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Law now lets parent decide on taking kids out of school for religious ed

By Isabella Vesperini

Posted July 1, 2024

Bloomington's First Christian Church from the front.

Schools will have to work with local churches to coordinate when and how children can go to and from school for religious education. (Emma Atkinson, WFIU/WTIU News)

A new bill in effect today will require schools to allow parents to take their kids out of school for religious education.

Rep. Kendell Culp (R-16), lead author of the bill, said since 1952, offsite religious instruction during school hours has been allowed but the principal had the final say on whether to let the child leave school. Now, the parent may decide if and when to pull their child out of school for religious education.

“It takes the pressure off of the school principal,” he said. “For them to have to decide if this is something that students should attend or this one. Some groups, they might say yes to, some groups, they might say no to. There's disparity there.”

Kendell Culp (R-16), lead author of the bill, said most people support this bill and the opportunity it gives children to engage in religious education more frequently. (Clayton Baumgarth)

The bill is meant to encourage principals and local churches to collaborate and find the best time for children to leave the school day for religious education. Schools in District 16 are planning to coordinate with LifeWise Academy, an Ohio-based organization, to allow kids to leave when there is no core subject teaching occurring, such as during recess, library time or lunch.

“They get one-on-one time with their instructor, which is another valuable opportunity for us,” he said.

Holding religious education after school was one of Culp’s main concerns.

“If you do it after school, then you compete with sports and other extracurricular activities,” he said. “It becomes a decision of what you are going to prioritize.”

Christopher Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association, said many schools throughout the state are establishing one release time during the day where children can choose whether to attend religious education.

Christopher Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association, said a lot of schools around the state have already been allowing students to leave school for religious education during library time. (Zoom)

“If there's not more clarity, there could be an issue where multiple groups want their time,” he said. “It would be tough for the local principal to coordinate that and not have students miss instruction time. So far, that's not an issue.”

It’s up to schools to coordinate with local churches when it comes to transportation and funding, Lagoni said. Indiana law does not allow religious education on school property or to receive funding from the schools.

Culp said he believes religious education can teach students to be more attentive, moral and better learners.

“We're not competing with education; we're trying to supplement the educational process and the learning that takes place in the classroom,” he said. “We're learning in a different classroom, but we're bringing those skills and those characteristics back into the main classroom in the public school…good behavior and good learning habits that maybe they didn't have before.”