Joel Penton, founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy, poses at LifeWise Academy offices Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Hilliard, Ohio. The Ohio-based Christian nonprofit that organizes off-campus Bible classes for public school students has taken off in Indiana since the state passed legislation forcing school districts to comply.
centered on New York schools cleared the way for programs like LifeWise. Individual places of worship often work with schools to host programs off campus, and they are not regulated in some states. LifeWise programs will be available at over 520 locations in 23 states next school year, up from 331 in 13 states this year, and about 31,000 students attend LifeWise programs in the U.S., Penton said.In Indiana, Republican state Rep. Kendell Culp introduced the legislation requiring principals to allow students to attend release-time religious education after a rural school stopped cooperating with LifeWise.
“Our guide helps classroom educators address these questions with compassion, humility and respect,” Penton said in a statement. Indiana law and the 1952 Supreme Court ruling say no public funds can be spent on supplemental religious education, but critics worry schools expend public resources on scheduling and getting children to and from the programs.
“Saying that a religious organization can mandate scheduling at a school strikes me as a fundamental violation of that important American principle,” said Indiana House Education Committee member Ed DeLaney, a Democrat.
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