Local School District Gives Special Treatment to Religious Classes on School Property
Riverdale hired a pastor, ignored school polices, state laws, and its own legal consultants.
The Riverdale Local Schools in Mt. Blanchard, OH, partnered with a Christian ministry to operate a Bible study program within the district.
WyandotCARES is a released-time religious instruction (RTRI) program that operates in all public schools in Wyandot County, Ohio. RTRI is the legal framework established by a federal Supreme Court ruling that allows students to be released from school if the following stipulations are met.
Must be off school district property.
Privately funded, no public funds used.
Parent permitted, students must opt in.
The school district is neutral and neither coerces nor supports the program in any way.
Riverdale Local Schools coordinated with a religious organization to allow a Christian ministry to use school property during the regular school day. They have charged WyandotCARES less than the board-approved fees and have allowed district employees to participate in the program. All of these actions violate school board policy.
Board of Education Policies
Riverdale Local Schools Board Policy 5223 states that RTRI must be off district property and that no school personnel may promote attendance in the program. Board Policy 7510 states that the Superintendent must create a fee schedule and that the board must approve it. Board Policy 8800 states
“No matter how well intended, either official or unofficial sponsorship of religiously-oriented activities by the school are offensive to some and tend to supplant activities which should be the exclusive province of individual religious groups, churches, private organizations, or the family.”
Riverdale is sponsoring and supporting a religious program by ignoring board policies, granting preferential treatment to a religious organization, and permitting paid district employees to participate in the program.
District Advisor NEOLA Warns Against Bible Classes on School Property
WyandotCARES provided Riverdale with documentation to persuade the district that Bible classes on school property are legally permitted under equal access laws. The superintendent asked NEOLA, the district’s policy provider, whether this was correct. NEOLA stated that WyandotCARES is “confused with the law granting release time.”
The letter from the Alliance for Defending Freedom is available below. It incorrectly cites the Federal Equal Access Act, which permitted student-led activities in school buildings for Junior High and High School students during non-instructional hours. WyandotCARES is not student-led, operates during the school day, and receives special treatment, including the ability to rent district property during the school day.
School districts pay NEOLA to draft policies for the district. Those policies are vetted by two independent law firms and come with a warranty from NEOLA. NEOLA will provide legal support to the district if it is challenged in court. If a school district chooses to ignore its own policies, NEOLA will not support the district. A district that ignores the advice of its own providers is misusing public funds. Opening itself to legal issues and potential lawsuits is a gross misuse of tax dollars.
Not Approved by The District Policy
Riverdale allows WyandotCARES to lease school property for $100 per year. The fee schedule for use of the district facilities is $10 per hour for school-related groups or $15 per hour for general non-profit groups. I do not know which category Riverdale Administration is placing WyandotCARES in. The school secretary told WyandotCARES that it was already approved minutes after their form was submitted.
Riverdale confirmed that WyandotCARES uses the building for more than five hours each week. At $15 per hour, that would amount to about $2,000 per year in rental fees. Charging the correct rent would end the special treatment the religious group receives, but it would not resolve the situation. Riverdale still allows WyandotCARES to operate on school district property, which is illegal under federal and state law.
Riverdale Staff Promote Religious Programs
An email from the district to WyandotCARES was addressed to Lydia Miller, WyandotCARES’ director, and to Ken Gray, the district’s Student and Parent Liaison.
Ken is also the pastor at Heritage Christian Union Church. Heritage Church has hosted training events for WyandotCARES, and Ken Gray routinely advertises the religious program. Ken has coordinated local churches to support WyandotCARES. Ken has worked to position WyandotCARES in the Riverdale district and to prevent Lifewise Academy from operating. Ken wrote a letter advising the community to trust him to make the right decisions about the religious classes offered in Riverdale schools. The district is placing a pastor on the payroll while actively violating federal and state law and the district's policies to support the pastor's goals.
