The Village of Dresden Ohio Donates Facilities to Lifewise Academy
The Village of Dresden, Ohio, has allowed Lifewise Academy to use its facilities for free. Ohio Revised Code 3313.6022 (B)(5) states, "No public funds are expended" for the Released Time program. The local government, which is donating the rent of the space, use of internet, phones, and utilities, is expending public funds. The full lease agreement between the Village and Lifewise is below.
There shouldn't be more that needs to be said. The law is clear. In 2002, the Ohio Attorney General stated that a county or township can enter into an agreement with a non-profit as long as it complies with all applicable laws. This is a clear violation of Ohio's released time law. To take this a step further, in 1971, the Ohio Attorney General stated the government could not outright donate to a private entity. Several law firms represent Lifewise Academy, and the Ohio release time law is concise, with a length of less than 600 words, making it easily understandable and followable. The repeated disregard for Ohio law by Lifewise Academy, prioritizing what benefits them, should tell you everything you need to know about Lifewise. Their goal is to use any means necessary to implement their program.
Read the full post Published: June 17, 2025
Iowa Passes Law Allowing Students to be Chronically Absent for Bible Classes
The Iowa Legislature has passed HF870, which allows students to miss 5 hours of school each week to attend an off-site religious class. This time is not counted as absent and does not contribute to a child’s chronic absentee rate.
The state of Iowa has a law requiring the school district to contact the county attorney and notify guardians via certified mail if a student misses more than 10% of class time. When a student misses 20% of time, the county can file charges. Schools in Iowa operate for a minimum of 6 hours each day, excluding lunch. The 5 hours per week of religious instruction equate to missing 1 hour of a 6-hour day. This is a 17% absentee rate. This puts the child 12 minutes away from having charges filed every week.
Read the full post Published: June 13, 2025
Lifewise Academy: Educators Surveys
Lifewise Academy has completed and released an educators' survey for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 school years. This survey asks six questions about Lifewise's interactions within the school. It's very simple. The 2023 and 2024 surveys have identical results for the main question, "In general, my school and students benefit from LifeWise Academy."
Read the full post Published: May 13, 2025
Lifewise Academy Threatens Legal Action on Public Schools and Service Providers
Lifewise Academy has decided to use its legal team to silence voices that speak the truth and inform the public about Lifewise Academy and its operations. First Liberty Institute has sent a letter to NEOLA (Northeast Ohio Learning Associates). This organization assists school districts with creating school policies. Lifewise has taken issue with how schools have implemented the policies mandated by the state of Ohio. Lifewise does not want to sue local schools because they do not want to appear as the bad guys. So they have gone after the next closest group.
Read the full post Published: April 18, 2025
Wynford Local Schools Supports Lifewise Academy With Use of School Resources
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.
Read the full post Published: August 13, 2024
Are Elmwood Local Schools and Lifewise Academy Breaking Ohio Law?
Lifewise Academy states religious instruction during the school day is legal, if three criteria are followed. "Off school Property. Privately funded. Parent permitted." Zorach vs Clauson, the supreme court case Lifewise also continuously mentions, says "a program which permits its public schools to release students during the school day so that they may leave the school buildings and school grounds and go to religious centers for religious instruction or devotional exercises."
Read the full post Published: July 26, 2024
Validating Claims Lifewise Academy Improves Attendance
"Looking at publicly available data… the one day out of the week the school hits its target of 90% enrollment is the day it has Lifewise."
Joel Penton, Lifewise Academy CEO
Schools With Lifewise
Schools Without Lifewise
Read the full post Published: July 20, 2024
Lifewise Academy Seeking Board Approval in Tiffin City Schools
Lifewise Academy has created a steering committee and an official plan to bring its bible study classes to Tiffin City Schools. The plan would offer the program to students at Krout and Washington elementary schools. The classes would be held at the Chandelier Event Center for Washington and Restoration Alliance Church for Krout.
Read the full post Published: June 26, 2024
Did Lifewise Academy CEO Joel Penton Mislead the Ohio House of Representatives?
Joel Penton, CEO of Lifewise Academy, testified in support of HB 445. In his testimony, he stated that “almost none of our students miss any class of any kind” by attending a Lifewise class. Joel Penton's testimony made it appear that almost all Lifewise classes are during lunch and recess. This is not true. Many Lifewise programs operate during specials or other instructional time that is not lunch or recess.
Read the full post Published: June 21, 2024