What people are saying:

• Secular Education Association: To the parent who bravely shared this story—thank you. Speaking out about what happened to your child took incredible courage. Your voice helps other families recognize risks, demand accountability, and protect their children. This should never have happened, and because you spoke, others will be safer. 💛
• Facebook User: So sad to hear of this! Lifewise is a wonderful program! They do such a good job teaching the children about Jesus! It sounds like a lack of communication happened. I pray the little girl is ok and that Lifewise will be allowed to continue !
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We disagree. LifeWise is not a “wonderful program.” It is a private religious organization operating during the public school day, and in this case its negligence resulted in a young child being left behind off campus.

    This was not a minor communication issue — it was a serious failure of supervision and safety. When a program removes children from school, it assumes full responsibility for them. That responsibility was not met here.

    Our concern is not about anyone’s personal faith. It is about child safety, accountability, and the inappropriate risks created when outside religious programs operate during instructional time. Public schools have a duty to protect students — not outsource that responsibility.

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association so negligence has never occurred in a secular Educational system come on. You and I both know thats a lie. LifeWise is a great program. What happened here is unacceptable yes I agree. Thank God for the person who saw the child and helped them get back safely to the school. Hopefully the new protocols put in place will prevent this from ever happening again in the future and I will be praying for comfort and peace for the little girl.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Adam — no one has claimed that negligence never occurs in public schools. It unfortunately can happen anywhere people are responsible for children.

    The issue here is accountability and structure. When a child is removed from the school environment during the instructional day and placed in the care of a private religious organization, the district and parents have a right to expect clear supervision, transportation safeguards, and enforceable oversight.

    In this case, those safeguards failed. A child was left behind. That is not a philosophical disagreement — it’s a documented breakdown in duty of care.

    We agree that what happened is unacceptable, and we are relieved the child was helped. Our focus is on ensuring that no family experiences this again, through transparency, proper protocols, and honest evaluation of programs operating during the school day.

    Protecting children has to come before defending any organization.

  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User— for transparency, it’s important to note that you (and/or your household) are publicly affiliated with LifeWise Academy and have actively fundraised and promoted the program.

    That doesn’t invalidate your opinion, but it does explain why this incident is being framed defensively rather than through the lens of independent accountability.

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association so if I am understanding you correctly the safety of the children is the most important thing to you correct? That is your goal? Your goal is not to bash an organization? Because if the safety of the children is your goal wouldn’t one assume you would want to help any organization “religious” or not fill in any breakdowns in duties of care?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I agree Lifewise is a wonderful program. Thank you for reminding people.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association for transparency i have made elephant ears to help raise money for Lifewise yes. I bought tshirts too that I actively wear. Both my children also attend. However I don’t believe I have been defensive and I apologize if it has came off that way. Unfortunately that is the one downside to being online rather than having a conversation in person which I would be totally down for.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User if only there were places dedicated to religion. Maybe churches. Why do kids need to learn about Jesus during the school day?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User you do realize that the parents HAVE to sign a permission slip for their child to attend…they dont just take all kids to it. Any time is a good time to learn about Jesus.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I 100% agree with you!
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association Lifewise IS a wonderful program and I pray they can continue to teach the kids. The parents have to sign for their kids to enjoy it…I wish it was there when my kids were in school!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User LifeWise should not be allowed to operate during the school day anyway. It could and should be a before or after school program. Religion should not be part of a public school. And it doesn’t matter if you have to sign a permission slip, it should not be during the school day. Make it before or after school or attend a religious school if you want your child to learn more religion than church offers.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Wow, do you normally want to eliminate parental choice?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User get off your lazy rear end and take your child to Sunday school if you want your child to have a religious education. Likewise needs to stay far away from public schools.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association To be clear, your organization is against any religious teaching that is contrary to your beliefs/doctrines. Every knee will bow including yours.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User it’s a parent’s job to teach religious beliefs. Your comment is why you shouldn’t be allowed near children
  • Facebook User: Facebook User parents have been tricked into this program. These wack jobs get the children off site and indoctrinate them. They hurt them.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User parents have the choice to send their kids to private schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User They also have the choice to have their kids participate in any number of activities that are during non-instructional time during the school day. You seem to want to take the freedom of choice away from the parents.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User what non-instructional things do they participate in, during the school day, on a regular basis? And religion has no place in a public school during the school day to begin with. Send your kids to a religious school if you want them to learn religion on a regular basis. And if they are adding anything to children, during the school day, it should be something for ALL students not just those who are Christian.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User The children attending have their parent’s permission to attend. No one is forcing them.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User people wouldn’t send their kids if they knew what was happening. Why are you advocating for sexual assault?? The previous director was sexting children. A pastor married a participant to his much older son! It’s a pipeline for grooming.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Source those accusations.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/central-ohio-news/ohio-lifewise-worker-lost-teaching-license-over-student-sexting-accusations/
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User A permission slip doesn’t magically make it appropriate for religion to interrupt the public school day. Parents can sign permission slips for lots of things — that doesn’t mean public schools are obligated to restructure instructional time around religious belief.

