Since a new state law brought renewed attention to the option for “moral education” programming in public schools, an out-of-state Bible-based moral education group has begun springing up in school districts across Kentucky — from Oldham County to McCracken County. An attorney general opinion released this week clarifies that school boards have the power to reject those programs, with a couple of caveats.
Earlier this year, the Kentucky General Assembly attached a new addition to a bill requiring a “moment of silence” at the start of each school day. An already somewhat controversial bill, the insertion created a framework for “moral education” in the state.
The law requires schools to allow students off campus for up to one hour per week for “moral education” that parents can opt into, but gives school boards the power to approve or reject the programs themselves. The other students remain behind for that hour and participate in “noncredit enrichment courses” like physical education, music, art or study hall. The bill also allows schools to combine grade levels as needed for that hour.
One group in particular has begun expanding in Kentucky, looking to gain a foothold in school districts across the state in the wake of the new law. LifeWise, an Ohio-based organization that provides Christian moral instruction, has made headlines in recent weeks as it submits proposals to districts across Kentucky.
“We want kids to be there if they'd like to be there, and their parents elect to it,” said John Stein, LifeWise’s Kentucky state director. “Ultimately, the impact that LifeWise that we're seeing is really overwhelmingly positive, that kids that are going are cooperative, they're engaged in school, their behavior improves.”
As school boards weigh their options, Kentucky’s attorney general has offered his opinion of what they can and can’t do in response to groups hoping to pull kids from classrooms for moral instruction.
LifeWise, whose website states its goal is “reaching all 50 million public school students” with the message of the gospel, has faced an uphill battle in Oldham County Schools and Warren County Public Schools. In McCracken County, the local board of education voted to allow the program to begin operating.
The group already has one active program in the state, in Marshall County Public Schools, which began its third year. Stein said hundreds of students in Marshall County are already participating in their Bible-based program.
The battle for approval in Oldham County prompted the school board to submit a request to the attorney general, seeking more guidance on the process and requirements for approving a moral education program.
This year’s law certainly wasn’t a new concept for Kentucky. To some extent, it took pieces from existing statutes dating back decades, combining them and reshaping them. The new law addresses things like insurance, applications to the board and background checks.
The wording of the statute itself created confusion for school districts, in part because the statute alternates between saying districts “may” or “shall” allow kids to attend off-campus moral education. The Oldham County School Board and GOP state Sen. Lindsey Tichenor asked for clarity on whether school boards can reject moral education program applications, whether they must explain their rationale to rejected applicants and if they must give such programs room to advertise on campus — among a litany of other questions.
In an opinion Wednesday, Republican Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said school districts do indeed have the authority to turn down requests from outside groups to provide moral education, but they can’t do so “arbitrarily,” nor can they deny applications because the program is a religious one.
“[A] local board of education, in deciding whether to approve or deny a request to offer a moral instruction program to students, may not discriminate against applicants of any particular religious group, denomination, or sect on the grounds that it is religious in character,” Coleman wrote.
Tarah LeBlanc has three children, two of whom attend Oldham County Public Schools. She’s part of a group of parents and residents who are fighting LifeWise’s application. She questioned how school districts could manage such programs without disrupting the school day for other kids.
“Third, fourth and fifth graders don't even have language arts at the same time. So what hour were they going to pull them out during?” LeBlanc said. “You have to rearrange the whole school schedule around this program, because I don't see any other way around that, and that's just disruptive.”
LeBlanc said she believes a renewed emphasis on programs like LifeWise is a response to the electoral failure of Amendment 2 last year, which would have allowed state dollars to fund education outside of public schools. LeBlanc said it's an attempt to push public school students into private religious instruction during school hours.
“I'm a member of a church. I am not anti-religion,” LeBlanc said. “I am anti-religion in [public] schools and specifically this organization.”
LeBlanc said she also worries about bullying and “othering” of kids who don’t participate in the program. She fears that LifeWise teaches the belief that students who don’t believe in their teaching are “going to go to hell,” a mentality that they could then bring back into school. The Ohio Capital Journal reported earlier this year that some parents reported their children were ostracized for not attending the academy and told they would go to hell.
“All kids should feel safe and be safe in public schools,” LeBlanc said. “I'm not all rainbow and sunshine; bullying happens. But this is just a ripe opportunity to make it this group versus this group.”
Stein, with LifeWise ,said the program focuses on “character-based Bible education,” teaching things like kindness, respect and making good choices. In response to questions about bullying or othering of students who are not Christian or do not share the same beliefs, Stein said that LifeWise “welcomes all kids and families.”
“Our goal is to instill the values in the students that are with us for the short time of acceptance, respect, love, compassion,” Stein said. “No child should ever be pressured or bullied or ostracized.”
While LifeWise promotes itself as nondenominational, it follows “historic, orthodox Christian beliefs expressed in the Nicene Creed,” according to its website. In its list of core beliefs, it draws a sharp distinction between believers and nonbelievers, saying the nonbeliever “awaits the resurrection of his body to everlasting judgment and condemnation” while Christians await “everlasting glory and blessing.”
Oldham County has yet to render a decision on LifeWise’s application in their district at Locust Grove Elementary School for third to fifth grade students. An application has already failed in Warren County Public Schools, with the school board narrowly turning down a request to provide moral instruction to first and second grade students at Alvaton Elementary.
Last week, the board of education at McCracken County Public Schools voted 4-1 to allow LifeWise to work with students at Lone Oak Intermediate School, which serves students in fourth and fifth grade.
Stein told Kentucky Public Radio that one in four Kentucky school districts have a planning team forming or active. He said programs in several other counties are hoping to launch in the near future.
WKMS Assistant News Director Hannah Saad contributed to this report.
State government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
