🚨🚨House Bill 445 will force Ohio Schools to adopt an RTRI “Release Time for Religious Instruction” policy. 🚨🚨
This opens the door WIDE for predatory organizations like Lifewise Academy (See Parents Against Lifewise) to infiltrate our public schools with Evangelical Christian Nationalist Rhetoric. Tonight is the deadline to submit opposition testimony to this bill. We have until 11 am today!
To submit written testimony on HB 445 you must:
- Download and fill out this witness form
www.lwvohio.org_files/ugd/82d68a_6aae368081784959ab1550a7f08d25e7.pdf
- Save completed witness form in PDF format.
- Write your testimony.
- Save your testimony in PDF format.
- Write an email that simply says “Esteemed committee members, I’d like to submit my attached testimony in opposition to HB 445. Please provide confirmation of receipt”
- Attach both the witness form PDF and the testimony PDF to email.
- Send email to:
OHRPrimary&SecondaryEducationCommittee@ohiohouse.gov
Testimony itself should be focused on the fact any decision about adopting a release time religious instruction policy, or any for that matter, needs to be left to the governing authority of the locally elected school boards who knows what is best for their students and communities.
Feel free to use one of these templates:
Draft (version 2) Intent Behind “May” in Section 3313.6022 Template:
docs.google.com/document/…_aSJfIgONV79hpd8bgGfyBKrZPz0BxERuXfMMaE/edit?usp=sharing
Draft (version 2) Local Control Should Remain with Elected School Boards Template:
Draft (version 2) HB 445 Appears Designed to Support a Private Corporation:
docs.google.com/document/…_nk1tdH8jlEGw5kOCTzCTaIY66BISicm9O1Qr3A/edit?usp=sharing
Draft (Version 2) HB 445 Template Letter - RTRI Has Functioned Smoothly for 10 Years:
Draft HB 445 (Version 2) Template Letter - Entanglement and the Need to Avoid Endorsement;
docs.google.com/document/…_nch3ZpCH37tRnEl2EJrSZ790/edit?usp=sharing
ChatGPT Prompt I Used
I’m going to write testimony opposing this Ohio House bill 446. It would will force Ohio Schools to adopt an RTRI “Release Time for Religious Instruction” policy.
There is a section in a citizen provided testimony template that says “I urge you to oppose this legislation for several key reasons:” and provides this guidance “If you have a personal story, connection to this issue, or reason for feeling this way, please insert it here. What kind of impact are you worried about personally?? What impact are you worried about in a community you belong to whether location or identity??”
Based on our interactions, write a testimony on my behalf that reflects my perspectives, beliefs, and experiences, and that I am legally allowed to express given my classified employment status. The testimony must specify that I write as a private citizen.
ChatGPT Response (Accepted)
Testimony in Opposition to Ohio House Bill 446
I write today as a private citizen to express my strong opposition to Ohio House Bill 446, which mandates Ohio schools adopt a Release Time for Religious Instruction (RTRI) policy. This bill would open the door for organizations like Lifewise Academy, which promote Evangelical Christian Nationalist rhetoric, to infiltrate our public schools. I am deeply concerned about the implications of this legislation for our public education system and the communities it serves.
As a member of the community, I believe public schools should be spaces where all students, regardless of their religious beliefs, are treated with respect and fairness. Introducing religious instruction into school hours for the benefit of specific religious groups not only undermines the secular nature of public education but also exposes students to potential ideological biases and discriminatory teachings that have no place in our schools.
From my personal perspective, the imposition of religious instruction during school hours threatens the diversity and inclusivity that should be central to our public schools. The presence of predatory organizations like Lifewise Academy could promote a narrow and exclusionary worldview, limiting students’ understanding of the wide range of perspectives that exist in our society. The normalization of religious indoctrination in schools would also undermine the important separation of church and state—a cornerstone of our democracy.
This policy is not only harmful to students from non-Christian backgrounds but also risks creating divisions within communities by fostering an environment where only one worldview is privileged over others. In my community, and in communities across Ohio, I worry that this legislation will erode the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion that we should be working to build.
I urge you to oppose this legislation for the sake of our children’s education and their futures. We must protect the right of all students to learn in a space free from religious coercion and ensure our public schools remain places of learning for all, regardless of belief.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
This draft focuses on your concerns about the bill’s impact on public schools and the potential for discrimination and ideological influence, while also emphasizing your role as a private citizen. Let me know if you’d like any adjustments!
