Faith, conservative leaders urge Oklahoma to pass bill on off-campus religious instruction

Prominent religious and conservative leaders called for the Oklahoma Legislature to pass a bill giving students in public schools “released time” to study religion off campus.

The letter, headed by Troy Miller, CEO of the National Religious Broadcasters, urged the state House to require districts to pass policies for releasing students for religious instruction.

“We — a diverse group of faith leaders — are writing to urge you to stand for Oklahoma parents, students, teachers and schools by voting in support of Oklahoma House Bill 1425, which clarifies the process of operating Religious Release Time programs in your state,” said the Tuesday letter shared with The Washington Times.

They said there are “forces working feverishly to prevent the passage of HB 1425, leaving Oklahomans vulnerable to legal harassment with respect to Religious Release Time and making it more difficult for children to receive Bible-based character education.”

The 22 signers include Family Research Council President Tony Perkins; Pastor Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Timothy Head, executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition; and Kathy Branzell, president of the National Day of Prayer Task Force.

The bill would require school districts to adopt policies letting students leave campus to attend a course in religion or moral instruction by an off-campus independent entity for up to three school class periods per week.

The students would be considered in attendance during that time. High school students would be able to receive elective credit for the courses. Parents would need to give their written permission first, and no school funds or personnel would be used to provide instruction.

The concept isn’t unique. Twenty-six states have passed released-time bills, spurred by the Supreme Court’s 1952 decision in Zorach v. Clauson, which held that a released time program for religious instruction didn’t violate the Constitution because it was held off school property and used no public funds.

A bill promoting religious education and parental choice would appear to be a no-brainer in red-state Oklahoma, but the measure has met with pushback from groups that include the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.

In Thursday’s legislative update, the organization said the bill would usurp local control “by requiring local school boards to award credit for instruction provided by an independent and unsanctioned entity.

“The released time instruction is not required to align with state academic standards. Public schools would be accountable for student academic performance, even though districts would be required to allow students to miss an extraordinary amount of class time during a school year.”

Republican state Rep. Clay Staires, the bill’s sponsor, countered that released time became the law of the land last year with the passage of the Oklahoma Parents’ Bill of Rights, which gives parents “the right to choose public, private, religious or other means of education and the right to make reasonable choices within public schools for the education of his or her child.”

He chalked up the objections to this year’s bill to a “misunderstanding” about state law.

“Their concerns were, ‘Clay, we can’t be releasing students for religious education; it’s not a good idea,’” Mr. Staires told The Washington Times. “Well, that’s already in law. That ship has already sailed.”

He argued that the bill protects school districts by making it clear that released time religious instruction is permitted during school hours, by laying out the parameters for such programs, and by giving local educators the authority to devise specifications for instructional entities seeking to offer high school credit.

“I think some people are locked into the idea that we are now teaching religion in public education, and guys, it’s like, No. 1, that’s not true,” Mr. Staires said. “No. 2, [released time] is already in our law, and number three, it’s not happening in school, it’s happening outside of school.”

The bill, which was approved by the state Senate on a 38-7 vote, could come before the House as early as Wednesday. The last day of the legislative session is May 31.