Released time

Last updated

In the United States public school system, released time or release time is time set aside during school hours, typically an hour a day or a week, for students to voluntarily receive off-campus private religious education. There were challenges, but the concept was upheld and a defined implementation resulted, blocking hostility to religious instruction for these students whose parents approved, permitting accommodation yet precluded public funding. [1] [2]

Contents

Early history

The original idea of released time in the United States was first discussed in 1905 at a school conference in New York City. The proposal was that public elementary schools should be closed one day a week, in addition to Sunday, so that parents could have their children receive religious instruction outside the school premises. This idea was later implemented by Dr. William Albert Wirt, an educator and superintendent of the school district of Gary, Indiana, in 1914. In the first years of Wirt's implementation, over 600 students participated in off-campus religious education.

Most released time programs were held outside school property, and the public school system had no involvement in the religious programs taught there.

Released time began to grow rapidly. In 1922, programs were active in 23 states. Approximately 40,000 students, from 200 school districts, were enrolled in such programs. In 1932, 30 states had active programs in 400 communities with enrollment of 250,000 students. In 1942, participation reached 1.5 million students in 46 states. Released time reached its peak enrollment totals in 1947, when 2 million students were enrolled in some 2,200 communities. Legislation paving the way for released time programs had been adopted by 12 states. [3]

In 1945, Vashti McCollum brought legal action against the Champaign, Illinois public school district. McCollum was the mother of a student in the district. McCollum's suit stated that her eight-year-old son had been coerced and ostracized by school officials because her family had chosen to not participate in the district's in-school religious instruction program. The Champaign district's religious instruction was held during regular school hours in the classrooms in Champaign's public schools and was taught by members of a local religious association, with the approval of school officials.

McCollum's suit argued that religious instruction held during regular school hours on public school property constituted an establishment of religion, in violation of the US Constitution, and violated also the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

The state district court ruled against McCollum, as did the Illinois Supreme Court upon appeal. However, in 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled 8-1 in favor of McCollum, reversing the lower courts' decision. [4] It ruled that the Champaign program was unconstitutional since it used the state's compulsory education system to aid in the teaching of religious doctrine and tax-supported school buildings were being used.

In the aftermath of that decision, McCollum v. Board of Education , the number of released time classes dropped by 12 percent across the nation.[ citation needed ]

Zorach v. Clauson

In 1952, the case of Zorach v. Clauson came before the Supreme Court. The case involved the education law of New York State, particularly a regulation by which a public school was permitted to release students during school hours for religious instruction or devotional exercises. In a 6 to 3 ruling, the high court upheld the New York law.

In the majority opinion, Justice William O. Douglas wrote that New York's program "involves neither religious instruction in public schools nor the expenditure of public funds", unlike the earlier McCollum case that the Zorach plaintiffs had cited as precedent.

Douglas wrote that a public school "may not coerce anyone to attend church, to observe a religious holiday, or to take religious instruction. But it can close its doors or suspend its operations as to those who want to repair to their religious sanctuary for worship or instruction. No more than that is undertaken here."

The Court's opinion stated that

In the McCollum case the classrooms were used for religious instruction and the force of the public school was used to promote that instruction. Here, as we have said, the public schools do no more than accommodate their schedules to a program of outside religious instruction. We follow the McCollum case. But we cannot expand it to cover the present released time program unless separation of Church and State means that public institutions can make no adjustments of their schedules to accommodate the religious needs of the people. We cannot read into the Bill of Rights such a philosophy of hostility to religion. [5]

Moss v. Spartanburg County School District Seven

In 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a South Carolina school district’s practice of awarding academic credit through a religiously-affiliated private school in the case of Moss v. Spartanburg County School District Seven. The court reiterating that Zorach is good law and held that Released Time programs, and the academic credit received for them, is an accommodation of the parents’ right to choose the type of education their child receives. The court found that:

Far from establishing a state religion, the acceptance of transfer credits (including religious credits) by public schools sensibly accommodates the genuine choice among options public and private, secular and religious. [6]

Today

There are approximately 1,000 released time programs in operation today, ranging from kindergarten to high school, with 250,000 students enrolled. In some areas, including most public school districts in the state of Utah, released time programs allow students a daily class period, which may be used for extracurricular religious studies.

Christian education programs

A multi-denominational Christian organization that supports Released Time Bible Education across the country is School Ministries, Inc. It was created in 1990 to act as an association that assists local communities in the creation of Released Time Bible Education and to provide support for existing programs. Although initially envisioned to have a South Carolina focus, School Ministries soon was undertaking a national role in responding to RTBE interests, addressing legal challenges, raising national visibility and addressing research needs. Since 2003, School Ministries has growth annually at an increase of 10% in students served.

In 2006, School Ministries lead an effort in South Carolina to allow Released Time for high school credit. This law is now referred to as the Released Time Credit Act. [7] School Ministries followed this up in 2014 in the state of Ohio. [8] Since that time additional states have allowed schools to award academic credit for Released Time including three by legislative action (Alabama, [9] Tennessee, [10] and Indiana [11] ) and one by administrative law (Utah [12] ).

