In 2024, members of the Oklahoma Legislature approved House Bill 1425, which required Oklahoma public schools to adopt a policy that excuses students to attend a “released time course” of religious or moral instruction for up to three class periods per week or a maximum of 125 class periods per school year.

Students can participate only if a parent or legal guardian provides written consent, and the youths are responsible for any missed schoolwork.

Lifewise Academy, a provider of Bible classes, was a major backer of the bill. Supporters noted the legislation aligned with a 1952 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that public school students could receive religious instruction during the school day so long as the instruction occurs off school property, is privately funded, and is parent-permitted.

Even so, the bill narrowly made it into law. While HB 1425 easily passed the Oklahoma Senate on a bipartisan 38-7 vote, it barely cleared the Oklahoma House of Representatives on a 51-40 vote, receiving the bare number of votes required to pass out of that chamber.

Jim Brown, Oklahoma state director for Lifewise Academy, said he is not shocked that the bill received pushback.

“It doesn’t surprise me when there are battles over this, lots of questions,” Brown said. “Because typically when people first hear about this, their first thought is, ‘Well, this isn’t legal.’”

But the legality of HB 1425 is clear, he said, and now so are the results as communities across Oklahoma, both big and small, are starting to launch Lifewise Academies.

When HB 1425 passed the Oklahoma Legislature last year, no school was prepared to launch a program, Brown said, but local citizens in a handful of districts had expressed strong interest.

Today, two communities have already launched a Lifewise Academy program: South Coffeyville and Tahlequah. Several other communities are “well on their way” and will likely launch programs at the start of the 2025-2026 school year, Brown said. Those communities include Altus, Stilwell, Edmond, Bixby, Howe, Jenks, and some schools in the Tulsa district.

Citizens from another eight communities have expressed interest and are pursuing the creation of a Lifewise Academy during their local school day, including Berryhill, Sapulpa, Claremore, Mustang, Owasso, Union, and Yukon.

“We set a goal of having 10 academies launched in our first year,” Brown said, “and it looks like we will eclipse that by possibly twice as many.”

Brown said individuals from “dozens” of other Oklahoma communities have reached out to Lifewise expressing interest in having the program launched in their areas.

He said parents appreciate the chance for their children to receive religious instruction, but he said public schools receive indirect benefits from Lifewise’s programming.

Research has shown that kids who participate in Lifewise Academy programming for one year also attend school more consistently. That’s a major benefit given the very high levels of chronic absenteeism in public schools since COVID, Brown noted.

“One of the big struggles that schools have today is lack of attendance with students,” Brown said. “The students who were attending Lifewise, they just wanted to go back to school, especially on the days that Lifewise was being hosted.”

Students who spent two to three years attending a Lifewise Academy demonstrated improved behavior at their public school, which translated into fewer suspensions.

Students who spent four years in Lifewise programming also saw improved academic outcomes. Brown said the Lifewise curriculum is “very academic,” which ultimately develops skills that translate into success in regular school classes.

“This is what schools are after,” Brown said. “They’re after good attendance. They’re after improved behavior. And they’re after, obviously, improved academics. So those results are a testimony to Lifewise benefiting our public schools.”

Several major businesses are providing financial support to help Oklahoma communities launch Lifewise programs, including Regent Bank, Kimray, and Hobby Lobby. Citizens interested in launching a Lifewise program can learn more about the program at the organization’s website, https://lifewise.org/.