    “Any time is a good time to learn about Jesus” is exactly the problem. Public schools are not churches. They serve families of many beliefs — and none. Religious instruction belongs on family time or church time, not carved out of a taxpayer-funded school day where opting out means isolation, lost instruction, or being treated as an exception.

    Choice isn’t real when one belief system gets special access and everyone else has to work around it. When you start trampling on the rights of the parents and children around you- then we’re no longer talking about parents choice. We’re talking about Christian Nationalism.

• Facebook User: Facebook User
• Facebook User: Accountability and honesty are two key characteristics of living a Christ-like life. The witness of Lifewise has been irreparably damaged by the failures of the local leaders to make right this entire situation. Kids belong in school, where teachers and staff have experience and training ensuring that kids are safely in the hands of professional educators and people who actively show they care for the safety of the children in their care. Clearly, this organization has different priorities. Shame on every adult who dropped the ball and then passed the blame.
• Facebook User: Facebook User
• Facebook User: This story gets more wild. It just shows accountability is not a priority. Kudos to this momma for sharing her story. This should have never happened.
• Facebook User: I hope you report on all of the lapses in safety committed by Public Schools.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I hope you don’t keep excusing pedophiles but we know you will.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I hope you don’t keep ignoring your weight, but we know you will.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’ve lost 10 pounds, yes, but thanks for being worried about my weight loss, it’s not being ignored.
    Is that the kind, compassionate Christianity I hear about? Showing us how Christ like you are?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’m not worried about your health, that’s your job. However, in my culture, it is an act of kindness to tell you to lose weight and not be so fat. You seem to judge people without having the facts, or organizations, or whatever. As far as me representing Christianity, doing so would put me on a higher playing field than you, and I’m not into that. Good luck on the next 10, I think you’ll need it..
  • Facebook User: Facebook User obviously you aren’t representing anything but selfishness and hate. You don’t like facts or evidence that counter your agenda. Blaming your “culture” for your nastiness is rather low, but my expectations are already ground level when you defend pedophiles.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User lifewise isn’t a public school. It’s a private organization that “lends it’s services to parents in the community” through public schools. It’s absolutely bizarre how low their background checks are as it pertains to who is around the children, and even more reckless of all these parents.
    In the lifewise reviews on Google, many that praise are just excusing not prioritizing time in church in their own life(by their own admission). Stating how much easier it is to let their kid get an hour a day of christian nationalist ideology than it is to navigate attending church on sunday. It’s fucking insane.
• Facebook User: That doesnt seam right or legal. They dont say anything about the class or to opt in to parents? They are letting nonschool staff take children? I would be raising wholly hell! We always had to get permission slips for feild trips and parents notified. And what they have to take them to church for this class cause religion isnt supost to be in school? I thought this lifewise was an after school program when i first read the story.. like how the church van used to come around on Wednesday and pick kids up.. i would be telling the school you are not taking my kid anywhere. They are supposed to be responsible for them while they are at school and they are supposed to be safely at school. Unacceptable
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Lifewise is not run by schools. It is a program parents sign their kids up for. They remove children from public school during the school day because it’s the “parents’ right.” 🙄