans on them to recruit their peers. The teachers and program directors will use incentives such as food and parties as rewards for recruiting a set number of new students. Lifewise program sends students back to school with candy or small toys to show the other students what they are missing. Lifewise uses school buses painted red to transport students from the school and back. Appealing to young students' love of leaving school, riding on the bus like a field trip, not having to complete school work, and not being graded or assessed is the easiest way to get students to enroll. And Lifewise knows this.

Another way Lifewise boosts enrollment is when the school will allow students to miss a class and attend Lifewise instead. Lifewise employees have said that enrollment in Lifewise is highest when the school integrates Lifewise into the schedule. This means that students don't have an option equivalent to Lifewise. Many schools will make the students who don't attend Lifewise sit quietly, do busy work, do extra worksheets, or they will have free time to work on what they choose to. Remember, these are 6-11 year old students. Unstructured free time for students in this age range is not conducive to learning, and many students see this as a form of punishment. If students are given the option of attending Lifewise, where there are no performance requirements for the class, or staying at the school and being given extra work, students who attend Lifewise do not have to make up. Most students will choose Lifewise.

Lunch Time to Instruction Time

Enrollment rates in Lifewise Academy vary greatly based on the time missed in the school. The average attendance rate for Lifewise during lunch and recess is 21%. When Lifewise is offered in place of a special or instructional time at the school, the average jumps to 42%. The rate almost doubles. Does this mean the areas where Lifewise is offered during instructional time are twice as religious as areas that offer Lifewise during lunch? Are parents more Christian in these areas? I don't believe either of these to be true, and the sole reason for the enrollment boost is that children will choose not to attend a class when given the option. 20% of students attend church, according to Lifewise Academy. This matches up to the 20% of students who choose to miss lunch and recess to attend a Christian bible class. I don't think this is a coincidence. The goal of Lifewise is to boost church enrollment, so this is not good enough for Lifewise.

If Lifewise can boost enrollment during lunch and recess enough, they can convince the school to offer the RTRI dismissal during an instructional period and adjust the schedules to match. However, 50% or more of the students leaving during lunch is a logistical issue. Schools can not require all students to pack lunches, so the school staff must pack transportable lunches for those students who choose to or have to buy lunch for financial reasons.

Lifewise also has logistical reasons for not wanting the lunch/recess time used. Lifewise has a student-to-adult ratio they require to be met. A paid teacher and a minimum of two volunteers would allow for a class of 30 students. One hundred students would require four classes running simultaneously, requiring four paid teachers and eight volunteers. If the classes are not at a property that can be walked to, a large school bus can typically only carry 90 people. This limits the number of students without purchasing more buses. This would also require multiple drivers.

The logistical issues, paired with the statistic that enrollment is cut in half when RTRI is offered during lunch/recess, means Lifewise will always push schools to create an instructional period that can be missed. Lifewise will never concede to operating only during the lunch period. The future of their mission and business depends on students being dismissed from instructional hours.

What About a Parent's Right to Choose RTRI for Their Children?

RTRI is a parent's right to choose. The parent has to choose it. The parent should be selecting the RTRI program they want their child to attend. The parent is supposed to request the permission slip from the RTRI program. The parent should decide what time or instruction the student will be missing. The parent is responsible for choosing how the child will be dismissed and transported. The parent is responsible for all of this. McCollum said, "School authorities are neutral in this regard and do no more than release students whose parents so request." Schools should not be adjusting schedules and coordinating schedules.

Many people argue this is being hostile towards religion. McCollum does say, "We find no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence." The public schools allow parents to sign their children out for RTRI classes, as they would for medical, counseling, or any other personal reason. This is the correct balance of the school being neutral and allowing parents to have control of the RTRI program they want their children to receive. The school can not be a partner in the RTRI program. The school can not change its regular schedule of classes and impact those who do not attend. Even in schools where enrollment has reached 80%, the school is legally required to instruct those students who are not attending.

What Can Schools Do?

