Detailed Report
on Released Time
Evaluation
RELEASED
TIME!
WHAT'S HAPPENING ELSEWHERE?
| My name is Eric
Ruherford. I'm the Chairman of Horry C.A.R.E.S. (Christian Academic
Release-time Education) in the Horry County/Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. We are
holding our first classes in about a month! At one school we have over 60 kids registered,
and are anticipating a possible 100 by the deadline. Our web site can be found at Keep up the good work! Dear Ms. Bennett:
By Ken Walker -- December 11, 1996 KINGSPORT, Tenn. (BP)--Despite failing to establish off-campus religious instruction for public school students in this northeastern Tennessee community, a parents group that includes several Southern Baptists will try again. "Religious liberty is an issue that will not go away," said Ann Bennett, a member of the eight-person steering committee seeking to organize "released time" classes in Kingsport. "People haven't given up in the past." While the Kingsport city school board unanimously voted down the concept in early December, the parents' group expects more favorable treatment from the adjoining Sullivan County school board. Bennett, a member of Indian Springs Baptist Church, said the county board is likely to approve soon a pilot project for a middle school. Parents plan to approach educational authorities in neighboring Bristol, Tenn., as soon as they find a church to sponsor a class. If the parents convince the city school board to reconsider, six churches already have agreed to teach the Kingsport sessions. Three are Southern Baptist churches -- Indian Springs, Calvary and Lynn Garden Baptist. "We want to give parents in the public school system an alternative to morals that are already being taught," Bennett said. "The goal of family life education classes is to prevent teen pregnancy, but it never asks if (premarital sex) is OK. We think that's terrible. "Many programs are based on the idea that children are going to have sex anyway. A released time program will teach (abstinence)" and introduce biblical morality, Bennett said. Although it is only one city with less than 40,000 residents, the struggle in Kingsport has nationwide implications. It is one of more than 10 school systems where programs either are being considered or have been implemented recently with the assistance of Scripture Union, a Philadelphia-based ministry which operates in 119 countries. Its work led to the formation of the well-known college campus outreach, InterVarsity Fellowship. Roger Blankenship, vice president of Scripture Union and director of its national school division, said the resistance encountered in Kingsport is unusual. Advance press coverage probably contributed to some negative impressions of the concept there, he said. "When a school board perceives public sentiment is running against it, they'll vote it down, whether it's the right thing or not," Blankenship said. Presently, Scripture Union has helped organize released time at two schools in Milwaukee; four school systems in South Carolina; and pilot projects in Paterson, N.J., and Philadelphia. The ministry is planning to present soon a proposal to a variety of denominations, including the Southern Baptist Convention, encouraging their participation in released time. School authorities are generally more receptive to an interdenominational approach, said Blankenship, an ordained Southern Baptist minister. "We're leading up to a national conference next fall," he said. We've never had a national field ministry. We work with churches; ... then we stay in the background and answer questions." Although it has been around for more than 80 years, he said released time is unfamiliar to millions of Americans. It refers to releasing students from public school classes to attend religious-based instruction, usually for an hour or two per week. Although the Supreme Court ruled in 1948 that it was unconstitutional to use public classrooms for such classes, four years later it upheld the practice for off-campus sessions. The first Supreme Court ruling had a negative impact, said the Scripture Union official, with enrollment peaking in the early 1950s at 2.5 million before beginning a long slide. Unfortunately, the 1948 Supreme Court decision received considerable media coverage, he said, but not the 1952 decision. Classes continued in various parts of the nation, however, leading to the formation of the National Association for Released Time Christian Education in 1982. By then, student enrollment had dwindled to 180,000. Since then it has increased to more than 250,000. Blankenship served as executive director of the association, an informational clearinghouse, from 1989-94. He then joined Scripture Union to become more actively involved in starting new programs. "I taught a released time class in Georgia and saw it as the most exciting thing for students today," said Blankenship, who currently attends a nondenominational church because no SBC churches exist in his Philadelphia suburb. "We look at this as a tool, a good method. We want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with young people wherever they are." He acknowledged a primary criticism of released time comes from groups, including Christians, concerned about possible violations of church-state separation. He also is concerned about keeping the state out of church affairs but said these classes simply offer parents an option. "Since attendance is voluntary, off campus and privately funded, the state has no control over it," he said. "What this is doing is opening the door to parents in the community. The parents determine the content of this class." Other critics say released time will open the door to all kinds of strange religions and cults, but Blankenship said that has never happened. The Buddhists don't want to invest the resources it takes to offer released time classes, he added. But if they, or other groups like Jews or Mormons want to, that is what the Constitution is designed to guarantee, he said. "I'm not concerned about the free exchange of ideas," said Blankenship. "I'm more concerned about the suppression of ideas. (Critics) are almost grasping for reasons not to do it." 'Released time' religious classes succeed in rural Georgia
