This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy. LifeWise’s director did not address after school options for the program on Monday and corrected the spelling of Laclyn Fraley’s name.
Before a packed crowd, Westerville City Schools Board of Education voted 4-0 Monday night to rescind a religious release time policy allowing LifeWise to take public school students out of school to conduct Bible instruction during the school day.
Board member Anisa Liban, recently appointed to the board, abstained from the otherwise unanimous vote, which came after more than two hours of public comment from speakers in support or opposition. LifeWise supporters were again wearing red, while many in opposition wore black, and comments were met with applause from their respective sides.
Board President Kristy Meyer said she remained “puzzled by the strong push to operate programs that require kids to leave school during the middle of the school day.” She also said she remained concerned by the potential of a large stress on the district if a number of religious programs began operating the district.
“The concern around this policy has nothing to do with any specific religion or religion in general,” Meyer said.
The policy had been in place for two years and Lifewise last year had nearly 300 students enrolled in the district of around 15,000 students.
The school board noted that rescinding the policy does not impact parents removing students for religious reasons or observances.
Jaclyn Fraley, who organized the Westerville Parents United group against religious release time, said she was “elated” the board had decided to rescind the policy.
“We think this is just truly bringing inclusiveness back to students in Westerville City Schools,” Fraley said. “We truly feel that, you know, again, we aren’t against LifeWise, we just wanted the (religious release) policy suspended … We think that the focus needs to stay and be committed to children staying in school.”
Hilliard-based LifeWise Academy, whose supporters have worn red (the color of the organization) at recent meetings, gives public school students a Bible education during school hours. The program buses students off school property, is privately funded and parent-permitted, often during an elective class period. Supporters have said at meetings that the program offers benefits including character education to children and that it teaches children to love and respect others.
More:What is LifeWise? What to know about the group teaching the Bible during school hours
Jennifer Jury, program director for LifeWise, acknowledged that some LifeWise supporters who do not live in the Westerville City school district were in attendance. She said they were there because “the board is sending an alarming message that will attract the attention of (religious release) supporters at the state and national level.”
“For this reason, hundreds of community members from central Ohio have chosen to come here tonight to show their support for the protection of release time religious instruction as an option for parents,” Jury said during her public remarks.
Jury told The Dispatch after the meeting that she and others were “disappointed” by the board’s decision. She said it was fueled, in part,by “how much misinformation has been shared about our program.”
“We feel like this school board really listened to misinformation and hearsay that certain groups are raising about LifeWise,” Jury said. “We feel like Westerville has unfortunately set a precedent by removing their (religious release) policy — so it’s very important to us to see that that doesn’t happen.”
Opponents of the religious release policy, many of whom wore black, said that religious education has no place in a public school day, that children learn messages used to bully other students who are not Christian or are in nontraditional families, and that children are encouraged to recruit their classmates to join the program.
Fraley told The Dispatch that her biggest concern was for her daughter, who she is concerned would experience religious coercion and bullying from the program. She acknowledged that people from other central Ohio school districts were in attendance in support of rescinding the religious release policy and “are planning to take this to their school districts.”
“But my excitement right now is not to have to worry about my daughter at 5 and 6 years old, having to deal with the pressure from this program in the school day,” Fraley said.
More:Red vs. Black: As LifeWise divides Westerville Schools, board to vote on program’s future
Several members of the Westerville Muslim community also spoke during the public portion of the meeting following remarks from several speakers last week about Islam and raising questions about the recent appointment of Liban, a Muslim, to the board.
During Monday’s meeting, the board halted one speaker after he made multiple remarks about Liban and Islam, despite having been warned against it.
Hoda Hassan, a Muslim and parent of a future Westerville student, said she was “really disgusted and horrified by the language that was used in the dialogue” during last week’s meeting.
“We chose Westerville because it’s a very diverse, very welcoming and open community, and anyone is able to be whatever they want, whether it’s a school board member or anything beyond that,” Hassan said. “So I think that it’s very telling that those that are in favor of keeping the religious time away policy were the ones making those very hateful statements.”
The intense debate around religious release began after the board voted at a late August meeting to suspend religious release time, with board members citing concerns about LifeWise having parents sign forms relieving the Christian organization of liability for students who leave schools to participate and whether that liability would then pass to the district, The Dispatch previously reported.
However, members of the board of education said last week that the more they looked into the compliance issues, the more concerned they became about the potential for disruption to be caused by an expansion of the programs.
Meyer said Monday that students interested in religious release programs could be dropped off before school or picked up afterwards.
“Programs offering religious instruction could pick students up after school, provide childcare, provide religious instruction, and then parents could pick their child up on their way from work like many do with other after-school programs,” Meyer said.
Under current state law, public school districts in Ohio may decide whether to allow religious release time during the school day. A proposed bill introduced in the Ohio House supported by LifeWise and other Christian groups would require school districts to provide for religious release during the school day.
What is LifeWise?
LifeWise, founded in 2018, is a division of Stand for Truth, an event-based nonprofit ministry with a mission to reach public school students. It offers Bible education during school hour that is off school property, privately funded and parent-permitted, often during an elective class period.
More:You can now view the LifeWise Bible curriculum for public school students — with a catch
In the United States, school districts may offer the option of released time for religious instruction in compliance with the 1948 U.S. Supreme Court case, McCollum v. Board of Education and the 1952 decision, Zorach v. Clauson, The Dispatch previously reported.
The curriculum promises to teach students the entire Bible in five years, according to the LifeWise website.
Cbehrens@dispatch.com