The same day AU criticized the Oklahoma standards, the organization issued a statement in response to the Ohio legislature passing H.B. 8, which includes a provision to force every public school board in Ohio to allow students to leave during the school day for religious instruction.
“Politicians should not force release time policies on schools in hopes of promoting religious instruction,” said AU President and CEO Rachel Laser. “Religious freedom means that all students, no matter their religion or beliefs, should feel equally welcome in public schools and that the dedicated time for school focuses on secular education. But release time programs do just the opposite — they inject religion into the school day, take away from already limited instructional time, and alienate students by dividing them along religious lines. This is just the latest in a long line of attacks on public education.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed the bill into law last month.
In November, Americans United submitted testimony to the Ohio House of Representatives Primary and Secondary Education Committee about the problems with this bill and urged it to oppose the measure.