RTRI State Laws

Release time laws vary from state to state but can be put into three main categories: “may” states, “shall” states, and states with no specific law.

In “may” states, school districts may adopt a policy regarding RTRI. In these states the decision to release students for religious instruction or not is left to the school board or other governing authority. These policies must accommodate every faith if adopted, a district cannot allow one program to pull students while denying another.

In “shall” states, legislators have adopted laws which strip away local control and governing authority from school administrators by mandating that schools release students for religious instruction. The specifics and language of these laws vary from state to state, with some states saying districts must adopt a policy while others do not require a policy but force schools to cooperate with RTRI providers, and other states simply require students to be released.

States with no law function the same as “may” states by simply following the precedent set forth by SCOTUS in Zorach v. Clauson. District administrators in these states still have the decision making power to choose whether or not to allow students to be released and taken off campus during the school day for religious instruction.

Each state’s law varies widely in language, rules, allowances and details. You can find out what category your state falls into by using the map below and find your state’s specific laws here.

From 2024-2025 LifeWise Academy actively lobbied to change state laws across the country and successfully did so in Oklahoma, Indiana, Iowa, Montana and Texas. In August 2025 LifeWise claimed 11 states have RTRI legislation pending. Make no mistake, LifeWise do not simply support this legislation, they actually wrote it to further both their agenda and own corporate interests. Go to our LifeWise Politics page to find out more about their lobbying and political activity.