Everett Public Schools will also revise its policies, provide religious liberty training to school board members, and apologize to Christian families after a court found that the district was hostile towards the off-campus Bible program.
A Washington state school district has agreed to pay $275,000 in attorneys’ fees, revise its policies, and publicly apologize to Christian families to settle a religious discrimination lawsuit brought by a nonprofit organization providing Bible instruction to public school students.
The settlement between Everett Public Schools and LifeWise Academy, represented by First Liberty Institute, requires school board members to complete religious liberty training and for the district to change policies prohibiting the free exercise of faith. District officials also must publish a written apology on the school system’s website for six months.
The agreement follows an April 2026 ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granting a preliminary injunction against the school district.
LifeWise Academy, a nonprofit organization that provides voluntary Bible instruction to public school students during the school day, challenged district regulations in a lawsuit, arguing that the district had unfairly targeted religious education and interfered with parental rights.
“This settlement is a welcome victory for Everett families who simply want the freedom to choose Bible education for their children during school hours,” said Joel Penton, CEO of LifeWise Academy. “We are pleased that LifeWise will receive the same access and respect given to other optional programs. We look forward to continuing to provide children in the Everett community with Bible-based character education.”
The dispute centered on the school district’s treatment of LifeWise compared with other voluntary educational programs available to students.
Under released-time religious instruction arrangements, public school students can participate in privately provided religious education during school hours if they have parental permission, subject to applicable legal requirements. The instruction generally takes place away from public school property and is not funded by public schools.
LifeWise operates under this model, offering Bible teaching and character development. According to the organization’s attorneys, Everett school officials imposed several restrictions that created substantial obstacles for participating families.
For example, parents had to submit new permission forms every week to authorize their children’s participation in LifeWise instruction, an extra burden that was not placed on parents who signed their children up for other optional programs.
In addition, the district prohibited LifeWise from distributing or displaying promotional flyers and participating in certain community events and required students returning from LifeWise classes to keep written materials they received from the program concealed inside sealed envelopes in their backpacks.
LifeWise’s legal representatives argued that these requirements treated religious instruction differently from comparable secular activities and sent a troubling message to students about their faith.
But the bias extended beyond administrative policies to public comments made by school board members.
For example, board member Charles Adkins described LifeWise as part of an “effort to turn our nation into a fascist theocracy.” During another public school board meeting, Adkins openly acknowledged his opposition to the Christian education program, stating, among other things, “I want to make it very, extremely, abundantly clear, that yes, I do in fact hold animus toward LifeWise Academy” and that “they can’t be allowed to have access to our kids.”
Those comments, as well as those by Board President Traci Mitchell, were salient to Judge Lauren King’s decision to grant an injunction. She wrote that even though Adkins was “not legally speaking for the Board, evidence of his animus towards LifeWise is relevant to the dispute…. And when considering alleged animus toward religion, courts can look to statements of decision makers.”
The settlement requires Everett Public School officials to acknowledge the harm caused by statements made during board meetings and apologize to affected families. In its written apology, the district stated,
“The District recognizes that comments made at various Board meetings that concerned LifeWise, including by Directors, were offensive and hurtful to the families participating in LifeWise programming. For that, the District and its Board of Directors offer a sincere apology. We recognize that these statements negatively affected the exercise of your faith. The District values the rights of all families to raise their children according to their own religious beliefs. We further apologize to any students or families that were made to feel by these comments that your religious beliefs are unworthy of respect.”
Stephanie Taub, senior counsel at First Liberty Institute, said the agreement reinforces the principle that public school officials must respect religious freedom.
“Religious discrimination has no place in public schools,” Taub said. “We are grateful to have reached this settlement on behalf of LifeWise. This is a tremendous victory not only for our clients but for all religious release time programs.”
For Christian parents, the controversy highlights an ongoing debate over religious expression in public education and the extent to which school officials must accommodate privately organized religious activities, particularly as more public school families seek opportunities for Bible education during the school day.
It’s been more than 25 years since the U.S. Supreme Court pointedly ruled in Good News Club v. Milford Central School that public school students can receive religious instruction and participate in Christian activities during school hours under certain conditions, but schools continue to blatantly ignore that decision.
It’s distressing to participating families but also detrimental to the taxpayers who fund these districts. In just the past few years, school districts have been forced to settle several lawsuits with the Good News Club, as well as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and pay their legal fees. Even more lawsuits have been filed this year.
The LifeWise Academy settlement with Everett Public Schools is one more reminder that Christians cannot sit back and allow the state to treat them like second-class citizens. Christian parents have both the obligation and the God-given right to teach their children the truth of the Bible, and the government has no business stepping in and blocking that — even if those children attend public school.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells us to teach our children the Lord’s commandments. LifeWise Academy is a critical resource for families who can’t homeschool or send their children to private Christian schools.
This case also powerfully illustrates the need to defend religious liberty courageously. If government officials are going to impose discriminatory restrictions or are simply hostile to Christianity, then parents have a duty to respond by standing up, speaking out, and, if necessary, filing lawsuits that force schools to abide by the Constitution.
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