US public school system is failing. Here's a solution
The start of the Trump administration has led to widespread speculation about the changes that may come to K-12 education.
Parents are eager for reform and it’s no wonder why. American students have drastically lost their competitive edge compared to other economically developed countries.
The US placed 16th out of 81 countries in science and only 34th in math in the most recently administered Program for International Student Assessment test. Meanwhile, countries in Southeast Asia have surged ahead.
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Students are also nowhere near making up lost ground from years of virtual learning. Released last week, the National Assessment of Educational Progress showed that America’s students have continued to fall behind in reading skills and have made little improvement in math since the pandemic.
It’s not only lackluster academic performance that has parents and teachers demanding reform.
The astonishing state of youth mental health is a major cause for parental and teacher concern. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among people ages 15 to 24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a rate that has increased dramatically in recent decades.
About 1 in 5 adolescents report symptoms of anxiety or depression, according to an analysis of a new federal survey of teen health.
There are several proposals on the table for the incoming Trump administration to consider, from universal school choice to abolishing the Department of Education. Government education needs to change, but the changes that are needed will be slow coming from the federal government, so states need to act now.
One proven way to address mental health, academic performance, and dropout rates is to restore faith in public schools.
Research shows that “religious pupils do better in school. Pious pupils have higher grades, better attendance records and complete more years of college.”
Critics may ask, “What about the separation of church and state?”
Surprisingly, it’s easy to make faith part of public school hours and remain in compliance with federal law. More than 70 years ago, the US Supreme Court ruled in Zorach v. Clauson that public school students could receive religious instruction during the school day so long as three conditions are met.
First, the teaching can’t happen on school grounds. Second, it can’t be funded with taxpayer money. Third, parents must approve before their children participate.
A national program that meets these requirements exists and shows how this can work.
Based in Ohio, LifeWise Academy began five years ago to provide character-based Bible study to kids during school hours. Every week, more than 30,000 kids across nearly two dozen states board a LifeWise school bus with the permission of their parents and go to a neighboring facility where they learn Bible stories. They’re taught important traits like humility, kindness, respect and love. No public funding is used.
A Thomas P. Miller study shows that students who participate in LifeWise have improved attendance and behavior. Anecdotally, parents and teachers say the impact can be transformational. Kids know how to navigate the many challenges they encounter on any given day with greater confidence. They have a sense of purpose.
LifeWise is expanding across the nation because communities see the value of faith during school hours.
Of course, with success comes detractors. Radical anti-religious and anti-Christian groups have falsely claimed that released time religious instruction violates the separation between church and state or that it’s a disruption to the school day. They are making it harder for some school districts to implement such programs.
To ensure that released time is universal, states must pass laws requiring school districts to permit it. Ohio, for instance, didn’t have such a law last year. As a result, two school districts caved to activists’ demands and rescinded their released time policies, leaving hundreds of families without access to a program they want for their kids. Those programs will be restored now that the Ohio legislature passed a bill requiring schools to adopt released time religious instruction policies.
Passing laws that protect released time will ensure that all families across the country can enroll their children in a released time program.
Given the complexities of today’s world and the devastating state of youth academic performance and mental health, why wouldn’t we want the ability to offer programs that have been proven to address both? Doing so can work the K12 miracle that families need and deserve.
Tony Perkins is president of the Family Research Council.