Founded in 2018 in Ohio as a Christian interdenominational release time program, LifeWise Academy [13] [14]

Latter-day Saint education programs

One notable large group taking released time for religious instruction are Latter-day Saint students. Most LDS students in ninth through twelfth grade attend weekday religious classes called Seminary. In the Western United States, such as in Idaho and Utah, it is common to find an LDS seminary building within close walking distance of public high schools, sometimes directly adjacent. In such situations, the LDS students will take one class period off from the public school as released time. The large numbers taking released time means the seminary has up to six or seven periods corresponding to the public school class periods.

Jewish education programs

New York City also participates in released time Many organizations take advantage, notably, the Jewish Education Program and the Jewish Released Time Program of Greater New York.

Supporters of released time programs interpret the various court cases as permitting these programs, provided several guidelines are met:

Since 1941 "1,000,000 Public School Children have participated in the Jewish Hour" implementation of Released-time. [15]

A 1970s participant "from PS xxx in Brooklyn (walked) to a synagogue down the block" described it [15] : 2018 interview  as "They lit the candles with us on Chanukah, told us stories, brought us matzoh for Passover... On Sukkot the children munched on snacks inside a sukkah."

As of 2018 there were 1,328 participating students coming from 90 New York City public schools.

See also

References and further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1791 amendment limiting government restriction of civil rights

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prevents Congress from making laws respecting an establishment of religion; prohibiting the free exercise of religion; or abridging the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press, the freedom of assembly, or the right to petition the government for redress of grievances. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, as one of the ten amendments that constitute the Bill of Rights. In the original draft of the Bill of Rights, what is now the First Amendment occupied third place. The first two articles were not ratified by the states, so the article on disestablishment and free speech ended up being first.

Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421 (1962), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools, due to violation of the First Amendment. The ruling has been the subject of intense debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Gideons International</span> Evangelical Christian organization known for distributing free Bibles

Gideons International is an Evangelical Christian association for men founded in 1899 in Janesville, Wisconsin. The Gideons' primary activity, along with their wives in the Auxiliary, is "encouraging each other to do the work of the Lord, focusing on who they are before God, and strengthening the power of their personal testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ". They are most recognized for distributing copies of scripture free of charge, paid for by freewill offerings from local churches and from members themselves. This Bible distribution is a worldwide enterprise taking place in around 200 countries, territories and possessions. The association's members focus on distributing complete Bibles, New Testaments, or portions thereof. These copies are printed in over 108 languages. The association is most widely known for its Bibles placed in lodging rooms. The Gideons also distribute to hospitals and other medical offices, schools and colleges, military bases, as well as jails and prisons. The association was named after the Biblical figure Gideon depicted in the Book of Judges.

Everson v. Board of Education, 330 U.S. 1 (1947), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that applied the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to state law. Before this decision, the clause, which states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion", restricted only the federal government, while many states continued to grant certain religious denominations legislative or effective privileges.

Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, 536 U.S. 639 (2002), was a 5–4 decision of the United States Supreme Court that upheld an Ohio program that used school vouchers. The Court decided that the program did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, as long as parents using the program were allowed to choose among a range of secular and religious schools.

Religious education is the term given to education concerned with religion. It may refer to education provided by a church or religious organization, for instruction in doctrine and faith, or for education in various aspects of religion, but without explicitly religious or moral aims, e.g. in a school or college. The term is often known as religious studies.

Locke v. Davey, 540 U.S. 712 (2004), is a United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of a Washington publicly funded scholarship program which excluded students pursuing a "degree in devotional theology". This case examined the "room ... between the two Religion Clauses", the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause.

The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States has been criticized on several grounds. Its use in government funded schools has been the most controversial, as critics contend that a government-sanctioned endorsement of religion violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Arguments against the pledge include that the pledge itself is incompatible with democracy and freedom, that it is a form of nationalistic indoctrination, that pledges of allegiance are features of current and former totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany, and that the pledge was written to sell flags.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homeschooling in the United States</span> Overview of the situation of homeschooling in the United States of America

Homeschooling constitutes the education of about 3.4% of U.S. students as of 2012. The number of homeschoolers in the United States has increased significantly over the past few decades since the end of the 20th century. In the United States, the Supreme Court has ruled that parents have a fundamental right to direct the education of their children. The right to homeschool is not frequently questioned in court, but the amount of state regulation and help that can or should be expected continues to be subject to legal debate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Released Time</span> Jewish learning initiative

Jewish Released Time, also known as Sheloh, is an organization promoting released time for the Jewish education of Jewish children learning in public schools.

McCollum v. Board of Education, 333 U.S. 203 (1948), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case related to the power of a state to use its tax-supported public school system to aid religious instruction. The case was a test of the separation of church and state with respect to education.

