Kenneth E. Holycross III has been arrested in Miami County and charged with two counts of rape involving minors, according to local reporting. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in jail on a $500,000 bond. Dayton Children’s has confirmed he is a former employee. And he was also listed as a LifeWise teacher for… Read More

Ohio is the receipt. Now check your state. When released-time religious instruction laws change from “may” to “shall,” local school districts lose power. That tiny word change can mean the difference between: “Our district may allow this.”and“Our district shall allow this.” That is not local control.That is state lawmakers forcing public schools to accommodate outside… Read More

Ohio changed released-time religious instruction from “may” to “shall.”➡️Translation: districts lost the ability to say no. And a superintendent knew exactly what that meant. In an email, he called it: “a scam and slap in the face of public education.” He was right. This is not just an Ohio problem. This is the national playbook:… Read More

The Christopher Riggs issue is not isolated.SEA has been warning about this exact problem since July 2024, when we raised concerns about Renee Beck. Now, in 2026, Christopher Riggs is the latest example. In both cases, SEA raised concerns about people publicly connected to LifeWise programs. Not because we had special access. Not because the… Read More

Do you think the end of the school year means LifeWise is slowing down? Think again. SEA tracked LifeWise movement from April 5 to May 18, 2026. In just six weeks: 43,384 schools moved forward at the signature stage.6,389 schools moved forward in launch steps. That does not mean every one of these schools has… Read More

In case you missed it: They keep calling released-time religious instruction “private” and “off campus.” But the records tell a much messier story. In Plymouth, Ohio, public records reviewed by SEA show a LifeWise Academy project involving: public school land Board of Education approval superintendent coordination village records zoning approval public water and sewer references… Read More

Stop calling it “private” when public schools make it possible. Families are told released-time religious instruction is simple: Kids leave school.Parents give permission.The program is private.The school is separate. But public records from Plymouth, Ohio show why that story falls apart fast. SEA reviewed records tied to a LifeWise Academy project showing public school land,… Read More

This NBC4 article is exactly why SEA keeps warning about released time laws. This is not about blaming public schools. We support public schools. Our concern is with lawmakers and outside organizations creating systems that pull children off campus during the school day, away from the layered safety protections schools work so hard to maintain.… Read More

LifeWise Academy says it is “private.” But in Putnam County, public records raise a very public question. County commissioner minutes say LifeWise Academy was provided outside space at the Ag Complex/fairgrounds for a trailer from January through March 2026 at a rate of $50 per month. The minutes describe it as a “temporary solution” until… Read More

UPDATE / DOCUMENTATION NOTE The original LifeWise Tri-Valley Facebook posts identifying Christopher Alan Riggs appear to have been removed or hidden. But Google’s indexed search results still show the receipts. One result identified “Pastor Chris and Mrs. Diana Riggs” with Adamsville 4th–6th grade. Another result from LifeWise Academy – Tri-Valley referred to “Mr. Chris and… Read More

UPDATE: Court records show Christopher Alan Riggs has pled guilty. Muskingum County Common Pleas Court records show that on May 14, 2026, Christopher Alan Riggs was arraigned upon a Bill of Information and pled guilty. The docket states that sentencing has been deferred pending a pre-sentence investigation and that the court ordered Riggs to have… Read More

This is the part people need to understand: It will not always be called LifeWise. Sometimes it will be “God Squad.”Sometimes it will be “character.”Sometimes it will be “Bible release time.”Sometimes it will be some sweet little local name that sounds harmless. Different name.Different flyer.Different curriculum.Same basic model: Pull public school children out during the… Read More

LifeWise Academy is not a tiny local Bible club. Ohio workforce data shows LifeWise Academy appearing among top education/training employers posting online job ads in the state…listed alongside universities, hospitals, school districts, community colleges, and major education employers. That should make people look twice. Because the public is repeatedly told these programs are “private,” “local,”… Read More

Yes, we know. Prince of Egypt is a great movie. Killer soundtrack. Beautiful animation. Well researched compared to a lot of religious media… That is not the point. The point is that Christianity has been treated as “normal” in public schools for so long that many people don’t even recognize when it is being centered.… Read More

Lear. Brenner. Williams. Three Ohio politicians who helped drag religion deeper into public schools. Lear and Williams cosponsored HB 8, the bill that became Ohio law and included released-time religious instruction language for public schools. (The Lifewise Bill) Brenner cosponsored it in the Senate, chaired the Senate Education Committee, and helped move it through. HB… Read More