Lifewise Academy Sues School District, Pennsylvania Has Similar Law
Everett, Washington, and Pennsylvania both require parents to submit a permission slip each week for released time classes. Only one has been sued so far.
Lifewise Academy is a nonprofit Christian ministry that facilitates released time religious instruction (RTRI) programs in public schools across the United States. RTRI is the legal term for the process of removing students from public schools during the regular school day to attend religious classes. The practice is legal based on the 1952 Supreme Court case Zorach v. Clauson. The court outlined how the RTRI program in the case could operate legally. The guidelines included that all classes are off school district property, the school has to remain neutral towards the religious classes, no public funds can be used to support the classes, parents provide written authorization to the principal, no announcements of the religious classes occur in the school, and the classes occur during the last hour of the school day.
Lifewise Academy has sued Everett Public Schools in Washington state for what it calls unfair treatment by the district. Everett Public Schools requires parents to submit a slip each week for their children to attend released time classes. Lifewise argues that other clubs or activities do not require parents to sign a permission slip every week. Lifewise is not a school-endorsed club or activity. It occurs off of school property, with staff the school cannot oversee, and at locations the school cannot choose or monitor. This is not the same as any other group. In fact, Lifewise does not name any similar groups that remove studnets under RTRI laws from school for an unrecorded absence.
Lifewise states that the requirement of a weekly permission slip is an “unreasonable barrier to participation.” This requirement is not new, though. Pennsylvania law requires parents to send a note to the district every week stating the date, hours, and that the student is in attendance. If this process is not followed, the student is not permitted to be released from school.
“and that the parent or person in loco parentis shall, following each such absence, furnish in writing to the superintendent of the school district a statement attesting that the child did in fact attend the instruction and the dates and hours upon which such attendance took place.”
Lifewise Academy operates in seven districts in Pennsylvania and has an additional 17 programs in the start-up phase. Lifewise has not objected to Pennsylvania’s state law. The same policy in Washington led to a lawsuit. In recent interviews, Joel Penton, Lifewise CEO, has stated that the permission slip process has “shut down interest” in the program.
School districts in Pennsylvania should expect to be sued by Lifewise Academy if they follow the law and require parents to submit a note for each Lifewise class their children attend. The other likely scenario is Lifewise lobbying the Pennsylvania legislature to change the law to benefit itself and reduce parental requirements. If Lifewise Academy is targeting your school district, inform your Board of Education and ensure the board policies are in place and well-defined. Respect Public Schools has a template policy available.