School districts have many options for regulating RTRI programs. There are three different types of legal scenarios for RTRI. Some states require a school district to have a policy authorizing students to be released for RTRI classes. Other states allow school districts to allow RTRI to operate but do not make it mandatory. The final group of states has no law. Schools in these states would be creating policies to enable RTRI to and would have to stay within the federal case law guidelines.

Many school districts feel their hands are tied, and they have no choice but to allow RTRI programs to operate with little control over the program's logistics. There are many options that school districts can implement through local policies.

• Setting all classes as "core" classes. These include art, gym, library, music, and technology.
• Requiring students to be signed out by a parent/guardian or an emergency contact.
• Specify exactly how communication for RTRI programs is limited on school property.
• State students who do not attend RTRI will continue to receive instruction and explain how missed work will be made up.

Parents Rights and Local School Boards

RTRI should be the parent's choice, and dismissing the child to RTRI should be the parent's responsibility. The parent should decide what time or instruction the child misses. Parents should sign their children out and be responsible for them getting to and back from the RTRI program. The school should not know about the program other than the parent has approval. Lifewise oversteps this line and wants the school to partner with Lifewise.

Lifewise has been lobbying for laws to force school districts to create policies to operate RTRI programs. RTRI programs have been operating for over 100 years without an RTRI law or requiring school districts to have an RTRI policy. Lifewise demands school districts "approve" of Lifewise and send a letter on official letterhead to Lifewise stating Lifewise is operating legally. School districts can not audit Lifewise and have no legal authority or jurisdiction over Lifewise.

LifeWise Academy Will Undermine Parental Authority

LifeWIse Academy has a document called "Difficult Questions From Students". This document is to help LifeWise staff when students ask diffucult questions. One of the topics discusses how to repsond to students whose parents do not follow LifeWise's religious teachings. LifeWise tells staff they should tell children to obey God before their parents. I can't emphasise how dangerous this is to tell children. Students are sent to a school, that is legally required for them to be there, then they are taken to a bible instruction class during that time period, and could be told that when given the choice of obeying God or their parents, they should obey God. Students will make the connection that God is the church or ministry, which is LifeWise. Telling children to not follow their parents authority is wrong.

Zorach v. Clauson v. Real World Use

Zorach v. Clauson made RTRI legal. With guidelines. Some of those guidelines are,

Fliers are sent home from schools on a routine basis. Tables are set up in the school's open house. Assemblies have been held at schools for LifeWise. LifeWise students bring materials back to hand out to other students to recruit for LifeWise classes. All of these actions are not a problem with RTRI, but they are a problem with how LifeWise conducts itself.

The Ohio law reguarding RTRI states this about attendance:

In practice, many schools state they do not track which students attend LifeWise classes. See the responses to several public records requests for attendance totals. Response 1 Response 2 Response 3

Many public schools are not tracking the lost learning hours from students who are attending LifeWise classes. LifeWise is not providing attendance information regularly to the schools. Ohio Administrative Code 3301-18-01 describes how schools must track attendance for performance standards. Section F states that "total aggregate hours includes attendance, excused, and unexcused absences". Section G defines the total number of hours the students were in attendance in the district. LifeWise classes are not held on school property, they are not taught by licensed teachers, and the curriculum is not reviewd or approved by the school board. Section G(2) states "Pupils absent due to personal illness, legal excuse, religious holiday, illness in the home, truancy, or any other reason should not be counted as in attendance." Students attending LifeWise classes are not marked as absent for their student record purposes. Still, the hours can not be counted towards attendance hours for performance standard reports, according to the Ohio Administrative Code. This should impact a school's state report card. I have received verification from Van Wert Schools that they do include the hours students attend LifeWise Academy in the total number of hours students were in attendance in the district. This is a clear violation of the Ohio Administrative Code.

Misuse of School Funds

The outcome of LifeWise is less instructional time for teachers in public schools where LifeWise operates. In Ohio the average cost per year, per student is $14,500. A 50-minute class costs the taxpayers approximately $13.00. LifeWise classes are anywhere from 45-60 minutes. Multiply that by 31 weeks(Missing holidays and some other busy weeks at schools), and you have $403 a year per student. Multiply that by the enrollment at each school and you will have the total amount of money the school budgeted for teaching students that was not utilized by the teachers and the staff of the school.

