A Christian group teaches public school students during the school day. Their footprint is growing

INDIANAPOLIS — An Ohio nonprofit that provides Bible education to public school students outside of school hours says it will triple its programs in Indiana this fall after new legislation forced school districts to comply.

For participating families, nondenominational LifeWise Academy programs supplement religious education. But critics in Indiana worry the programs are diverting public school resources to religion, proselytizing students of other faiths and pulling children out of classrooms in a state already struggles with literacy.

LifeWise founder and CEO Joel Penton told The Associated Press that many parents want religious education to be part of their children’s education.

“The values ​​of faith and the Bible are absolutely central to many families,” Penton said. “And so they want to show their children that it is central to their lives.”

Public schools cannot promote any religion under the First Amendment, but a 1952 Supreme Court decision focused on New York schools paved the way for programs like LifeWise. Individual places of worship often partner with schools to host off-campus programs, and in some states these are unregulated.

LifeWise officials turned to the Oklahoma and Ohio legislatures in support of laws requiring schools to partner with outside religious programs, Penton said, and Oklahoma’s Republican governor signed such a bill into law on Wednesday.

Similar bills have been introduced this year in Ohio, Nebraska, Georgia and Mississippi, according to an AP analysis of Plural, a legislative tracking database.

LifeWise programs will be available at more than 520 locations in 23 states next school year, up from 331 in 13 states this year, and about 31,000 students are enrolled in LifeWise programs in the U.S., Penton said.

Penton wants LifeWise to be available to “50 million public school students nationwide,” he said.

In Indiana, Republican state Rep. Kendell Culp introduced legislation requiring school principals to allow students to pursue religious education during their free time after a rural school stopped partnering with LifeWise. The bill was signed into law in March and 45 Indiana schools will then partner with the company this fall, a tripling of the number from last year.

LifeWise Academy, based in Hilliard, Ohio, is funded by donors, including more than $13 million in contributions from July 2022 to June 2023, according to the latest federal report.

The curriculum was developed in collaboration with the Gospel Project, a Bible study plan produced by an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention, Penton said. Instructors receive guidance in answering difficult questions, including about the afterlife and sex. LifeWise opposes gay marriage and transgender and gender fluid identities.

“Our guide helps classroom teachers address these questions with compassion, humility and respect,” Penton said in a statement.

Chris Paulsen, CEO of the LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group Indiana Youth Group, expressed concern that children can receive Christian religious education during the school day “and yet no one can talk about queer families.” Indiana bans instruction on “human sexuality” in schools through third grade.

LifeWise staff and volunteers bus or drive students to program locations, or use spaces near schools and supervise children walking there.

Indiana law and the 1952 Supreme Court ruling say no public funds can be spent on supplemental religious education, but critics worry that schools are spending public funds on scheduling and getting children to and from the programs.

“It just puts an extra burden on the teachers,” said Michelle Carrera, a high school English teacher in Culp County.

Democratic lawmakers have derided the new law as literacy scores and voter turnout fell, saying it violates the separation of church and state guaranteed in the First Amendment.

“To say that a religious organization can mandate scheduling in a school seems to me to be a fundamental violation of that important American principle,” said Indiana House Education Committee member Ed DeLaney, a Democrat.

Jennifer Matthias, a member of the Fort Wayne Community Schools board of trustees, is opposed to a new program in her district, especially as recent Republican-led legislation places stricter literacy requirements on elementary school students.

“How can removing students from the academic day benefit them?” she said.

Proponents argue that the LifeWise model allows low-income students who cannot afford after-school programs to receive additional religious education. Culp said Indiana’s law gives parents more say in their children’s education.

“This is really more about parental rights,” he said.

Christa Sullinger, 46, started sending her 10-year-old son to LifeWise in Garrett, Indiana, last year. With baseball activities on Sundays, the family sometimes misses church and LifeWise fills in the gaps.

“What a great way to strengthen our faith,” Sullinger said.

LifeWise says it does not provide programs during classes such as math or reading, but rather during lunch, recess or electives such as library, art or gym. Indiana law requires children to attend for a maximum of two hours per week.

The West Central School Corporation in rural Pulaski County, about 100 miles north of Indianapolis, said 64% of its 345 elementary school students visited LifeWise during the library last school year.

Cathy Rowe, superintendent of the West Central School Corporation, said there may be students who feel left out if they don’t attend LifeWise, but that’s up to the parents.

“It’s very well supported in our community,” she said.

The district was often at the center of the discussion during the passage of the Indiana bill. Opponents say that if only a handful of children stay in school, they may feel pressure to participate or become alienated if they not religiously affiliated or practice another faith.

Some children promote the program to their classmates on their own initiative, Penton said.

“We are grateful when students find joy in our program and spread the message,” he said.

Demrie Alonzo, an English as a second language teacher in Fredericktown, Ohio, said she saw a LifeWise representative tell one of her third-grade students, who is Hindu, that they could teach her about Jesus. An investigation followed, resulting in School Superintendent Gary Chapman reminding Fredericktown Local School District and LifeWise officials not to solicit student participation during school hours.

Children from “different backgrounds” participate, Penton said.

“I thought it was extremely inappropriate,” Alonzo said.

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Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed from New York.