This week’s blog post focuses on some of the more frequently asked questions we receive about released time for religious instruction. “Released time” is a period of time during which a student is excused from school to attend a course in religious instruction conducted by a private entity off school district property. Released time programs require districts to balance students’ First Amendment rights to religious expression with the district’s responsibility to maintain the separation of church and state as set forth in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment as well as its responsibility to educate its students in core areas of curriculum. At the state level, the program is governed by RC 3313.6022. At the federal level, similar programs have been ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Are districts required to offer release time?
Districts currently have discretion whether to offer released time. A school district that elects to provide release time must adopt a policy. Legislation has been introduced in Ohio that would require districts to adopt a policy that authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction.
Are there any restrictions on where the released time course must take place?
To ensure that a released time religious instruction policy comports with the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the Ohio Attorney General (OAG) stated that such religious instruction should not take place on public school premises, or upon other property owned or leased by the district.
Are there any restrictions on when a student may be released to attend a course in religious instruction?
Prior to a student participating in released time, the student’s parent or guardian must provide written consent. Additionally, students may not be released from a core curriculum subject course to attend a religious instruction course.
How should a district handle attendance for a student participating in release time?
A student shall not be considered absent from school while they are attending a released time course in religious instruction. The entity sponsoring the course is responsible for maintaining attendance records and must make them available to the school district the student attends. The student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork.
May a student earn credits for completing a released time course in religious instruction?
A district may authorize high school students to earn up to two units of high school credit for the completion of a released time course in religious instruction. In determining whether to award credit for the completion of a course, the board shall evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar nonpublic high school courses. These may include a review of things like the number of hours of classroom instruction time, a review of the course syllabus, the methods of assessment used in the course, and the qualifications of the course instructor.
Who is responsible for the student during the period of religious release time?
RC 3313.6022 requires the entity sponsoring the course to “make provisions for and assume liability for the student.”
Who is responsible for transporting the student to the private entity?
Transportation is the responsibility of the entity sponsoring the course, the parent/guardian or the student themselves. RC 3313.6022 is clear that the district is not liable for any injuries that arise during a student’s transportation to or from a place of instruction when private transportation is used under a released time policy.
What role, if any, should district personnel have in implementing the released time program?
Public school personnel should assume little or no responsibility for the actual, daily implementation of the individual aspects of the released time program. OAG opined that merely distributing and collecting consent forms for released time religious instruction likely does not violate the Establishment Clause.
What role, if any, should district personnel have in promoting or prohibiting the promotion of a released time course in or through their schools?
The question of how released time religious instruction courses may be publicized in or through a public school was the subject of a 2019 OAG opinion. Many districts allow entities to provide information and distribute materials about non-school-sponsored activities to families and students. OAG has opined that the Establishment Clause is not violated so long as the entity sponsoring the released time course is permitted to participate in the same manner as other non-school activity providers.
The 2019 OAG opinion also clarifies that districts generally may not prohibit students from inviting other students to join them at such programs (unless that student-to-student speech substantially interferes with schoolwork or infringes on the rights of others) and that school employees generally may use their free-speech rights to talk about such programs in their personal capacities so long as their interest in talking about the programs outweighs the district’s interest in promoting the efficiency of the public services it performs through its employees. These are typically fact-based analyses that should be reviewed with board counsel.
If you have additional general questions about RC 3313.6022 or released time courses in religious instruction, please reach out to OSBA’s legal division or your district’s legal counsel.