A new survey shows growing support among parents and teachers for allowing public school students to receive voluntary, off-campus religious instruction during the school day, as concerns about student mental health continue to rise.

The survey, conducted by RMG Research and shared first with The Christian Post, highlights widespread concern about anxiety, depression and other pressures facing students — and strong backing for programs that offer moral and character education rooted in biblical values.

Researchers collected responses from 1,000 parents between March 25–27 and 200 public school educators between March 20–31. The margin of error was +/-3.1 percentage points for parents and +/-6.9 percentage points for educators.

The survey was conducted on behalf of LifeWise Academy, which provides “Bible education to public school students during school hours under released time religious instruction laws.” The program currently serves more than 970 schools across 37 states and is expected to reach more than 100,000 students by the end of 2026.

When asked whether they support teaching moral and character education in public schools, large majorities of both parents (86%) and educators (93%) said they were in favor, while 10% of parents and 4% of educators said they were not.

Respondents were also told that some districts allow private organizations to offer programs teaching moral and character education based on biblical values during the school day, off campus and with parental permission. The survey noted that such programs are voluntary and constitutional.

A majority of parents (69%) and educators (73%) said they believe these programs, which are voluntary and have been ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court, would be helpful. 

“In schools where these programs have been introduced, parents and teachers report a number of positive outcomes, including better behavior, improved grades, better relationships between students, better attendance, and fewer suspensions,” the survey stated.

Support increased further when respondents were asked if they backed such programs with that context, with 86% of parents and 89% of educators expressing support.

The findings come as educators and families report widespread concern about students’ mental health.

LifeWise CEO Joel Penton said the results reflect a shared recognition that students are struggling.

Asking parents if they supported or opposed the programs in light of this new information, the research found that 86% of parents and 89% of educators supported them. 

LifeWise CEO Joel Penton reacted to the strong support for released time instruction during the school day in an interview with CP.

“I think that what it shows is that there’s near unanimous agreement that we have problems, that students are facing real issues with record high anxiety and depression and pressures of all sorts,” he said. 

“I think it’s not surprising that people are looking for answers and that the vast majority of people obviously almost unanimously think that those answers need to go deeper than some of the approaches we’ve been trying in recent decades,” he added.

As Penton indicated in his comments to CP, parents and educators have expressed major concerns about anxiety and depression among public school students. 

Large majorities of educators said they are somewhat or very concerned about anxiety (93%) and depression (91%) affecting students. Similar percentages expressed concern about bullying and cyberbullying (94%), social isolation (93%), not fitting in at school (88%) and loneliness (86%).

Among parents, 69% expressed concern about anxiety, while 62% cited bullying or cyberbullying. About half reported concern about depression (52%), social isolation (51%), loneliness (50%) and not fitting in (49%).

The survey also found that most parents (55%) were unaware that students can legally attend voluntary religious instruction off campus during the school day with parental permission, while most teachers (57%) were aware of the option.

Penton said that lack of awareness about students' right to receive religious instruction during the school day is LifeWise’s “greatest obstacle.” 

“There’s the desire out there, but people don’t know that it’s possible,” he said. “They don’t know there’s a legal pathway. And we’re hopeful that more and more people will learn about LifeWise and that option.”

The survey also indicated that most parents (55%) were not aware that public school students can “legally attend voluntary religious instruction off of school property during the school day with their parents’ permission,” while most teachers (57%) did know about the option.

The Supreme Court ruled in the 1952 caseZorach v. Clauson that there is “no constitutional requirement which makes it necessary for government to be hostile to religion and to throw its weight against efforts to widen the effective scope of religious influence.” 

“When the state encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions,” the opinion added. “To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups.”

Critics argue that released-time instruction can disrupt the school day and that religious education should take place outside school hours.

In October 2024, the Ohio-based Westerville City School Board voted 4-0, with one abstention, to discontinue its local program. Board President Kristy Meyer said at the time that she had “significant concerns about the distractions caused by pulling kids out of school during the middle of the day.”

“I want to make one thing very clear: the concern around this policy has nothing to do with any specific religion or religious programs in general,” Meyer stated. 

“It’s about utilizing the time we have with students in school to focus on educating them and minimizing disruptions to the school day for students, teachers and staff.”

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/most-parents-teachers-back-released-time-bible-education-poll.html