SC district to consider religious classes during school day. Could it be ‘Pandora’s box’?

A proposal to allow Richland District 2 students to leave schools during the day for religious instruction is drawing criticism from some school board members and community faith leaders.

For the last two months, Richland 2 parents, students and community members have voiced both support and opposition to the district adopting a policy known as “release time.”

The proposal was first introduced by Ken Breivik, a Richland 2 parent and the executive director of School Ministries, a multi-denominational Christian ministry that assists in the creation of release time Bible study classes across the country. Many have rallied behind him, flocking to board meetings wearing lime green stickers to show their stance. Advocates say it’s a positive thing — beneficial for students at no cost to the district or to parents.

“It’s a way for students to express their religious liberty,” Breivik said. “It allows parents to have some control.”

Religious classes are available to students before and after school, but Breivik pointed out that they are often inaccessible for low and middle-income students, whose parents work and rely on bus transportation to take their children home. Release time closes that gap, he said.

But critics are wary. Some question the logistics of potential release time programs, while some say that it takes invaluable time away from a child’s school day. Still others argue that it would disproportionately benefit Christian students, leaving out those of other faiths.

Release time is legal. In 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling, upheld a release time law in New York with the stipulation that schools can’t coerce students into attendance. And under South Carolina law, public school districts have the right to adopt a policy that allows students to be excused from the school day to attend religious classes offered by private entities off-campus, with limitations.

Parents must consent to their children attending the classes, and no public funding or public personnel can go towards programs. Attendance must be kept and made available to a child’s school. Transportation is the responsibility of the sponsoring church or organization or a child’s parent. And while excused, the sponsoring organization assumes liability of the child.

It is still unclear what release time would look like for Richland 2. Specifics, like program locations, transportation and the number of students that a program could accommodate, are still up in the air.

But an Aug. 8 presentation to the board laid out the possibilities for a policy. According to the presentation, some school districts offer release time opportunities to all students, while others only make it available to middle and high school students. Release time programs at middle schools are often held during enrichment or exploratory time, while high schools offer it during elective periods.

The presentation pointed out that important considerations would be scheduling, ensuring no loss in core content areas and being open to all entities that want to offer instruction, regardless of religious affiliation.

“If this is going to happen, it’s because the community really wants it and parents really want it,” Breivik told The State. “Without both of those things, the program will never exist.”

Joe Trapp, chair of the school board, said he “absolutely” supports release time, and looks forward to working with the community to develop a policy.

“It’s nothing more than excusing absences for attending a class,” Trapp said. “If we can touch one child’s life, it’s worth it.”

Vice chair Angela Nash and several other board members have also voiced some support for release time. But not all agree.

At an August meeting, school board member Monica Scott expressed skepticism and wanted more information and community input representative of the entire district. And Lindsay Agostini questioned the abrupt move to quickly develop a district policy.

“I’ve got serious concerns,” Agostini told The State. “We haven’t done our due diligence to move forward.”

She said that while she believes religious instruction can be beneficial, it should be done in a child’s free time, and not in lieu of any class. There are too many questions about release time, Agostini said. Logistics and curriculum are far from concrete, and while public funds can’t go towards potential religious instruction, she pointed out that district staff would still have to help administer the program as students leave and return.

Agostini also said that fast-tracking a release time policy is stepping away from the priorities the board laid out for the year in January which were, according to an email obtained by The State, safety and security, recruiting and retention, academic achievement and socio-emotional learning.

“As we have a new superintendent and several new to senior leadership positions, and much work to stabilize the foundation of the district, is this the time to redirect focus to an issue that was not a board priority less than 8 months ago?” Agostini wrote in the email.

Local faith leaders had differing opinions about the value of release time in public schools.

“Young people are so troubled these days,” said Henry Clay, an assistant pastor at Northeast Presbyterian Church in Columbia. “It’s not trying to twist anybody’s arm, it’s just making (religious studies) available for those who want it.”

Clay’s church, he said, would be one of several partnering with School Ministries for Bible classes, if the district were to enact a policy.

But state Rep. Ivory Thigpen, a Richland County Democrat and a pastor at Rehoboth Baptist Church, has his doubts — he called release time “Pandora’s box.”

“I’m always leery of policies that are in search of problems. To my understanding, there is no inability for individuals to access religious instruction, whether that be before or after school,” Thigpen said. “It seems to me that this is more of a political endeavor than a practical one for the benefit of the students.“

Many of the African American clergy, Thigpen said, have concerns too.

Rabbi Jonathan Case, a leader at Beth Shalom Synagogue, told The State that the concept of release time blurs the line between church and state.

“Religious education is good for everybody,” Case said, “but it does not belong within the public school system.”

Education is precious, he said, and students cannot afford to squander a minute of it.

“Do not exclude me, and all the disenfranchised who still cling to the hope that America is the melting pot, where we all have a seat at the public arena,” Case said at a board meeting. “Listen to your heart, listen to your conscious, listen to the voice of God, it echoes through your soul. Do not dismantle what the founding fathers of our country and the ultimate father in heaven desires: One people, no one to be left out in the cold.”

While release time is open to all religions, Case pointed out that smaller factions don’t have the wherewithal to administer such a program.

Holli Emore, chair of Interfaith Partners of South Carolina, said that though release time is open to all faiths, she believes release time disproportionately serves Christian students, while leaving out others. Richland 2 is one of the most diverse school districts in South Carolina, according to Niche, thanks to its proximity to the capital city and Fort Jackson.

“Many of my colleagues and I view the (release time) proposal as little more than an attempt to infiltrate a public institution and indoctrinate vulnerable and impressionable children,” Emore wrote in a letter obtained by The State. “I expect the school board to exercise caution and wisdom as they contemplate how best to protect our children and assure the best educational outcomes for them.”

Neighboring districts Lexington 1, Lexington 2 and Lexington-Richland 5 already have some kind of policy in place, along with schools in Greenville, Spartanburg and Horry counties, according to the Richland 2 presentation.

Lexington 1 adopted its policy more than two decades ago in 1998, and revised it in 2018. The policy allows students from fifth to twelfth grade to be excused during “non-instructional periods” for the purpose of religious studies. High schoolers can be awarded a maximum of two elective credits for the religious classes they take, which are evaluated based on secular criteria.

Breivik’s School Ministries is the same group that presented release time to the Richland 2 board more than seven years ago, in May 2016. According to past board agendas on the district’s website, a policy was never voted on. At the time, some board members had concerns about the program, said former chair James Manning.

“I understand the premise of it,” Manning said. “However, I just feel like it’s not equitable. ... Not every student would have an opportunity to express themselves if their religion does not have a similar program. I was generally against the release time program, and I would oppose it if I was still on the board.”

The Richland 2 board heard legal advice about a potential policy during a closed-door meeting Sept. 12, according to the agenda, though the board voted to remove it as an item for discussion. Trapp said he expects that if the district formulates its own release time policy, it will come before the board for a vote later in the fall, likely November.