In January of 2025, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law that requires each school district to create a mandatory religious instruction release time policy. According to Ohio Capital Journal reporter Megan Henry, this law strengthened Ohio’s existing law around religious release time by creating a mandate making policies allowing religious instruction during the school day a requirement for Ohio school boards.
Aside from “the issues with flawed background checks, compliance issues, and the appearance that the state may be sponsoring religious release programs as school-related functions,” how will the state hold every religious release program accountable for the health and safety of our school children during these released time for religious instruction (RTRI) programs?
Will every religious release program be allowed to participate?
Will there be any minimum qualifications or credentialing for religious release programs?
Can anyone start a small religious release program and use it to remove kids from school during the day?
What happens if a nontraditional religion, such as Church of Wicca, Neo-Paganism, Satanic Temple, etc., wants to bring a religious release program into some school districts?
How will the state of Ohio hold religious release programs accountable for their curriculum?
How will these religious release programs affect the required school day?
Governor DeWine has been promoting research showing that if a student picks up a cell phone and interacts with it, it takes 50 minutes for that student’s distraction to subside- hence a state ban on cell phones in schools. Won’t leaving for a religious release program distract students for the entire day?
If religious release programs only take place during specialized/elective time, won’t the state be further limiting subjects like art, PE, music, or library/media that help children grow into healthy, well-rounded adults?
If these programs only take place during lunch and recess, won’t children miss out on opportunities to play and grow with their peers?
How will the state of Ohio hold every religious release program accountable concerning disruption of the school day?
What will the state do to protect Ohio children?
Will religious release program directors, staff, and volunteers continue to be allowed to bypass FBI background checks required for public schools? How can we be sure the religious release time program leaders and their employees do not have criminal records?
Will religious release programs have epi-pens on site? Defibrillators?
Who ensures religious release program leaders do not give out treats containing nuts and allergens?
How will the state of Ohio hold every religious release program accountable for the safety of our school children?
Who will oversee the marketing practices for religious release programs?
Will programs like LifeWise be permitted to send kids back to school with candy, toys, presents, and other incentives to make their classmates jealous and increase enrollment in religious release programs?
Will programs like LifeWise be permitted to take kids on field trips to amusement parks, zoos, arcades, etc. during the school day and then send them back to school to make their classmates jealous and increase enrollment in religious release programs?
Won’t the recruitment strategies used by religious release programs lead to strained student relationships between students who attend the program and those who do not, thereby creating additional social/interpersonal barriers in our classrooms?
How will the state of Ohio hold every religious release program accountable in terms of not going further than the law allows while promoting their program and trying to convince kids to attend?
What about political and/or religious indoctrination?
Will religious release programs have the authority to focus on politically motivated content that is potentially harmful to students?
Will religious release programs be permitted to divert funding away from public schools for religious counseling, after-school programs, tutoring, or other “services provided” that are not specifically part of the release program?
Why should religious release programs have the state-sanctioned authority to use our public schools to bring Ohio’s youngest citizens into certain faith traditions?
How will the state of Ohio hold every religious release program accountable for not using schools to draw children into a faith whose members overwhelmingly vote as their church advises?
Our children’s safety and well-being are of utmost importance, and the lack of transparency and accountability of such programs is very troubling.
Honesty for Ohio Education has created a toolkit in collaboration with other Ohio groups and community members. This toolkit serves to educate Ohioans about RTRI and the dangers of LifeWise, while also equipping community members with the resources needed to fight state-wide legislation and their local district’s policy.
Ohioans are encouraged to share this toolkit widely with their community members.
