Cutrona religious release-time amendment added to bill
A proposal sponsored by state Sen. Al Cutrona to require public schools to create policies for religious release time was incorporated into a larger bill and approved by the state Legislature.
Current state law permits boards of education to create policies to allow students to leave school early for religious instruction. The proposal from Cutrona, R-Canfield, changed “may” to “shall” in state law.
“I have heard from constituents who have expressed interest in wanting their children to participate in a religious release-time program and this bill will give families options across the state,” Cutrona said.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld religious-release time in a 1952 case as long as the instruction doesn’t occur on school property, is privately funded and parental permission is granted. Two school districts in central Ohio ended their religious release-time policy.
Democratic state senators urged Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, to veto the bill, mentioning the religious release-time policy “is likely to increase the prevalence of unsafe situations for children not only by allowing them to leave the school in the middle of the day, but also by impacting learning for all other children in the classroom as a result of this disturbance.”
DeWine is likely to sign the bill into law.
Cutrona’s proposal was incorporated into a larger Republican-sponsored bill, called the Parents’ Bill of Rights with opponents referring to it as the Don’t Say Gay Bill.
The bill doesn’t permit schools to teach sexual content to students through the third grade and requires public schools to notify parents about any matters concerning their child’s mental health, emotional well-being or requests related to gender identity.
Cutrona said: “This legislation empowers parents to understand what is going on with their child at school and to make the best decision for their kids.”
House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said the bill “now makes Ohio one step closer to requiring all teachers and school staff members to out any school child questioning their sexual identity, even when this information may endanger the safety and well-being of a student. We are not helping these children or their families.”
The House voted 57-31 in favor of the bill while the Senate voted 24-7.
In the House, all Republicans but two voted for the bill and all Democrats voted against it. In the Senate, all Republicans but one voted for the bill and all Democrats against it.