Secular Education Association previously reported about an incident that occurred on December 10, 2025, when a 7-year-old child was left behind by LifeWise Academy in Decatur, Indiana. A negligent lack of basic safety protocols and oversight caused this student to begin walking back to Bellmont Elementary alone—scared and confused.

During that walk, the child was approached by three strangers offering her a ride. A fourth individual later spoke with the child, parked his vehicle, and walked her the remainder of the way back to school.

For more details about the incident itself, you can read the parents full statement. Our friends at Project Next were also kind enough to host this child’s parent for an interview about what happened on their podcast.

Seeking Clarification

Since the incident, the parent has been relentlessly trying to get a clearer picture of what actually happened to her daughter that day and how the situation was handled by those responsible for the student.

The apparent lack of any meaningful action by both LifeWise Academy and North Adams Community Schools has raised serious concerns about emergency protocols, responsibility, and oversight. Responses to public records requests sent to both the school district and LifeWise raise troubling questions about standard safety procedures and the implementation of LifeWise Academy at this location.

The School’s Response

On December 22, 2025, counsel for North Adams Community Schools, Scott Ainsworth, responded to the parent’s records request on behalf of the district. Only  three documents were returned in response to that request: the student’s year-to-date daily attendance record, an M.O.U. between the district and LifeWise, and one email from the superintendent to school board members dated December 12, 2025. Notably, that email merely informed the school board of the incident after it had already been posted on a local social media page.

If the district attorney’s response is to be believed, the absence of records suggests that:

• No incident report was created by the school when staff became aware that a child was missing and unattended
• No reports were made to the School Resource Officer or any other law enforcement agency
• No emails were sent from the school office to the student’s teacher indicating that the student would be returning to class late

In addition, there appear to be:

• No check-in or check-out records
• No list of LifeWise participants
• No documentation showing how student attendance is verified before departure for, or return from, LifeWise
• No logs recording student departure and return times
• No explanation for why law enforcement, emergency services, or child services were not contacted
• No emails, text messages, or electronic communications between LifeWise Academy and any school staff from December 9–13, regarding this incident or otherwise

Why the School’s Lack of Records Is Concerning

The absence of records raises serious concerns about the school’s policies and procedures for student release, attendance tracking, and accountability during the school day.

If no records exist, it is unclear:

• Whether students are being formally signed out at all
• Who authorized their release and at what time
• How the school determines which students are permitted to leave the building
• How student attendance is verified before departure and upon return

The lack of documentation also raises critical questions about emergency response procedures. When a minor is missing, schools typically have clear protocols designed to ensure immediate action and documentation. In this case, it is unclear what policies exist—and why they were not followed.

It is also unclear whether the school believed the situation was not its responsibility because the student was participating in a LifeWise Academy program. If so, that belief represents a serious misunderstanding of a school’s duty to account for students during the instructional day.

After the student returned to school, she spoke with members of building administration and the school guidance counselor. Yet there is no indication that any incident reports, notes, or documentation were created following those conversations.

The Secular Education Association has reviewed a large volume of public records requests nationwide. It is extremely uncommon to find no communication between LifeWise staff and school officials regarding routine logistics—let alone a significant student safety incident. The absence of any communication records in this case is both unusual and deeply concerning.

Contradictions in the District’s Own Agreement

Notably, the Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) between North Adams Community Schools and LifeWise Academy directly contradicts claims that no attendance or check-in/check-out records exist.

Section 6 of the M.O.U. states that the district will provide LifeWise Academy with attendance information for students participating in released-time instruction on scheduled days and times at pick-up, and that LifeWise Academy will report back any students who do not return to the district after RTRI. The agreement further contemplates ongoing coordination around student attendance and accountability.

If this provision is being followed, then attendance records, rosters, and return confirmations should exist. If such records do not exist, it raises serious questions about whether the terms of the M.O.U. are being implemented at all.

Either scenario is deeply concerning:

• If records exist but were not produced, transparency has been withheld.
• If records do not exist, the district and LifeWise may not be complying with their own written agreement governing student safety and attendance.

In either case, the absence of documentation is not consistent with the obligations outlined in the M.O.U. This discrepancy further undermines assertions that no records were created and reinforces concerns that released-time programs may be operating without meaningful adherence to their own contractual safety requirements.

LifeWise’s Reaction

The parent was first contacted about the incident by phone from a LifeWise employee only after the student had already been returned to school. During that call, the parent states she was told that LifeWise staff had brought the student back to school.

