Predators exist everywhere children exist.
That is the uncomfortable, undeniable truth.

They exist in churches.
They exist in sports.
They exist in youth programs.
They exist in schools.
They exist anywhere adults are given access to children.

That is why public schools spend enormous time, money, and effort building systems to reduce risk: background checks, mandated reporting, supervision rules, professional standards, hiring processes, training, documentation, and accountability.

Are those systems perfect? No.
But they exist for a reason. They do provide layers of protection.

Released-time religious instruction asks communities to bypass those safeguards during the school day for religious instruction that could happen before school, after school, on weekends, or at church.
That is not a necessity.
It is an added access point.

It pulls children out of the public school environment and places them under the supervision of private religious programs operating outside the same public accountability structure.

And when something goes wrong, families are left asking the question that should have been asked at the beginning:

WHY was this risk added to the school day at all?

This is not anti-religion. This is pro-child safety. Religious instruction can happen on religious time.

Public school time should not be used to create unnecessary pathways around the systems designed to protect kids.

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