Weekday Religious Education (WRE) or Released Time for Religious Instruction (RTRI) is a released time religious education program for public school students in the United States. The program is administered during school hours, but by law must be conducted outside school property. Weekday Religious Education classes are offered in school districts in several states, most of them rural.

Zorach v. Clauson, 343 U.S. 306 (1952), was a release time case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a school district allowing students to leave a public school for part of the day to receive off-site religious instruction did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

Vashti Cromwell McCollum was the plaintiff in the landmark 1948 Supreme Court case McCollum v. Board of Education, which struck down religious education in public schools. The defendant in the case was the public school district of Champaign, Illinois; instructors chosen by three religious faiths had taught religion classes within the district's schools.

Agostini v. Felton, 521 U.S. 203 (1997), is a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. In this case, the Court overruled its decision in Aguilar v. Felton (1985), now finding that it was not a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment for a state-sponsored education initiative to allow public school teachers to instruct at religious schools, so long as the material was secular and neutral in nature and no "excessive entanglement" between government and religion was apparent. This case is noteworthy in a broader sense as a sign of evolving judicial standards surrounding the First Amendment, and the changes that have occurred in modern Establishment Clause jurisprudence.

Mueller v. Allen, 463 U.S. 388 (1983), was a United States Supreme Court case examining the constitutionality of a state tax deduction granted to taxpaying parents for school-related expenses, including expenses incurred from private secular and religious schools. The plaintiffs claimed that a Minnesota statute, allowing tax deductions for both public and private school expenses, had the effect of subsidizing religious instruction since parents who paid tuition to religious schools received a larger deduction than parents of public school students, who incurred no tuition expenses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">School prayer in the United States</span>

School prayer in the United States if organized by the school is largely banned from public elementary, middle, and high schools by a series of Supreme Court decisions since 1962. Students may pray privately, and join religious clubs in after-school hours. Public schools, such as local school districts, are banned from conducting religious observances such as prayer. Private and parochial schools are not covered by these rulings, nor are colleges and universities. Elementary and secondary schools are covered because students are required to attend, and are considered more at risk from official pressure than are older students and adults. The Constitutional basis for this prohibition is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which requires that:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ...

Accommodationism in the United States is a judicial interpretation of accommodationism which espouses that "the government may support or endorse religious establishments as long as it treats all religions equally and does not show preferential treatment." Accommodationists espouse the view that "religious individuals, and/or religious entities may be accommodated by government in regard to such things as free exercise rights, access to government programs and facilities, and religious expression."

In law and philosophy, accommodationism is the co-existence of religion with rationalism or irreligion. It may be applied to government practice or to society more broadly. Accommodationist policies are common in liberal democracies as a method of guaranteeing freedom of religion, and these policies may include options for religious education, official recognition of certain religious practices, and tolerance of religious expression in public spaces. It contrasts with separationist secularism and fundamentalism.

LifeWise Academy is an interdenominational American educational program founded in 2018 as a free program that provides Bible education for public school students during school hours under released time laws. LifeWise Academy states that it is aligned "with historic, orthodox Christian beliefs as expressed in the Nicene Creed."

References

  1. ↑ "Pupil 'Released Time' Upheld". The New York Times. April 11, 1958.
  2. ↑ "Highest Court to Get Released Time Issue". The New York Times. July 14, 1951.
  3. ↑ "Released Time: History". Archived from the original on June 1, 2003.
  4. ↑ "McCollum v. Board of Education (1948)". Findlaw. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Zorach v. Clauson (1952)". Findlaw. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  6. ↑ http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/111448.P.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  7. ↑ "Code of Laws - Title 59 - Chapter 39 - High Schools". www.scstatehouse.gov.
  8. ↑ "Section 3313.6022 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws". codes.ohio.gov.
  9. ↑ "Section 16-1-20.6". alisondb.legislature.state.al.us.
  10. ↑ https://advance.lexis.com/documentpage/?pdmfid=1000516&crid=4e3365d9-b348-4e42-8f0a-2c2bec110c3c&config=025054JABlOTJjNmIyNi0wYjI0LTRjZGEtYWE5ZC0zNGFhOWNhMjFlNDgKAFBvZENhdGFsb2cDFQ14bX2GfyBTaI9WcPX5&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fstatutes-legislation%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5GBS-HXM0-R03N-S4SX-00008-00&pdcontentcomponentid=234179&pdteaserkey=sr0&pditab=allpods&ecomp=tgw_kkk&earg=sr0&prid=87e96bf9-307e-497b-b4de-91308778e416%5B‍%5D
  11. ↑ "IC 20-33-2-19 Attendance; public school children; religious instruction". in.gov.
  12. ↑ "Utah Administrative Code". rules.utah.gov.
  13. ↑ "Current Career Opportunities at LifeWise Applicant Center". lifewiseprograms.isolvedhire.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  14. ↑ Stankorb, Sarah (October 4, 2024). "The Big Red Bus". Slate. ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Dvora Lapkein (Summer 2018). "Released for an hour, Connected for a Lifetime". Lubavitch International.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.