Lifewise Academy Loophole Allows Unverified People to Drive Students
Lifewise says student safety is the organization's highest priority. The “LifeWise Vehicle Driver Screening” form states someone may drive students once without completing a full background check.
Lifewise Academy is a Christian ministry whose goal is to reach unchurched students by taking advantage of compulsory public school attendance. Students leave the school property (in theory), attend a period of religious service, and then return to school. The Supreme Court has upheld this practice, and many states have laws governing its operation.
Lifewise Academy allows volunteers to drive students without a background check, training, or regular onboarding, provided it’s a one-time occurrence. The “LifeWise Vehicle Driver Screening” form states, “Any driver who will be transporting LifeWise students more than once must apply as a LifeWise driver and complete the onboarding process.” The form asks about driving history, moving violations, driving while intoxicated, and related matters. However, if the individual will drive only once, they don’t have to complete the form and won’t be subject to a criminal background check or a driving record report.
The scenario of an individual coming to Lifewise and being allowed to drive the very next day isn’t hypothetical. Lifewise Academy Southern Local (Ohio) posted that classes would be canceled unless a driver was found. Three days later, they announced that classes would be held.
These two public messages should make everyone pause. From Sunday, March 29, 2026, to Wednesday, April 1, 2026, Lifewise found a driver, completed the background check, trained, and fully onboarded in two days. This event occurred in the Southern Local District (Corning, OH). The district’s policy for released-time religious instruction (RTRI) mandates that Lifewise volunteers be verified to the same standard as district employees. This would mean an Ohio BCI/FBI fingerprint background check was completed and returned within 48 hours. It may be that Lifewise did not conduct a fingerprint check and instead used its ADP system. But that would not be the same check as for district employees.
Lifewise Academy says student safety is its highest priority. Yet the company created a form that allows anyone to drive students once, with no background check or driving record verification. Creating loopholes in your own safety policies means you have no safety policies. You can’t use a dartboard to decide when and which safety policies to follow.
Lifewise hired a director whose teaching license had been permanently revoked. They did not check her employment history or credentials. Lifewise has a policy that two adults be present with students at all times. Yet a young child was left alone in a church after using the bathroom. The bus returned to the school, and the child walked half a mile back by themselves. Lifewise Oklahoma State Director said people with past infractions that would stop them from serving at Lifewise are “clear” if they have gone through the courts. Three Lifewise personnel in Ohio were found to be abusive to children.
In this video, Jim Brown, the Oklahoma State Director, can’t remember which background check company Lifewise uses. It’s important to them, though. The program Lifewise used at the time of this video was ProScreening, not Protect My Ministry. But to his credit, Lifewise has switched it three times in less than three years. They also have never adopted a standard BCI/FBI background check. The point of the video is that Jim said they will forgive people once their case is complete. There are stupid statements, and then there is this. He says that people can be “clear” to work with children once their case is closed. That’s not how child safety procedures and background checks work for any program that involves children.
Safety policies mean nothing when you don’t implement them, and they also mean nothing when you have loopholes that allow people to bypass them.
The driver screening form can be seen at: https://lifewise.tfaforms.net/15
I expect Lifewise to make the form private after this article publishes. This won’t fix the issue. It will hide the fact that it exists. Do not trust Lifewise Academy.