Washington school district that made kids hide Bibles in sealed envelopes must apologize and pay $275K
Reported byNew York Post
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A Washington state district, Everett School District, has settled a lawsuit brought by LifeWise Academy, a group that offers privately funded Bible classes off campus during the school day with parental permission. According to LifeWise, the district agreed to apologize publicly, adjust its guidelines, provide religious liberty training to board members, and cover $275,000 in attorney's fees. LifeWise announced the settlement on a Wednesday.
LifeWise's founder and CEO, Joel Penton, says the group had worked in Everett for several years before the board changed its approach. He alleges the changes were discriminatory, including a requirement that parents deliver a new permission slip every week and a rule that Bibles and worksheets be returned to school in sealed envelopes. He also says the group was kept out of some community fairs that other student groups could join. LifeWise says a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in April.
The district's statement in the settlement announcement said some comments at board meetings, including by directors, were offensive and hurtful to participating families, and it offered an apology. The district separately says its release policy follows state and federal law, that it made no policy changes, and that its Student Release Guidelines were updated to match the settlement terms. An attorney for First Liberty Institute, which represented LifeWise, called the outcome a victory for release-time programs.
Why it matters
The settlement shows how districts handle religious release-time programs and how procedural rules can become the subject of legal disputes. Families, taxpayers and board members may want to know how policies are written, applied and paid for when challenged in court.
- District lawsuits
- Court ruling
- Religion in schools
- Board policy
- Public comment
Written with AI from the publisher's article and may contain errors. The original reporting is the authoritative source.
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- How should a district balance religious release-time programs with its duty to treat all outside student groups equally?
- What steps can a school board take to keep public comments about community groups respectful while still allowing open debate?
- How should districts weigh legal costs against the value of defending a contested policy?
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