Ken Gray is a district employee. District employees cannot promote released-time programs. Ken’s church supported released-time programs financially and through volunteers, training, and advertising. When Respect Public Schools reached out to Ken, he refused to answer any questions and directed them to School Ministries Ohio. School Ministries Ohio states that each program is independently run. Parents should expect this kind of runaround when asking questions unless they are already enrolled in the program.
Ken Gray’s personal goal of proselytizing to students is made possible by his paid position as Student and Parent Liaison with the school district. This is why the Federal Supreme Court case made it clear that school staff must remain neutral toward the religious program. Ohio law states, “No school personnel is involved with the program.” Riverdale policy states, “No District personnel shall be involved in the provision of religious instruction.”
Ken Gray was included in communications involving teachers, administration, and WyandotCARES. Riverdale teachers requested that WyandotCARES change its schedule and limit the removal of students from instructional time; Gray was included in this request. WyandotCARES suggested that Riverdale remove students “first thing in the morning,” when students are most attentive; Gray was included in this suggestion. Gray forwarded the district’s request for forms to be completed to WyandotCARES. Gray was included in discussions about adding WyandotCARES as a for-credit class in the high school.
For Credit Religious Classes
Riverdale has permitted WyandotCARES to offer a for-credit class to high school students for the 2026-2027 school year. Ohio statute allows districts to approve up to two credit hours for an RTRI class. WyandotCARES requested that Riverdale add the “Route 66” class to the school’s course catalog.
The course was approved and appears in the 2026-2027 catalog.
Respect Public Schools inquired with Riverdale about the curriculum used for the “Christian Studies” class. No clear answer was provided. WyandotCARES is mentioned in the public records as using “Route 66.” There is a Bible study program called Route 66: Travel Through the Bible, and I assume this is the one being used. High School Principal Scott Maag stated that the district has no say in the curriculum and that the school is merely following the law and allowing WyandotCARES to operate. Maag is 100% incorrect. The district is required by state law to review the curriculum and approve the course of study based on its “secular criteria.”
Ohio law requires districts to review the curriculum, the instructor, and the course's number of hours. This requirement is set forth in Ohio Revised Code 3313.6022.
(F) A policy adopted under division (B) of this section may authorize high school students to earn up to two units of high school credit for the completion of a released time course in religious instruction. In determining whether to award credit for completion of such a course, the board shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar nonpublic high school courses for purposes of determining whether to award credit for such courses to a student transferring from a nonpublic high school to a public high school. However, there shall be no criteria requiring that released time courses be completed only at a nonpublic school. The decision to award credit for a released time course of religious instruction shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any test for, religious content or denominational affiliation.
For purposes of this division, secular criteria may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) The number of hours of classroom instruction time;
(2) A review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and materials used;
(3) The methods of assessment used in the course;
(4) The qualifications of the course instructor, which shall be similar to the qualifications of other teachers within the district.
WyandotCARES indicates that students can earn 2 credits toward graduation by taking the same course for 4 consecutive years. WyandotCARES and the school’s course catalog also indicate that the class will meet 2-3 days each week. That is a 50% difference in class time. A class cannot be approved for credit if the school does not even know how often students will attend.
You cannot take the same class for credit more than once. Fine arts are the exception. Social studies classes are not fine arts. The curriculum used by Wyandot Cares appears to be recommended for grades 6-8.
The district did not review the curriculum as required by law. The number of days students will attend is unknown. The curriculum is intended for grades different from those for which the school is granting credit. The district did not follow the law or common sense by giving special treatment to a religious organization and to students who follow a specific religion.
Riverdale is a model for what can happen when a religious ministry is given open access to the public schools. Laws are broken. The school is exposed to legal issues. Teachers are forced to ask a church for access to the students. Local pastors are hired and become involved in the district's decisions. Public school buildings are not mission fields. Public schools are places where people of all faiths, or no faith, send their children to learn. Riverdale would do well to read and follow its own policies:
“No matter how well intended, either official or unofficial sponsorship of religiously-oriented activities by the school are offensive to some and tend to supplant activities which should be the exclusive province of individual religious groups, churches, private organizations, or the family.”
Riverdale Board of Education Policy 8800