Use our RTRI State Law & Lobbying Map to check your state’s current law:
https://seculareducationassociation.org/rtri-state-laws/
If you’re here because your school district already voted LifeWise — or Released Time Religious Instruction (RTRI) — down, please check your state law again.
🚨A local school board’s “no” is not necessarily the end of the story. If your district once voted RTRI down but your state has since made access mandatory, that local “no” no longer controls — if a qualifying LifeWise or other RTRI program comes back, the district is now legally required to allow it under state law.🚨
In several states, lawmakers have changed the law specifically to take that decision away from local school districts or otherwise require schools to excuse qualifying students for religious instruction during the school day.
👉Ohio is a perfect example. Districts including Westerville and Worthington voted to end their released-time policies. Then the state changed the law from essentially “may allow” to “shall allow,” requiring districts to adopt an RTRI policy.
And this is spreading. 😬 States where current law requires or otherwise guarantees qualifying released-time access include:
Florida • Hawaii • Indiana • Iowa • Kentucky • Montana • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Tennessee • Texas • Vermont • Wisconsin
The details are different in every state — how much time students may leave, what classes they can miss, whether districts must adopt a policy, and what conditions programs have to meet.
👀 But the important part is this:
If your school board voted LifeWise/RTRI down two or three years ago, do not assume that vote still protects your district. Check the law that is in effect TODAY.
Texas, Iowa, Montana and Ohio were among the states that enacted stronger mandatory-access laws in 2025. North Carolina joined that movement in 2026, with state law now requiring public-school units to authorize qualifying RTRI absences for at least one and up to four hours per week.
👆That is exactly why we keep telling people this fight is no longer happening only at your local school board.
🚩State legislatures are overriding local decisions.
So check your state. Check the current law. And if your district once said NO, we especially want to hear from you.
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