county ELLIJAY, Ga. (BP)--Located in the Blue Ridge mountains about 75 miles north of Atlanta, the Gilmer County school system is one example of how released time education can succeed. When the proposal originated, a group of local churches banded together and raised enough money to purchase property next to Gilmer County High School, said superintendent Ben Arp. The interdenominational group built a Christian Learning Center (CLC) and in 1985 began offering elective courses throughout the school day, he said. Eighty-five students, or just over 10 percent of the student body, are currently enrolled in CLC classes. The center is governed by a board of directors chosen from area churches, which in this area of north Georgia are predominantly Baptist and Methodist, Arp said. Students take a class just as they would band or another elective, he said. Some high school teachers have told him of positive improvements in the attitudes of students enrolled at CLC. "We haven't had any complaints from any parents or groups opposed to it," said Arp, who became superintendent in 1992. "The church I go to (First Methodist of Ellijay) was heavily involved in it and I don't know of anyone who opposed it. "Kids have told me it's a very positive experience. I think they look at (CLC) personnel a little bit differently than school personnel. I think they feel a little bit freer to talk to the teachers there." With just 14,000 residents, Gilmer County is a very rural area; the two largest employers are a poultry processing plant and the school system. But the superintendent said he believes released time can be as effective in urban areas. The key to the program is the quality of the instructors, he explained, noting CLC director Sid Webb also serves as a volunteer coach for the high school cross country team. "I give them a lot of credit," Arp said. "Quality people would work as well in an urban setting. However, in an urban setting there might be a chance that someone would protest the existence of one." While their current plans don't include building an instructional center, parents in Kingsport, Tenn., still hope to hold released time classes despite the city school board's recent rebuff. Ann Bennett said the parents' group got started after several parents saw an article about the concept in Christianity Today magazine. It seemed like the perfect solution to balance church-state concerns with those who are upset about the exclusion of the Bible from public schools, she said. After preliminary discussions, the Sullivan (County) Baptist Association last spring invited Mike Whitehouse, a member of First Baptist Church, Elizabethton, Tenn., to speak about the released time program in Union County. The reaction was so positive they invited other denominations to get involved, she said. This isn't just an excuse to get Christian students out of class, she said -- nationally about 60 percent of released time students come from non-Christian homes. "When I spoke at the Optimist Club, one of the most enthusiastic responses was from a woman who told me she and her husband both work on Sunday," Bennett said. "She was excited about her daughter getting religious instruction during the week; 9:45 to noon on Sunday does not meet a lot of people's needs anymore." Kingsport's steering committee had proposed allowing students from three schools to attend released time in lieu of family life, wellness and guidance classes. Bennett objects to the family life curriculum, commonly called sex education, because of demonstrations of condoms and other contraceptives, as well as displays of sexual "pleasure items." These incidents have been reported by students in both family life and wellness classes, she said. Objectionable material also has been part of elementary guidance classes, she said. Some in Tennessee have featured guided imagery, where children are given puppets and told to close their eyes and imagine what the puppet would tell them to do, Bennett said. "There's all the difference in the world between biblical education and pragmatic moral choices," said the member of Kingsport's Indian Springs Baptist Church. "We're asking that students in morals classes be released to get biblical morals. Eighth-graders have been shown French ticklers (a type of condom). Tell me how that prevents pregnancy, particularly for eighth-graders." Bennett said she believes the need for released time education can be seen in 1995 statistics gathered by the federal Centers for Disease Control. They show 80 percent of high school students have tried alcohol, 42 percent have used marijuana and about 20 percent have sniffed glue or other inhalants. In the month before the survey, 20 percent had carried a gun or other weapon to school. Fifty-three percent had engaged in sex, a figure that rose to 60 percent in Tennessee. "The moral state we're in is so serious we should consider it a judgment of God," she said. "We should repent of taking him out of our daily situations and making him into a Sunday and Wednesday God." Movement
