What people are saying:

• Facebook User: Let them go to church and Sunday School with their parents.
• Facebook User: They don’t let science teachers into Sunday school.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User should we use rtri to introduce science into Sunday school? That thing makes you go hmmm..
• Facebook User: Hysterical since local control wants this option!!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User local bribes, right?
  • Facebook User: Please explain.
• Facebook User: Katie Hobbs is a real one and I wish she got more appreciation.
• Facebook User: Hurray
• Facebook User: Finally some good news 🤩
• Facebook User: IK the GOP has majorities in both houses in AZ but do they have supermajorities? In the end if they do it may not matter
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Fortunately, no. Arizona requires a 2/3 vote in both chambers to override a veto, and Republicans don’t have those numbers. Unless they pick up Democratic votes, the veto stands. That’s exactly why governors matter.
  • Facebook User: Answered my own question…they do not. Unless they get some dems to cross over the bill is dead.
• Facebook User: No public school should permit release time for any religious education during the school day.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User the release time isn’t an issue as long as the time is made up during the day as is the case in Mesa public schools for example. There’s an LDS seminary near high schools and kids attend on their release time. No high school credit is offered. It’s been that way for decades. No problem. The idea of some church-public school hybrid with public schools offering credit for strictly religious instruction—that’s a huge problem.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User
    I know if you’re not used to it, it seems strange. I moved from Illinois and was totally shocked that kids had seminary as a part of their public school schedule. But, it’s really just called release time. They don’t get credits for it.

    The constitution allows people to practice their religion as an individual during the school or work day, but it’s not paid time and schools shouldn’t give credit for being taught non-academic religious material. That’s what they are trying to change with this non -constitutional bill.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User Lifewise has taken RTRI and built a business on it. Kids are being coerced into the program to make a profit and that’s unconstitutional.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User when we moved to Mesa years ago, students did get credit for seminary release time. Mesa Schools finally changed that.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User The schools job is to teach children to be productive citizens and it barely has enough time to do that as it is. Wasting time on silly mythology doesn’t help.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User
    How long ago was that?
  • Facebook User: Facebook User
    How are kids being coerced? I would assume families have to opt into the program. Kids wouldn’t be signed up for religious release time unless the family wanted them to, right?

    Lifewise is a non-profit who have a surplus of funds in the millions each year. As long as they spend it on the organization it save it for the future, I believe it’s constitution. What do you think is non-constitutional about it?

  • Secular Education Association: Angie Maris they literally offer incentives for the children to invite their friends. Then they use games, prizes, candy, food, and parties to make it seem super fun to leave school. That results in some pretty extreme coercion in an elementary school environment.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association
    Yikes! That sounds super manipulative. I get why you think it’s unconstitutional at this point. What legal groups can help fight it?
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User exactly! Not to mention the laundry list of other problems. The truth is we aren’t sure. We exist to some extent because of a lack of action/urgency among some of those groups. Most national legal organizations are aware of Lifewise by this point. The problem is that this has been bad law from the get (1950’s) and NOW it’s being used in a more blatant, disruptive, franchised nationally, Christian nationalism’s spread sorta way.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User It was definitely strange to see when I moved here. My issue with the release time thing is that the LDS kids were allowed to leave campus even as underclassmen, and anyone not going to seminary had to attend a study hall and didn’t have off-campus privileges. That’s not equal treatment.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I’m Jewish and this law that Hobbs vetoed would not allow my daughter’s school to accuse her of being truant for observing Jewish Holidays🤷‍♀️
• Facebook User: Our az school district said that legally they have to let groups like Lifewise table at events and offer programming becuase otherwise they could not allow any groups to do so and could be sued for discrimination. 😕
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User It depends on the event and the district’s policies. If a school opens a limited public forum to outside community organizations, it generally can’t exclude a group simply because it’s religious. But schools are not required to open every event to outside groups, and they can set neutral participation criteria. The answer isn’t simply “we have to let LifeWise table or we’ll get sued”- it’s much more fact-specific. And don’t let em tell you otherwise!
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User AND because Arizona is a may state your district can decide that NO release time for religious instruction for any groups is what works best for their schools. Ahem!
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Your school district is lying.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User If they left Lifewise in, they have to let ALL religious groups in. Calling the Satanic Temple!
  • Facebook User: Facebook Userso your district has lazy legal advisors
• Facebook User: Can someone explain to me why we love truancy laws?
• Facebook User: I agree that there should be no religion in schools. However, I also do not believe public school should celebrate Pride month or other ideologies. Public schools should teach reading, writing, math, history, science and other core life skills. Public schools can educate students about the fact that there may be differing ideologies, but they must do so in a balanced way, , presenting both sides equally, and not taking a stand regarding whether one is correct
  • Facebook User: David Dysert public schools shouldn’t be mentioning family structures at all. None of this talk about having two dads at home or two moms. The kids won’t talk to each other about their families anyway, there’s no reason for teachers to be validating differing ideologies. No public school students will have other ideologies themselves, and we don’t want kids being confused with other ways of being and force converted by teachers. Teachers should not say anything about celebrating different ideologies or “lifestyles”. Just default to assuming everyone is Christian and cis-gendered and heterosexual. No one in the class will be different anyway, so why include talking about it at all? It’s not like teachers need to teach applying critical thinking skills outside school subjects or model accepting differences. Forget celebrating those other ideologies, just ignore them completely.

    Edited to add: in case I wrote this too early to be clear enough, my comment is satirical. All kids should feel safe in school, physically and psychological. Of course there will be kids talking about their families with each other and of course different ways of living will come up in every day discussions in classrooms. Kids will be different and come with various family structures, cultures, religions, etc. Different opinions and ideologies have to be taught so kids can learn to coexist with people that are different from themselves. Some kids will be LGBTQ and/or from LGBTQ families, and they will talk about themselves with the class. All kids deserve to be celebrated, regardless of their “ideologies”. No one should be forced into any “ideologies”, not even compulsory cis-gendered heterosexual ideologies.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User your dry with went right over his head. LOL
  • Facebook User: Facebook User Yeah… I had to edit my comment to spell it out. The privilege is strong apparently.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User lol that went right over you.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User copy and send it again. It took the @ him away.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I stated that different ideologies can be presented in public schools, however, it must be done in a balanced way, giving equal weight to both sides of the argument and not taking a position one way or the other.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User to be clear … (See update)
  • Facebook User: Facebook User you liked Amanda Bakers comment. She employed full sarcasm.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User I mean “just default to assuming everyone is Christian” didn’t give it away? LOL
  • Facebook User: David Dysert you know they do Christmas, Halloween, mother’s day, valentine, etc. right? They do it as acknowledgement, not in religious way. I think (hopefully) you agree with me on this part.
    Now about Pride month. Pride month is acknowledging that there are gays, trans, ace alongside straight among us. In school situation, the acknowledgement helps to prevent marginalized kid from being a dead kid.
    If you want to go further, you can find out who is actually doing gender ideology. It’s not the gays and allies. It’s not that hard to see.
• Facebook User: So outside of school hours is still not enough time for these religious nuts?