OLDHAM COUNTY, KY: Kentucky Citizens for Democracy (KCfD) opposes House Bill 829 (HB 829), newly introduced legislation that would mandate “moral instruction” release time within the school day and back it up with state enforcement and litigation against local school districts.
HB 829 raises serious concerns about the growing effort to embed religious instruction programs into the daily structure of public education. While these programs are often described as voluntary, real-world experience in districts across the country shows they frequently create division among students, disrupt the school day, and place pressure on children who choose not to participate.
Public schools exist to serve every child in the community regardless of religion or belief. Programs that separate students for religious instruction during the school day risk undermining that shared civic mission.
KCfD has been watching for legislation like this ever since the Oldham County Board of Education voted unanimously to reject the LifeWise proposal. Oldham County did what local boards are supposed to do: listened, weighed the impacts, and made a decision for its community. Now HB 829 looks like the legislature’s response: take local control away and force districts statewide to comply.
HB 829 requires districts to excuse students for at least one hour each week. Over a typical school year, that’s 30+ hours of school-day time carved out and treated as attendance, even as some of the same lawmakers insist districts must “fix performance” and focus on achievement. The bill also authorizes the Attorney General to sue and creates a private cause of action that waives sovereign, governmental, and qualified immunity for these claims.
KCfD is concerned HB 829 is designed to accelerate LifeWise-style programs, and our objections are grounded in what LifeWise promotes and what communities have experienced:
- Public schools aren’t a mission field. We oppose using the school day to advance outside religious programs.
- LifeWise openly targets children ages 4–14 as “impressionable, ” and reports describe incentives and peer-pressure dynamics that can isolate kids who opt out.
- LifeWise’s “results” claims are not peer-reviewed and do not meet basic education research standards.
- The curriculum is tied to The Gospel Project (Lifeway/Southern Baptist Convention), raising serious concerns about stigma toward LGBTQ+ students and narrow, exclusionary messaging.
- Pulling students from related arts and other core parts of a well-rounded school day devalues essential learning and student development.
KCfD is also concerned about the money and influence behind these efforts. KCfD’s reporting highlights LifeWise funding through donor-advised funds (DAFs) that can obscure the original donors, and notes that LifeWise has engaged a law firm to lobby for statutory changes in “may” states like Kentucky.
This fits a broader pattern Kentuckians recognize: voters rejected Amendment 2 (voucher-style funding), and lawmakers are still advancing HB 1 to opt Kentucky into a federal scholarship tax-credit program. Following Oldham County’s decision, and as other districts reached similar conclusions about the disruptive impacts of these programs on the school day, the supermajority is taking the power to choose out of local communities’ hands.
Call to Action
KCfD urges Kentuckians to call the Legislative Research Committee (LRC) at 1-800- 372-7181 and tell your State Representative to vote NO on HB 829. Ask lawmakers to respect local school boards, protect instructional time, and keep Kentucky’s public schools focused on serving every child.
Track HB 829 here: https://kycitizens.org/
Alex LeBlanc
Executive Director - Kentucky Citizens for Democracy
[email protected] | kycitizens.org
940-447-0259
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