Released Time

School boards and state officials have attempted to devise plans to allow for the delivery of religious instructions to public school students during the academic day. According to the Rutherford Institute, 19 states have enacted statutes that allow released-time instruction off campus during the school day. This entry looks at case law related to this practice.

Supreme Court Cases

The Supreme Court of the United States first dealt with religious instruction in public schools in 1948, in Illinois ex rel. McCollum v. Board of Education. At issue was a board program that allowed religious instruction during the public school day. Under the program, Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish members of the community entered the schools to provide 30 minutes of religious instruction per week to lower-level students. Upper-level ...

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