Hillsdale Local Schools in Ohio Allowed Lifewise to Ignore Safety Policies
Ohio school district ignores board policy and potentially hides information from public records requests involving child safety.
Hillsdale Local School District in Ashland County, Ohio, has a school board policy that requires BCI/FBI background checks for all Lifewise Academy staff and volunteers. Public records requests indicate that Hillsdale Local Schools has not received any verification from Lifewise Academy that BCI/FBI checks have been completed for all personnel in the local Lifewise program.
The latest document the school district provided, which they received from Lifewise, shows staff and volunteers with background checks from October 2023 to October 2024. The record request was sent on March 20, 2026. For 18 months, Lifewise and the school district failed to verify that Lifewise staff had BCI/FBI background checks. Another issue with the records Lifewise sent is that the completed criminal background checks were not BCI/FBI checks. They were completed using ProScreening, a third-party background check provider Lifewise uses.
The document Lifewise provided the school also indicates there have been no new staff or volunteers for almost two years. Lifewise is constantly recruiting new volunteers. The absence of new background checks can only be explained by Lifewise not providing the names to the school for the 2025-2026 school year, or by their no longer conducting the required background checks. Both scenarios indicate a lack of oversight and care for child safety.
Lifewise Academy does not comply with the law, and school districts do not hold Lifewise accountable. Lifewise is using the public school system as a mission field, using elementary school students as pawns to recruit their friends to attend Lifewise. Lifewise guarantees enrollment. Lifewise boasts large enrollment percentages. Parents would assume the laws and policies put in place would be followed, but they are not. Lifewise is an opening for anyone who wants access to children without the same level of oversight as public schools.
The Hillsdale Local Schools replied to the public records request that only one email communication existed between Lifewise. The school indicated that all communication was done in person and verbally. Let that sink in. The school is insisting that it was getting verbal confirmation that all Lifewise employees meet the school district's policy on criminal background checks. No validation, no verification, just a Lifewise person walking into the office and saying, “It’s done.”
Public records requests for Lifewise generally return anywhere from several hundred to thousands of emails. In my opinion, a school district indicating that a single email exists for a school year from Lifewise is a lie. Lifewise and the school's email about weather delays, schedule changes for state testing, students not attending due to illness or medical appointments, changes to weekly enrollment, students adding or dropping Lifewise, etc. Hillsdale Local Schools is covering up information in public records requests.
With the recent arrests and convictions of three personnel who were involved with Lifewise programs, it is unacceptable that school districts are choosing to ignore the child safety portions of the school’s policies that allow Lifewise Academy to operate.