Elementary school students returning from Bible instruction were told to keep their Bibles and worksheets inside sealed envelopes. Now, their Washington school district has agreed to publicly apologize, provide religious liberty training and pay $275,000 in attorney’s fees, according to LifeWise Academy.
The settlement follows a lawsuit challenging restrictions imposed by Everett School District on children attending LifeWise’s voluntary, off-campus Bible classes.
Joel Penton, LifeWise’s founder and CEO, told Fox News Digital that parents described children feeling pressured to conceal their faith.
“I also heard from parents that their children felt like they were being told they had to hide their faith when they were told they had to put their Bibles and things in envelopes as though it was something to be ashamed of, and I know that was very hurtful as well,” Penton said.
LifeWise provides privately funded Bible instruction during the school day with parental permission. Penton said the program had served dozens of students and families in Everett for several years before the restrictions were introduced.
Alongside the sealed-envelope requirement, parents were required to personally deliver permission slips every week rather than authorize participation once for a semester or school year, Penton said. He said LifeWise also was barred from community fairs other student organizations could attend.
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He argued the permission requirement threatened to make participation impractical.
“We knew at least with the permission slip policy that it was meant to effectively shut down the program,” Penton said.
LifeWise sought a resolution directly with district officials and later through an attorney before suing, Penton said. According to the organization, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in April.
The settlement requires religious liberty training for school board members and a written apology posted on the district’s website for six months, alongside the attorney’s fees.
“The District recognizes that comments made at various Board meetings that concerned LifeWise, including by Directors, were offensive and hurtful to the families participating in LifeWise programming,” the apology states.
The district affirmed parents’ right to request release for off-campus religious instruction. It said its policy remained unchanged but its Student Release Guidelines were updated to comply with the settlement.
Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, called the agreement a victory for religious release time programs.
“Religious discrimination has no place in public schools,” Taub said in First Liberty’s settlement announcement.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
