Law extends religious release time for students

SANDUSKY — A law affecting school districts across the state and religious teaching organizations will go into effect later this month. Last year, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 57, which allows school districts to set higher time limits for students attending religious education classes out of school. In other words, students attending such courses could stay out of school for longer periods of time than what's allowed by law if the district's board of education agrees to it. Starting Jan. 19, school districts can extend the amount of time students are released for their religious instruction beyond the statutory limit — which is two periods per week for elementary and middle school students and two units of credits per week for high school students. The bill also prevents courts from awarding money to those claiming violations of the law. Around this time last year, DeWine signed a bill requiring school districts to release students for religious education — perhaps most recognizably, the LifeWise Academy out-of-school Christian education program. Before the 2025 bill signing, districts were allowed to decide if they wanted a policy allowing the release or not. Now, state law requires boards to adopt religious release time policies. School districts have been working on updating their policies since the law was changed, requiring students to be allowed to leave campus. LifeWise Academy When students leave campus, they are taken in by organizations like LifeWise, an Ohio-based nonprofit that teaches Christian-based instruction to public school students who receive parental permission to enroll in the program. The instruction is free, during the school day, off-campus and hosted during non-core class time, such as lunch or specials. Here is an updated list of local districts that have a program, or for which signatures are being gathered to start a program (50 are needed), as of Jan. 5. Families can use the LifeWise website to learn more about their districts and their local programs. Local districts with a program: • Cory-Rawson • Elmwood • Fostoria • Findlay City Schools • Liberty-Benton • Ottawa-Glandorf • Pandora-Gilboa • Van Buren Districts in the process of starting a program (signatures being gathered): • Arcadia • Arlington (enough signatures have been gathered, still in process) • Bluffton • Carey • Cory-Rawson • McComb • North Baltimore • Riverdale • Upper Sandusky