It was not until she picked her child up after dismissal that she learned what had actually happened.

A separate witness who was present in the school office at the time the student was discovered missing reported hearing a LifeWise volunteer complaining  about having to go back to look for the child.

Damage Control

The following day, December 11, 2025, the local LifeWise director sent an email to families of participating students. The message stated only that “the student was quickly and safely returned to school,” omitting the fact that the child walked part of the way alone and was ultimately escorted by a complete stranger.

The email further stated that “the student went into the bathroom after we had already done our headcount,” language that shifts responsibility onto the child rather than addressing the failure of adult supervision.

The director then wrote:

“We want to clearly outline the steps we are taking to ensure this type of incident does not occur again. Here are the safety measures we’ll be taking:”

• Named Attendance on Transportation – Attendance will now be taken by name as students board the LifeWise vehicle both when leaving school and when returning. This will include a verbal and visual confirmation of each student.

• Final Facility Check Before Departure – Before any group leaves the LifeWise building, a designated staff member will conduct a full room-and-restroom sweep to ensure every student is accounted for. 

• Assigned van– We have two vans we use to transport students. We will be assigning students to one vehicle or the other to ensure even more clearly, we have our students accounted for. “

These are basic safety measures that should have already been in place and reflected in written policy. Yet the policy templates LifeWise provides to local programs for implementation do not even mention headcounts in their transportation policies.

On December 12, 2025, the LifeWise Director sent a second email to families following pressure from the parent for greater transparency. In this follow-up message, the director claimed that “our team immediately recognized the issue.”

This statement directly contradicts what the parent was told during earlier phone calls—that the situation only came to the director’s attention when another student, who was holding the missing child’s coat and belongings, spoke up while being checked back in at school.

LifeWise’s Response

Another update  was sent by LifeWise on December 15, 2025, informing families that classes for the week were cancelled so the team could “take time to review [their] procedures.”

The following day, the LifeWise teacher informed the parent of the lost student that the program’s director had resigned.

After the school failed to produce any additional details or documentation, the parent submitted a records request and document preservation letter to the local LifeWise program, LifeWise’s HR department, and LifeWise CEO Joel Penton.

Internal LifeWise policies outline procedures and provide templates for filing incident reports, which state that such reports are to be provided to parents. These incident reports were specifically included in the documentation requested.

On December 31, 2025, LifeWise Academy’s attorney, James Kresge, responded to the request. In his response, Mr. Kresge contradicted the teacher’s claim that the director had resigned, stating instead that she had been terminated.

He further wrote that “LifeWise’s intention is to support your family and help your daughter heal,” and requested a phone call to “discuss what LifeWise can do to help make things right.”

Regarding the request for documentation, he writes that “the prior correspondence you received from LifeWise constitutes the incident report,” and states that he “must respectfully decline to provide any additional documents beyond what has already been shared,” asserting that LifeWise is “not legally required to provide further documentation in this matter.”

He further acknowledges that all records will be preserved and concludes his correspondence by citing Indiana Rule of Evidence 408, asserting that the email is “intended solely as part of confidential settlement communications.”

The Issue

The story continues to change, making it impossible to determine what is truthful. Although LifeWise has written policies addressing incident reports—including guidance stating those reports should be shared with the parents of affected students—there appears to be no oversight mechanism to ensure those policies are actually followed.

If LifeWise is solely responsible for self-policing serious safety incidents like this, and has no legal obligation to provide documentation to the parents involved, then meaningful transparency and accountability do not exist.

This raises fundamental questions:

• What regulations govern released-time programs like LifeWise?
• Who is responsible for enforcing those regulations?
• When an organization entrusted with the care of minors fails in its duty and is not required to be forthcoming, is costly legal action the only option for families?
• Should school districts be permitted—or required—to cease cooperation with a program after an incident of this severity?
• Should there not be clear governmental oversight, enforceable standards, and required transparency for programs that remove students from public schools during the instructional day?

When children are taken out of class under the authority of a school-approved program, safety cannot be optional—and accountability cannot be voluntary.

At the center of this case is a 7-year-old child who was lost during the school day.

This did not happen because policies didn’t exist. It happened because no one was required to follow them, document failures, or be accountable when those failures occurred. When children are removed from their classrooms under the authority of school-approved programs, responsibility cannot be outsourced—and safety cannot be optional.

If this incident does not prompt clear oversight, enforceable standards, and transparency, then it will not be the last time a child is placed at risk during released-time programming.