(FāVS News) — A controversial off-campus Christian education program for public school students, which has sparked conversation about the intersection of church and state, is gaining traction across the Pacific Northwest.
The national program, LifeWise Academy, is growing especially fast in Washington, now offered in 14 schools with teams working to establish the program in 26 other school districts, said LifeWise state director Alise Morrisey. And local community members — 50 local signatures are required as the first step to launch the program — have shown interest in establishing it in 245 of the estimated 295 school districts.
“I think that there’s some good movement happening in Washington,” she said.
The Bible-based curriculum, which officials said is open to all regardless of faith, takes children out of class during the school day for religious education. Critics argue it incentivizes children to recruit others to its classes and has elicited worry about the proper separation between church and state. Proponents, however, argue the Supreme Court made it possible for programs like LifeWise to exist through a 1952 ruling and say it improves children’s lives.
Last August, LifeWise estimated it would serve nearly 100,000 students across 1,100 schools in 34 states during the 2025-2026 school year. The program has grown exponentially since it launched its first pilot program in 2019.
LifeWise has also garnered attention in Washington after it filed a lawsuit against the Everett Public Schools district in December 2025. The lawsuit argued the school district imposed policies on how LifeWise operated that violated the First Amendment, claiming those policies encroached on freedom of speech and religion.
In April, the state’s U.S. District Court for the Western District issued a preliminary injunction requiring that Everett schools allow LifeWise to participate in community resource fairs, display printed flyers in schools wherever flyers from secular organizations are allowed and teach students who have parental permission.
According to LifeWise, the curriculum goes through the entire Bible over the course of three years. The lessons are not available until requested, at which point they are accessible for about 48 hours, according to news reports.
The Guardian reported that LifeWise’s curriculum attempts to avoid political topics and doesn’t touch on topics like gender and sexuality, but, if students ask questions, instructors are recommended to say that divorce, LGBTQ+ identities and cohabitation without marriage are sinful.
In fiscal year 2025, LifeWise programs made $39 million in revenue across all the schools. The program is funded through private donations and grants, not tax dollars or public money, and is free for attendees, according to the organization.
In Ohio, where LifeWise was founded, the state legislature passed a law last year mandating schools create policies allowing students to be released for religious instruction. In response, some parents have complained about students recruiting each other. According to reporting from NBC News, parents raised concerns that LifeWise promises incentives like ice cream or popcorn parties if students can meet a recruitment quota.
In Idaho, the last school year marked the first iteration of LifeWise in the Grangeville/Mountain View School District, when 26 students began making the three-minute walk from the elementary/middle school to Grangeville Christian Church for religious education, said local program director Fred Stevens.
When the program first opened in the district, five students were registered, Stevens said. Over a few months, that number more than quadrupled, largely through student word of mouth, he added.
In Grangeville, students enrolled in the LifeWise program are taught for a few hours each week. The program offers a standardized curriculum, but Stevens said local chapters are free to adjust as needed.
LifeWise has received criticism for removing children from the school during school hours, rather than operating as an after-school program. At the Peninsula School District in Gig Harbor, Washington, where LifeWise serves about 20 students across three elementary schools, Superintendent Michael Farmer said the district prefers children remain in school during its set hours regardless of competing activities — whether dentist appointments or Bible-based programs.
“We recognize people’s constitutionally protected right to practice freedom of religion, but we also think kids should be in school all day, every day — even during unstructured time,” Farmer said. “We just want to maximize every opportunity we have with kids.”
However, in Grangeville, district superintendent Amanda Bush said the school tries to coordinate with LifeWise so that the program runs while students are in elective courses like art or music. And Bush said she has never received negative feedback about the LifeWise program. The small city is predominantly Christian.
“In a rural school that has limited options for electives and things like that, I think this is a great option,” Bush said.
On its website, LifeWise says that in public schools where the program is offered, absence rates are nearly 50% lower, suspension rates are 30% lower and over 30% more students perform at or above grade level compared to when it is not offered.
LifeWise improves education by teaching children life lessons and moral development, Morrisey said.
“Parents know their children better than anyone, and they understand what’s best for them,” Morrisey said. “Many want Bible education.”
Opponents of LifeWise argue the program violates the First Amendment’s freedom of religion rights by intertwining public schools with a Christian religious program. Critics also point to LifeWise’s active political front, which, over the past few years, has helped pass legislation in five states requiring that districts allow students to attend LifeWise or other religious programs during school hours.
However, it doesn’t appear LifeWise has been sued on First Amendment grounds. LifeWise, however, has sued in some cases — including in Everett, where it argued that the school discriminated against it for being a religious program.
The Everett School District did not respond to requests for comment.
LifeWise leaders like Morrisey argue the program does not violate the First Amendment and refer to past Supreme Court rulings to uphold their point.
In 1952, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Zorach v. Clauson that school districts are permitted to allow students to leave school grounds for a few hours to receive religious instruction. The instruction must meet three criteria, however: It must take place off school property, be privately funded and require parental permission to participate.
Although LifeWise has garnered some headlines and headaches since it was established, Morrisey said that in Washington, there has been less criticism than there has been praise.
“Most families and communities have welcomed LifeWise with open arms,” she said.
Stevens, the local leader for the chapter in Grangeville, Idaho, said LifeWise was addressing a real need being revealed in the public school system.
“I think there’s a real hunger growing among the population,” Stevens said. “I do think there’s a lot of problems that LifeWise addresses and questions that LifeWise answers.”