Wynford Local Schools Supports Lifewise Academy

Wynford Local Schools (Bucyrus, OH) has released students to attend Lifewise Academy since January 2022. From the start of the program, Steve Ritzhaupt, Lifewise director at the time, requested that Wynford Schools donate the use of the school's bus drivers. The buses used would also be Wynford's. The superintendent at the time, Fred Fox, thought the school could do this but later was informed that it would be against the law.

The Ohio law that defines how religious programs during school hours functions clearly states:

(3) Transportation to and from the place of instruction, including transportation for students with disabilities, is the complete responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent, guardian, or student.

(5) No public funds are expended and no public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction.

A school facilitating the transportation of students to a private ministry appears to be in violation of point (3) of the Ohio law. And using the school's drivers, who are public school personnel, appears to violate point (5). It's difficult to imagine an argument that would make this appear legal.

The current school superintendent and the current Lifewise director have allowed this questionable relationship between the school and Lifewise to continue. There appears to be a need for clearer laws and regulations on how released time programs like Lifewise Academy are allowed to function in schools in Ohio.

Lifewise's attorney, James Kresge, speaks in a video created by Lifewise that states how the program is legal. The assumption that Lifewise would ask their lawyer for advice on what is legal and allowed based on Ohio's law is clearly wrong. The Ohio law is only 560 words long, and Lifewise appears to struggle with understanding it.

Lifewise is given very few regulations it has to follow, and they repeatedly either ignore or don't know what those regulations are. Until Lifewise comments on the apparent violations, we won't know what they are thinking.