for Bible instruction for public school students builds KINGSPORT, Tenn. (BP)--Although her local school board curtailed its experiment to give public school students an opportunity for off-site biblically based instruction, Ann Bennett is continuing her push for released time education. Her motivation is the 14-year-old boy who accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior two years ago. His cousin had invited him to attend the final term in the pilot project at a Kingsport, Tenn., middle school. "The last day of class he said, 'I want to make an announcement. I've accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior,'" recalled Bennett, a member of Indian Springs Baptist Church. "I've never seen that happen in Sunday school, let alone in front of a public school class. This is the greatest home missions opportunity out there." After a newly contracted superintendent recommended the Sullivan County school board discontinue the one-hour, off-campus sessions, the mother of three took her fight to the state legislature. A bill to authorize released time instruction statewide is pending in both branches of the Tennessee legislature. It was revised by a citizen group after a similar proposal last year was voted down in a subcommittee the day shooting erupted at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Similar legislation has been proposed this year in Kansas, part of a grassroots effort that supporters say will expand these classes nationwide. Originating in 1914, released time education offers Bible classes and related subjects. These sessions, which must be conducted off campus, vary from 30 to 60 minutes. Some meet weekly, others once a month. Although its constitutionality was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1952, released time education sometimes faces an uphill battle. Sullivan County's board voted to scuttle the program after an atheist complained she should be allowed to offer classes in her beliefs, Bennett recounted. [Her organization doesn't qualify to offer "religious" classes, says Bennett, nor did any parents request these classes.] Last January, a school board in Lubbock, Texas, voted 6-1 against a proposal from a citizen-led group. Despite these obstacles, supporters believe the movement is on the upswing. "We hope we're on the verge of an explosion," said Dave Johnson of Knoxville, Tenn., a missionary with CBM Ministries who oversees programs in three Tennessee counties. "People are so frustrated with the lack of religious instruction in public schools they want to do something. Most school boards don't know about it and are afraid to take the first step." The executive director of a new, national association promoting released time education said programs have sprung up this year in California, Oklahoma and South Carolina. In addition, he has received requests for information from several other states. Bob Entner of the BEST (Bible Education in School Time) Network said whenever his group publicizes its efforts, many parents ask, "Why can't we do this in our community?" "We're real encouraged," Entner said. "This is a wonderful way of reaching thousands of kids and it's very efficient. You can teach the same lesson to students in different areas." Formed by half a dozen groups involved in Bible-based ministries, the network will hold its first national conference Oct. 11-12 in Ontario, Calif. Paul Cedar of Mission America -- which organized the Lighthouses of Prayer movement -- will be the keynote speaker. Entner said the meeting will serve as BEST's kickoff. He said its purpose is to organize groups around the nation into a cohesive, unified voice. The network's Internet site is www.mediassoc.com/bestnet/index.htm. Released time programs have been such a grassroots effort that leaders aren't even sure how many students are enrolled, he said. Although the commonly accepted estimate is 250,000, Entner said that may be too low. He knows of 17,000 students from one Catholic archdiocese in New York and said there are Jewish and Mormon groups who probably aren't counted. Even organizations like Child Evangelism Fellowship don't maintain a nationwide count of pupils, he said. His group is currently working to raise funds for research to verify enrollment statistics. "We've got a lot of work to do," Entner said. "A lot of these programs are run by volunteer, stay-at-home moms and senior citizens. That's why we feel it's important to have a national organization to link them together and give them encouragement." Bennett calls the new organization a significant step, saying it will provide more help for groups like the Sullivan County Released Time Committee (on the Internet at www.isbc.org/rt ). Bennett and a network of Christians from Memphis spearheaded the move for statewide legislation. Prepared with the help of attorneys who have worked with other released time programs, the proposal requires at least three parents to request classes, with all funding and liability assumed by the instructional organization. "We have a black Memphis sponsor in the House and a white rural Senate sponsor, which reflects most released time programs," Bennett said. "They're in the inner city or rural areas. It meets resistance in the suburbs. They have the best schools and think they don't need God. "We always meet anti-Christian bigotry from people who don't want the Bible taught," she added. "But released time has been part of the school day since 1914. It was here before family life education, AIDS education or drug and alcohol education. Arguments against it are brought up by people who want total religious confinement." The president of the Southern Baptist Convention's church-state agency, meanwhile, has called released time the best alternative for offering Bible instruction to public school students without church-state problems. Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, said recently that guidelines to offer "fair and impartial" instruction about the Bible in public schools will be a nightmare. "Those with the best of motives who have been pushing teaching the Bible in public schools are going to hate the results when the lawyers and school administrators get through with it," he said. Under released time education, Land said, "a Catholic, Protestant, Jewish or Muslim student [can] be 'released' during ... to be instructed in his understanding of the Bible by a qualified, religious teacher from his faith perspective under a syllabus worked out jointly between representatives of that faith tradition and the public-school officials." In addition to the BEST Network website, additional information about released time resources can be found at the National Bible Association's www.releasedtime.org website Off-campus
