The Southwest Licking School District lied during public board meetings about school policies being followed, while they partnered with and promoted Lifewise Academy using school resources.
Lifewise Academy is a Christian ministry with a fundamentalist approach, with public schools as its mission field. Lifewise takes students off campus for Bible study during a regular school period. This practice is called release time religious instruction (RTRI). Lifewise cites the 1952 Supreme Court case Zorach v. Clauson to argue that its activities are entirely legal as long as three rules are followed.
The program is off school property.
The program is privately funded.
The parents give permission for their children to attend.
Lifewise does not mention the rest of the court’s opinion.
The school district must remain neutral to the RTRI program.
No announcements of any kind in the school related to the RTRI program.
The school dismissed students one hour early, at the end of the day, to attend an RTRI program.
The Supreme Court felt so strongly against coercing students to attend a religious period that it stated, “if it were established that any one or more teachers were using their office to persuade or force students to take the religious instruction, a wholly different case would be presented.” The Court ruled that if the school used any means to coerce students into attending the religious period, a new case would need to be brought before the courts.
Understanding the facts of the case is important for determining whether other programs claiming to be legal under Zorach are sufficiently similar to fall under the same ruling.
The school district in the Zorach case did not decide whether students could attend based on criteria like behavior, grades, or schedule. The school did not publicize the program or establish rules for hiring program staff. The Supreme Court agreed that the school authorities “do no more than release students whose parents so request.”
Southwest Licking School District (Pataskala, Ohio) adjusted schedules, prepared lunches for off-site consumption, and helped enroll students to support Lifewise Academy. The Southwest Licking Public School System has become a key partner of Lifewise Academy.
The principal emailed parents who the school decided were allowed to attend the program and asked them to indicate their interest so the district can coordinate with Lifewise.
Lifewise Director Sonya stated that the school modified schedules to accommodate Lifewise. Also coordinating lunch pickup schedules with school staff. Lifewise is using the school as a crutch to support the program rather than taking full responsibility, as the law states.
Lifewise Academy gives flyers and information to school districts that says
“We Keep It Legal. LifeWise Academy is keenly aware of the necessity to keep public and religious institutions separate. We diligently adhere to relevant laws and policies, namely, the maintenance of a program that is: privately funded, off school property, and parent-permitted.”
That statement is 100% false. Lifewise does not adhere to all laws and policies.
The Lifewise handbooks, manuals, and training materials do not instruct staff on the neutrality requirements of the Supreme Court rulings, state laws, or school policies. School districts that rely on Lifewise Academy to police itself and maintain the program’s legality are creating a situation in which they could be held liable for violating state law and the school’s own policies.
Southwest Licking has failed to comply with the Supreme Court’s no-coercion requirements and its own policies. School Board Policy JEFB states that Lifewise and the district must sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU requires the RTRI program to comply with all laws and policies. As of now, the district has not signed an MOU with Lifewise. The policy also mandates that the RTRI program conduct background checks on all personnel to match the district’s standards. To date, the district has not verified if Lifewise has met this requirement. Parents should assume policies are followed, but in this case, policies designed to protect student safety have been ignored.
Southwest Licking Board of Education Meeting Transcript December 19, 2024
Debra Moore: Did we get copies of the background checks.
Unknown: I did not get copies of background checks.
Debra Moore: Can we get those copies?
Unknown: I’m absolutely sure we could, yes.
Debra Moore: And the MOU? Do we have a copy of that?
Unknown: Mm-hmm.
Debra Moore: I think maybe in May when we do have this talk, I think I’d like to add on top of the background checks, maybe rap-back. Is it in the MOU that if they do have new volunteers, those volunteers are background checked?
Unknown: I believe so, but I need to double check. I don’t want to misspeak. I believe so, yes.
The district stated there was an MOU at a board meeting, but it has not been able to provide it. When asked, the treasurer indicated that no MOU was ever created and agreed upon by the district and Lifewise.
Lifewise is not “keenly” aware of the laws and policies and tries to convince schools that as long as the program is 1. Off school property, 2. Parent-permitted, and 3. Privately funded, it is 100% legal. Lifewise chooses to ignore many laws and policies that help them use public schools as their mission field.
Please hold your school board accountable and protect the time public schools have been given to educate students. Report violations to the Freedom from Religion Foundation at https://ffrf.org/legal/report-church-state/
