UPDATE: House Bill 8, inclusive of a version of the RTRI bill was passed out of the legislature on 12/18/24. The bill was signed into law on 1/8/2025.
Stop HB 445 and SB 293
Update: The language of these identical bills, mandating school districts to have an RTRI policy, has been added to House Bill 8!
Stop HB 445 and SB 293
Update: The language of these identical bills, mandating school districts to have an RTRI policy, has been added to House Bill 8!
House Bill 445 & Senate Bill 293
Summary of HB 445
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DESCRIPTION
Requires school districts to adopt a policy authorizing students to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction. TARGETS K-12 public schools |
PRIMARY SPONSORS
Rep. Al Cutrona Rep. Gary Click COMMITTEE House Primary and Secondary Education Committee STATUS Introduced: March 12, 2024 Passed House: Passed Senate: HEARINGS Watch Hearings | Read Testimony Sponsor Testimony BILL General Info | Bill Text | Analysis Amendments |
Summary of SB 293
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DESCRIPTION
Requires school districts to adopt a policy authorizing students to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction. TARGETS K-12 public schools |
PRIMARY SPONSORS
Senator Michele Reynolds COMMITTEE Senate Education Committee STATUS Introduced: June 17, 2024 Passed House: Passed Senate: HEARINGS Watch Hearings | Read Testimony Sponsor Testimony BILL General Info | Bill Text | Analysis Amendments |
What does HB 445/SB 293 do?
House Bill 445 is a one-word that changes the current law to require, instead of permit, school boards to adopt a policy authorizing students to attend a released time course in religious instruction conducted by a private entity off school district property during regular school hours.
Definition of "released time": 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.”
HB 445 changes current language from "may" to "shall":
- Current law: "A school district board of education may adopt a policy that authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction…”
- HB 445: “A school district board of education shall adopt a policy that authorizes a student to be excused from school to attend a released time course in religious instruction…”
All other provisions in the current law remain the same in HB 445
- Absences may be excused if all of the following conditions are met:
- The student’s parent or guardian provides written consent
- The sponsoring entity maintains attendance records and makes them available to the student’s school district
- The sponsoring entity, parent, guardian, or student, including a student with disabilities, takes complete responsibility for transportation to and from the place of instruction
- The sponsoring entity makes provisions for and assumes liability for the student
- No public funds are spent and no public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction
- The student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork
- The student may not be released from a core curriculum subject course to attend a religious instruction course
- While attending a religious release time program, a student cannot be considered or marked absent from school
- District policies may authorize high school students to earn up to two units of high school credit for the completion of a religious release time program
- In determining whether to award credit, the school board must evaluate the course based on purely secular criteria that are substantially the same criteria used to evaluate similar courses for a student transferring from a nonpublic high school to a public high school (religious release time courses do not need to be completed only at a nonpublic school)
- The decision to award credit for a religious release program must be neutral to (and must not involve any test for) religious content or denominational affiliation
- Secular criteria may include, but are not limited to:
- The number of hours of classroom instruction time
- A review of the course syllabus that reflects course requirements and materials used
- The methods of assessment used in the course
- The qualifications of the course instructor, which shall be similar to the qualifications of other teachers within the district
- “Notwithstanding division (C)(8) of ORC section 3313.603,” high school credit awarded to a student for a religious release program may substitute for the same amount of credit in subjects listed in that division.
- The school district, board of education members, and school district employees are not liable for injury allegedly arising during a student's transportation to or from a place of instruction when private transportation is used under a religious release time policy
What is our position on HB 445/SB 293?
OPPOSE
HB 445 would change exactly one word in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC). It currently fails to answer dozens of questions, including questions about basic student safety.
As residents of Ohio and citizens of the United States, individuals have the freedom to exercise their chosen religion. But no one has the authority to impose their religious beliefs on another person's child within a public school setting.
Ohio law needs to set clear parameters for religious release programs.
Right now, HB 445 sets no parameters at all.
Questions HB 445 fails to answer:
Will school districts and teachers be punished for students who fail to make up coursework they miss?
Will school report cards reflect the grades of religious release students who fail to make up work?
Will there be any minimum qualifications or credentialing for religious release programs?
Will there be any safety measures in place?
Ohio law says the child’s school isn’t liable for injury arising during transportation to or from a release program when private transport is used, but who IS liable? Are we doing anything to make sure students are protected?
Public schools have to require any volunteer in their buildings to pay for BCI and FBI checks.
Will students (in some districts) be required to attend a religious release program if parents sign a release for them to go but they don’t want to go?
Parents will have to sign a consent form — but how much information is it required to provide?
Will religious release programs (in some districts) have limitless authority to focus on politically motivated content that is potentially harmful to students?
Will individual school districts be permitted to require religious release programs to represent certain religions?
Will individual school districts be permitted to ban religious release programs from representing certain religions?
What happens if a nontraditional religion wants to bring a religious release program into some districts?
Will religious release programs have leeway to start funneling funding away from public schools for counseling, after-school programs, tutoring, or other “services provided” that are not specifically the release program?
What happens if a large percentage of students in a classroom join an available religious release program? We’ve heard stories of the remaining students being forced to sit in study hall because there aren’t enough students to hold an art or music class.
Isn’t that akin to punishing students for not attending a religious release program?
Current law states that students cannot leave school during a core curriculum class in order to attend a religious release program, but does not appear to define core curriculum.
We’ve heard lots of stories about students leaving for their religious release program during a non-core curriculum period (such as lunch or recess), but not returning until the middle of a core curriculum class.