Bible class booster seeks to lessen students' fear of calamity LUBBOCK, Texas (BP)--The leader of a move to bring off-campus biblically based instruction to public school students in Texas received her inspiration from a Southern Baptist periodical. While in a hospital waiting room, Barbara Mandry read an article about released time education, which appeared in LifeWay Christian Resources' HomeLife magazine in September 1998. Several months later, she and her husband were shocked by the student massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. Mandry, who was already active with a grief support organization, felt released time classes could make an excellent preventive measure to prevent further sorrow among students. "We see a great connection to the ministry we've been involved in," said the founder of SONshine Promises, which was organized in 1994. "We've seen a lot of heartache. Our hearts were affected by Columbine." Her group's emphasis had been on grief support, through a series of 16-week peer support groups. They use curriculum she wrote based on God's promises from the Bible. But last May, the group set up "The Nehemiah Project" to organize released time education in the Lubbock area. It also pledged to provide resources and training for other Texas communities wanting this form of Christian education. The organization's Internet site is sonshinepromises.com. However, Mandry's first attempt in behalf of released time education didn't succeed. First proposed to the Frenship Independent School District last July, it was discussed for six months. The board voted it down last January in spite of unanimous support from parents and students who spoke at the meeting, Mandry said. Despite the setback, the member of The Springs United Methodist Church was encouraged by the widespread support from the Christian community. That support included a letter of endorsement from Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which was helpful in approaching Southern Baptist churches, she said. After one board member said he hadn't heard anything about the released time proposal, church members and parents flooded the board with calls and letters, she recounted. A group of citizens also packed the meeting room for the final discussion and vote. She plans to continue the battle. She has worked with a group from Littlefield, Texas, where an informational session was held April 2 at Trinity Fellowship Church. She is also working with groups of parents and concerned Christians from Amarillo and the Idalow School District located 15 miles east of Lubbock. "The Scripture, 'My people perish for lack of knowledge,' applies here," Mandry said. "People don't think it can happen here. We need to share the good things that are happening in places like Virginia and California. "Virginia has been doing it for 49 years, with 95 percent participation. Now, if we could just get folks from Texas to catch this vision. The more we share with folks and tell them about this, the more say they want to be a part of it." One reason for her concern comes from her contact with children at a Wednesday night children's class she teaches at her church. At a recent session, students' prayer requests concerned their fears of such possible calamities as being shot at school or hearing other teens threatening to use a bomb to blow up the building. "Talk to the kids for a few minutes," she said. "This is on their mind." Ann Bennett had a similar experience when she taught a group of eighth-graders during a one-year pilot project at a middle school in Kingsport, Tenn. The member of Indian Springs Baptist Church said she heard such prayer requests as: -- "My brother tried to commit suicide last night and is in the hospital." -- "I've got a boyfriend and I'm having sexual temptations." -- "Pray for my daddy. He's drinking himself to death." "You can't have that in a counseling session," she said. "We had 43 students sign up for class out of 75 (eighth-graders) in the school. I saw how hungry these kids were. When there is an established released time program, 90 percent of the students will participate."
A RESOLUTION commending and encouraging program
for periodic released time for religious instruction; and for other purposes. 1- 2 time for religious instruction; and for other purposes. 1- 3 WHEREAS, programs for periodic released time for religious 1- 4 instruction for public school students have been implemented 1- 5 in 30 states, including Georgia; and 1- 6 WHEREAS, these outstanding programs supplement the efforts 1- 7 of our schools to help children grow mentally, spiritually, 1- 8 and emotionally and teach children values such as honesty, 1- 9 compassion, integrity, and loyalty; and 1-10 WHEREAS, the benefits of such instruction include 1-11 substantial reductions in teen pregnancies, teen violence, 1-12 and substance abuse; and 1-13 WHEREAS, these beneficial programs do not interfere with the 1-14 normal school curriculum and do not utilize state or local 1-15 funds, facilities, or resources; and 1-16 WHEREAS, the tremendous success of these programs merits 1-17 particular recognition and praise. 1-18 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1-19 GEORGIA that the members of this body commend programs for 1-20 periodic released time for religious instruction for school 1-21 children on their splendid success in promoting traditional 1-22 ethical morals and principles in our young people and 1-23 encourage the adoption of such programs by the school 1-24 systems in this state. "Lubbock, TX denied
RT" SCHOOL
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