RESOURCES
We are one small group, but there are many others dedicated to holding the separation of church and state, and keeping our children safely in school. While many of the organizations below were formed in response to LifeWise Academy, the information and toolkits found here can be applied to any entity seeking to undermine public education.
Helpful Organizations
Started in 2023 as Parents Against LifeWise, and based in OH, this parent-led group was formed in opposition to LifeWise Academy, one of the leading bad actors in the US. Their website provides invaluable information for parents seeking to learn more about LifeWise.
[Their] mission: To preserve, promote, improve and strengthen public schools for both current and future generations of students. They agree that public schools must not be 'mission fields.'
This group kindly allowed us to use their name; they will be merging with the Secular Education Association soon to form a new nonprofit.
"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."
Since 1936, BJC has advocated on Capitol Hill and in the courts as a watchdog over separation between the institutions of church and state.
Articles
In our work tracking and reporting on anti-Jewish bias and harm in K-12 schools, Stop Hate in Schools has begun to hear more about the impact of Release Time for Religious Instruction (RTRI) ...
Hilliard-based LifeWise Inc., which holds offsite Bible classes for public school children during school hours, has reached a settlement after suing a former Ohio parent for sharing their curriculum online ...
Move is in response to parental requests for alternative to Christian ‘release time’ religious instruction ...
More than 150 people submitted opponent testimony against a bill that would require school districts to allow students to be released from school for religious instruction ...
It was a dramatic faceoff. Hundreds of parents were visibly split at a Westerville, Ohio, school board meeting this week. Many were clad in red LifeWise Academy shirts to show their support for the school-day Bible program. Others wore black in opposition, and held “Parents AGAINST LifeWise” signs ...
LifeWise Academy, founded in 2018, is a release time religious instruction program serving more than 320 school districts nationwide. Despite the program's popularity, some groups have concerns about its teaching and practices ...
A Hilliard-based nonprofit provider of Christian instruction to public schools has sued a former Ohio man for copyright infringement, claiming he improperly uploaded and shared proprietary instructional materials with families ...
Oklahoma is the latest state to allow public school students to take religious classes for elective credits – and the Satanic Temple is taking notice ...
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Ohio nonprofit that provides off-site Bible instruction to public school students during classroom hours says it will triple its programs in Indiana this fall after new legislation forced school districts to comply ...
Two organizations involved with Project 2025 — a personnel and policy initiative for the next Republican administration — have on at least three occasions promoted LifeWise Academy, a group that aims to bring Bible study to public school systems throughout the United States ...
LifeWise Academy is on a mission to reach school children with the gospel. Opponents say the weekly Bible studies blur the line between church and state ...
Sample school district policy from Kimberly, ID: For students in grades K through 8 (K-8), the District will not allow release time for religious instruction.