As the school year begins this fall, students at more than 300 public schools nationwide will learn the Bible during school hours.
The faith-based instruction at government schools, which people may be surprised to learn is legal, is operated by LifeWise Academy, a Christian nonprofit ministry. CEO and founder Joel Penton told Fox News in an interview his group’s mission is to give Christian parents hope that the next generation can receive biblical instruction in school, so long as they work to make it happen.
“Our message to the American people is that if you had lost hope in the ability to pass the word of God, the Bible, on to the next generation,” Penton said. “If you thought that everything was just going in the direction of the Bible being out of the public school day, you don’t need to lose hope.”
The United States Supreme Court, in a landmark 1962 ruling, banned state-endorsed prayer in public schools. In the decades since that decision, religious and secular forces have waged a culture war over the extent to which faith-based content is permissible in schools, if at all. However, an earlier, lesser-known Supreme Court decision made what is known today as released time religious instruction possible.
That 1952 case, Zorach v. Clauson, validated a New York City program that permitted public schools to release students during school hours, with parental consent, to attend religious classes.
Released time laws stipulate religious programs must be off school property, privately funded and parent-permitted. Though the programs have been legal for decades, LifeWise says it is the first group to develop a replicable model parents and educators can use to introduce Biblical education where they live.
Here is how it works. First, a local Steering Committee is established to coordinate program details with school officials. The committee will appoint a program director and board to lead the released time initiative with resources and coaching support from LifeWise Support Center.
When the school approves the program, LifeWise leaders will recruit qualified and vetted teachers and volunteers to chaperon students to and from the Bible classes. Local churches must participate in a LifeWise launch and will often donate or rent their spaces for the program.
Each LifeWise program is voluntary. Parents must consent to allow their children to participate. LifeWise assumes all liability for the students under their care from the moment they leave school.
It is a model that has led to rampant growth. Penton said LifeWise started in 2019 with just two programs. In just four years, the ministry has introduced released time programs at 325 public schools across 12 states, including Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Kansas, West Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky.