As a real-world example, Defiance Ohio Elementary School has 841 students who attend LifeWise classes. 841 x $403 = $338,923 spent but not utilized as budgeted. LifeWise claims 35,000 students are now enrolled, mostly in Ohio but a few schools in other states. Let's say 30,000 students multiplied by $403 = $12,090,000 a year being spent but not utilized from the budgets of Ohio schools. Use the calculator to find out how much money your district is or could be wasting.

Teachers who have graduated with degrees, received their licenses, and are continuing their education are now told by LifeWise that the number of hours they will have with students is cut. This is not how public schools can be run. Schools fight to get enough hours with students. Removing a large portion of hours while requiring the same level of learning is not possible. During the 2022-2023 school year Van Wert Elementary School had 29,823 total hours absent by students. This includes excused and unexcused abscenses. When you add in the number of hours missed by students attending LifeWise, 14,500 hours, the total is now 44,373 hours. That is a 48% increase in the number of missed hours in the school district. These hours are not counted against the student being absent, but they are not hours the student was receiving instruction from the school.

Anti LGBTQ+ Policies

LifeWise has compared the process of some kids attending LifeWise and some not, to band, sports, or kids choosing different play areas on the playground. This comparison is wrong because teachers and coaches do not preach that students who do not play football will spend eternity in hell. Play on the swings, you'll be forever safe. Play on the slide, going to hell. There is a critical difference. Disrepsecting family, friends, community members, leaders, anyone who is LGBTQ+ is wrong and hateful.

Preaching these ideas to young children during the school day will show that these ideas are true and are supported by the school district and teachers. The idea that LGBTQ+ people are a sin and the idea that their existence angers someone's god is wrong. Sending children back to schools with these ideas is wrong. Evangelizing children, some of whom already have a religious affiliation is wrong. This is not how missionary projects should work, and public schools are not mission fields, despite what LifeWise employees have said.

LifeWise Academy Supports Conversion Therapy

Read the LifeWise Academy official documentation on their policies.

No Transparency of Curriculum

LifeWise has repeatedly denied full access to the curriculum that they teach. LifeWise will say the curriculum is copyrighted as the reason it can not be shown. It is true LifeWise pays for access to the curriculum and do not own it. But that does not mean it cannot be shared. Libraries are filled with copyrighted material that everyone can read and has access to. They have chosen to allow parents and members of the public to not see their curriculum. There are guidelines in the Ohio Revised Code that allow high school students to receive credit hours for religious classes. To do so, the syllabus and course materials need to be reviewed by the school board. There is no requirement for grades K-8. Students are being released from school, taking a class that the school board can not review, and the school district and students receive full credit for the learning hours. Even though the school district did not provide any instruction and has no review or input on the course material.

Incentivised Recruitment

LifeWise uses peer pressure and the message that a vast majority of parents, students and the community is behind LifeWise. They will claim participation numbers of 90%-95% in their established schools. One of those schools is Defiance Ohio Elementary. They claim more than 90% enrollment. It's actually 80%. They have 1,044 students in the school and 841 attend LifeWise. 20% of the students do not. There are people who do not support them. It is not a program that is supported by everyone with only a few people speaking out about its negative issues. Excerpt from the official Lifewise manual on boosting enrollment

LifeWise uses incentives to increase enrollment into their program. These can include popcorn, pizza, candy, ice cream, etc. Many children have food insecurities and using food as an incentive is wrong. The LifeWise program is being offered in line with the school's regular classes give the appearance that the program is endorsed by school staff, including the student's teachers. Spiritual beliefs are a very personal choice for a family and child. Having a single religion appear as endorsed by teachers and other adults who are considered safe spaces for children will create confusion for students of opposing spirituality. LifeWise communicates that anyone who does not follow the guidelines they have taught is going to hell. Their students come back with this message and will think anyone who has a different spiritual belief needs to be saved. It's incredibly self centered and rude to assume anyone who worships Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and others needs to be converted. These areas have been left for families to choose. If you want your child to grow up with a specific religious view in education, there are options available.