Washington school district apologizes to Bible education program, pays $275K in legal fees
A Washington state school district has apologized to a Christian nonprofit that oversees off-campus religious instruction for public school students for restricting the group’s activities.
Everett Public Schools recently agreed to a settlement with LifeWise Academy under which the district changed its policies on religious activities, required board members to undergo religious liberty training and paid $275,000 in attorney fees.
In a statement posted to the district’s website and signed by the board of directors and Superintendent Ian Saltzman, district officials apologized for their treatment of LifeWise, which provides religious release time programming.
“The District recognizes that the implementation of its policies created difficulties for LifeWise students and their families, particularly with respect to the procedures for releasing students for religious instruction and the handling of materials students received through LifeWise,” the statement said.
“The District apologizes for the frustration and difficulty its actions caused those students and families. The District values all of its students and families and is committed to ensuring that its policies and practices are administered consistently, neutrally, and in accordance with applicable law, including with respect to religious activities and student participation.”
Board members also apologized for “comments made at various Board meetings that concerned LifeWise,” describing them as “offensive and hurtful to the families participating in LifeWise programming.”
LifeWise was represented by First Liberty Institute (FLI), a conservative legal group that often handles religious liberty cases, and the law firm Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.
“Religious discrimination has no place in public schools,” FLI senior counsel Stephanie Taub said in a statement Tuesday. “We are grateful to have reached this settlement on behalf of LifeWise. This is a tremendous victory not only for our clients but for all religious release time programs.”
LifeWise CEO Joel Penton welcomed the settlement, calling it a "victory" for families who "want the freedom to choose Bible education for their children during school hours."
"We are pleased that LifeWise will receive the same access and respect given to other optional programs," Penton said. "We look forward to continuing to provide children in the Everett community with Bible-based character education.”
LifeWise had sued district officials, accusing them of barring the group from community resource fairs and from displaying flyers in places where nonreligious groups are allowed to do so.
In April, U.S. District Judge Lauren King of the Western District of Washington issued an order that partly granted a preliminary injunction against the district. A preliminary injunction is a temporary court order that blocks certain actions while a case moves forward.
King, a Biden appointee, wrote that the district “has engaged in viewpoint discrimination” by not allowing LifeWise to take part in activities because it is a religious organization.
“[T]he District cannot deny the same access to LifeWise, which provides a service to families through a religious viewpoint,” King wrote. “The Court […] finds that the District burdened Plaintiffs’ religious expression.”