Governor Dewine has been promoting research showing that 1.) if a student momentarily views their cell phone, it takes 20 minutes for that student’s distraction to wane, and 2.) If a student picks up a cell phone and interacts with it, it takes 50 minutes for that student’s distraction to wane.
Even if these programs are actually taking place exclusively during specialized/elective time, isn’t that also a problem?
Even if these programs are actually taking place exclusively during lunch and recess, isn’t that also a problem? Recess and social time are central to whole child learning. Students attending religious release programs could end up missing out on this vital social time entirely — therefore missing opportunities to play and grow with their peers.
It seems likely that the recruitment strategies used by RTRI programs would lead to strained student relationships and tensions between students who attend the program and those who do not.
As residents of Ohio and citizens of the United States, individuals have the freedom to exercise their chosen religion. But no one has the authority to impose their religious beliefs on another person's child within a public school setting.
- As Ohioans and Americans, everyone has a right to practice their preferred faith. But no one has the right to push their faith onto someone else’s child in a public school.
Ohio law needs to set clear parameters for religious release programs.
Right now, HB 445 sets no parameters at all.
- It does nothing to prevent students from being drawn into religious release programs with obvious political agendas.
- It does nothing to protect students while they're in someone else's care — background checks, licenses, etc.
- HB 445 must be amended.
Questions HB 445 fails to answer:
Will school districts and teachers be punished for students who fail to make up coursework they miss?
- Current law declares that “the student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork,” but does not elaborate.
Will school report cards reflect the grades of religious release students who fail to make up work?
- Current law declares that “the student assumes responsibility for any missed schoolwork,” but does not elaborate
Will there be any minimum qualifications or credentialing for religious release programs?
- Can any person simply start a small religious release program and use it to remove kids from school during the day?
- Will this be different district to district?
Will there be any safety measures in place?
- How can we be sure the religious release time program leaders do not have criminal records / will keep our kids safe?
- Will this be different district to district?
Ohio law says the child’s school isn’t liable for injury arising during transportation to or from a release program when private transport is used, but who IS liable? Are we doing anything to make sure students are protected?
- Will religious release programs have epi-pens on site? A defibrillator?
- Who ensures religious release program leaders don’t give out treats containing nuts and allergens?
- What is the policy if a student gets sick while attending a religious release program?
Public schools have to require any volunteer in their buildings to pay for BCI and FBI checks.
- Will religious release program directors, staff, and volunteers be able to bypass the background check requirements?
Will students (in some districts) be required to attend a religious release program if parents sign a release for them to go but they don’t want to go?
Parents will have to sign a consent form — but how much information is it required to provide?
- Will parents even know what they're consenting to?
Will religious release programs (in some districts) have limitless authority to focus on politically motivated content that is potentially harmful to students?
- Anti-LGBTQ content
- Content explicitly supporting or opposing certain political candidates or political issues
- Etc.
Will individual school districts be permitted to require religious release programs to represent certain religions?
- Example: Christian religious release programs only
Will individual school districts be permitted to ban religious release programs from representing certain religions?
- Example: No Muslim religious release programs allowed in our district
What happens if a nontraditional religion wants to bring a religious release program into some districts?
- Church of Wicca
- Neo-Paganism
- Satanic Temple
- New Age
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
- American Witchcraft
Will religious release programs have leeway to start funneling funding away from public schools for counseling, after-school programs, tutoring, or other “services provided” that are not specifically the release program?
What happens if a large percentage of students in a classroom join an available religious release program? We’ve heard stories of the remaining students being forced to sit in study hall because there aren’t enough students to hold an art or music class.
Isn’t that akin to punishing students for not attending a religious release program?
Current law states that students cannot leave school during a core curriculum class in order to attend a religious release program, but does not appear to define core curriculum.
- Could students miss library time each week? Gym? Music? Art? Reading?
- Could an amendment be added to this bill to ensure students ONLY miss lunch and/or recess — and require the religious release program to feed them?
We’ve heard lots of stories about students leaving for their religious release program during a non-core curriculum period (such as lunch or recess), but not returning until the middle of a core curriculum class.
- This means the entire class is disrupted and all students get distracted. It also means the religious release program students miss major pieces of core curriculum.
- Could an amendment be added to this bill penalizing religious release programs that violate the law by failing to return students on time?
- If not, how will the state assist students who miss core curriculum because their religious release program violated state law?
Governor Dewine has been promoting research showing that 1.) if a student momentarily views their cell phone, it takes 20 minutes for that student’s distraction to wane, and 2.) If a student picks up a cell phone and interacts with it, it takes 50 minutes for that student’s distraction to wane.
- Doesn’t that mean that leaving for a religious release program will distract students for the entire day?
Even if these programs are actually taking place exclusively during specialized/elective time, isn’t that also a problem?
- Should we be further limiting subjects like art, PE, music, or library/media that help children grow into healthy, well-rounded adults?
Even if these programs are actually taking place exclusively during lunch and recess, isn’t that also a problem? Recess and social time are central to whole child learning. Students attending religious release programs could end up missing out on this vital social time entirely — therefore missing opportunities to play and grow with their peers.
It seems likely that the recruitment strategies used by RTRI programs would lead to strained student relationships and tensions between students who attend the program and those who do not.
- Isn’t it counterproductive to be creating additional social / interpersonal barriers in our classrooms?
Testimony
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STEP 1:
PREPARE YOUR TESTIMONY
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STEP 2:
EMAIL TESTIMONY DOCUMENTS TO COMMITTEE
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STEP 3:
ARRIVE EARLY FOR IN-PERSON TESTIMONY
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