Ohio has officially passed the R.E.D. Act, which allows for “religious expression days” to be offered to public school students.
This bill requires all public schools in Ohio to allow their students to be absent for up to three days for their own personal religious expression.
A New Ohio Law
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has now signed House Bill 214 into law. This new law will affect every single public school in the state.
The legislation requires all public schools to adopt a new policy that “reasonably accommodates the sincerely held religious beliefs and practices of students; to require each public school to adopt a policy regarding certain expectations related to the performance of staff member professional duties.”
Public School Students Now Have Religious Expression Days
Now that this bill has been signed into law by DeWine, public school students can be absent for up to three days for religious expression.
This law impacts students in public schools in kindergarten through 12th grade.
Restrictions on Schools
The law also says that there are some restrictions on what schools can and cannot do when a student requests off because of their religion.
The bill states that principals “shall approve such requests without inquiry into the sincerity of a student’s religious or spiritual belief system.”
Requesting Verification
However, principals can request verification of this excuse by contacting the student’s parent or guardian and asking for their signature on the absence excuse the student provides.
In this way, the law protects the student’s new right to express their religion when absent from school, yet also gives the school a way to verify everything with the student’s parent.
Why This Law Was Created
Supporters of this law have explained that this will help students of all religions have the opportunity to observe their holidays, especially those that they may not get off normally, such as Christmas.
Supporters have claimed that this law is all about freedom of speech and religious freedom in Ohio.
Freedom of Religion in Ohio
Senator Michele Reynolds previously introduced a similar bill to the Senate in 2023.
When explaining why she supported her bill, she said, “Every family should know wherever their kid goes to school, whatever district it is, on this side of a neighborhood or that side of a neighborhood or this district, that district, there should be an opportunity to observe your faith tenants.”
Religion in Public Schools
Ohio’s new law is just the latest legal move that state governments have made regarding public schools and religion.
While some schools pushed for more religion in the classroom, Ohio is instead allowing more freedom to express religion outside of the classroom — without facing a repercussion, such as an unverified absence.
Louisiana’s Controversial Law
Recently, Louisiana created much controversy within the state — and the entire U.S. — when its government passed a law that would force every single public school classroom in the state to have a poster of the Ten Commandments.
This law has already been challenged in a court of law, as many parents of different faiths feel that it violates their rights.
Teaching Bible Lessons in Public Schools
Other states have also pushed for more religion in the classroom in the form of Bible lessons. States such as Texas and Oklahoma have tried to mandate different forms of Bible lessons in public school classrooms.
Critics of these moves have claimed that this goes against the U.S. motto of separation of church and state.
Ohio’s Religious Fight
While this latest law in Ohio is said to be for religious freedom outside of the classroom, some detractors have pointed out that Ohio public schools are also allowing students to be released from school for religious instruction.
For example, these schools release students from art, music, or library classes during the day to attend an off-site religious lesson. Critics are now worried that public schools could be forced to adopt these religious policies in the near future.
The Next Steps for Ohio
Now that DeWine has signed this bill into law in Ohio, public schools have 90 days to create and adopt a new policy that will reflect this law’s requirements.
The bill will fully go into effect on January 1, 2025.
