🚨 KENTUCKY: THEY’RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT 2027.
Remember HB 829? The legislation SEA warned about earlier this year that would have stripped local school boards of their discretion to reject qualifying released-time religious instruction programs like LifeWise Academy?
WELL, FOLLOW THE LOBBYING…🔍
Kentucky’s October 20 lobbying disclosures confirm that ADF Action and The Family Foundation of Kentucky reported lobbying on HB 829.And the connection to LifeWise isn’t difficult to find.
👉THE FAMILY FOUNDATION WAS ALREADY PARTNERING WITH LIFEWISE ACADEMY.
Its own legislative priorities specifically cited Kentucky school boards rejecting LifeWise as a reason to support HB 829.
The goal?
🚨Change Kentucky’s law from MAY ALLOW to SHALL ALLOW.
When HB 829 stalled, Senator Aaron Reed attempted to advance similar language through HB 253. That failed, too. 👀
The Kentucky Council of Churches also appears in the lobbying records, but publicly OPPOSED the legislation. Its executive director directed families to SEA’s research and resources.
👏And here’s the part Kentucky families need to know:
THE FAMILY FOUNDATION HAS ALREADY CALLED FOR SIMILAR LEGISLATION IN 2027.
That’s in its own published commentary.
SEA has been documenting LifeWise’s expansion, investigating its operations, and warning Kentucky communities about these legislative efforts from the beginning. Now the paper trail is getting clearer.
KENTUCKY SCHOOL BOARDS CAN STILL SAY NO. BUT THE PUSH TO TAKE AWAY THAT CHOICE ISN’T OVER.
You can’t fight what you can’t see coming.
Follow Secular Education Association.
What people are saying:
- Secular Education Association: FIVE Kentucky school boards said NO. And The Family Foundation wants lawmakers to make sure they can’t do it again. Let’s talk about WHY those boards rejected these programs.
Oldham County raised concerns about instructional time, transportation, and staff burden. Kenton County cited disruption to core instruction. Boone County raised similar concerns.
THESE SCHOOL BOARDS WERE DOING THEIR JOBS.
And let’s stop calling this “character and moral instruction” as though it’s some neutral, universally accepted set of values. LifeWise teaches a VERY SPECIFIC version of Christianity: evangelical Protestant Christianity. Its curriculum presents the Bible as religious truth, teaches Jesus as the only path to salvation, and encourages children toward Christian faith.
That’s religious instruction. Not generic morality. Not even something all Christians agree on. Rejecting LifeWise is NOT rejecting morality.
And school boards shouldn’t lose their authority simply because they refuse to accommodate a religious organization’s expansion plans. - Secular Education Association: 📌 THE RECEIPTS. DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT.
🔴 Kentucky Legislative Ethics Commission — October 20, 2026
The Family Foundation reported lobbying on HB 829 in March and April. See page 120.
https://klec.ky.gov/Reports/Reports/lecbills2026.pdf#page=120
🔴 The Family Foundation — In its own words
After naming five Kentucky school boards that rejected religious instruction programs, it calls for legislation similar to HB 829 in 2027.
CITIZEN: Christian moral instruction is good for all students and for society.
🔴 HB 829 — Official Kentucky legislative record
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26rs/hb829.html
Five school boards exercised their authority to say NO. Now there’s a documented push to take that authority away. And remember: LifeWise isn’t generic character education. It teaches a specific evangelical Protestant interpretation of Christianity.
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