SB 1165 requires each Missouri school district board to adopt a policy allowing students to be excused from school for “released time” courses in religious or moral instruction taught by an independent entity off school property. The bill limits participation to no more than three class periods per week or 125 class periods per school year and requires written parental consent before a student may participate.
The measure sets several conditions for these programs: districts may not spend more than de minimis administrative costs or use school personnel, equipment, or resources to provide the instruction; the outside provider must keep attendance records; transportation must be handled by the provider, parent, or student; and the provider or parent must indemnify the district and maintain adequate insurance. Students remain responsible for missed schoolwork, and district officials retain discretion over scheduling, with a prohibition on excusing students from English language arts, mathematics, science, or U.S. history classes. The bill also requires districts to treat released time attendance as school attendance for average daily attendance and compulsory attendance purposes, and to award elective credit for completed courses if the course is evaluated in a neutral, secular manner based on objective criteria such as instructional time, syllabus, assessment methods, and instructor qualifications. The bill does not apply to charter schools or virtual schools/providers.
Impact
SB 1165 would add a new section to Chapter 162, RSMo, creating a statewide framework for released-time religious or moral instruction in public schools. It would affect school district policies, attendance accounting under section 163.011, and compulsory attendance compliance under section 167.031, while also requiring districts to consider elective credit for qualifying released-time courses. The bill would not apply to charter schools or virtual education programs, and it would shift responsibility for instruction, transportation, liability, and insurance to outside entities or parents rather than school districts.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable or at least straightforward support for the bill’s purpose, with no recorded committee testimony or votes indicating organized opposition in the provided materials. The bill’s caption frames it as a policy requiring districts to allow students to be excused for off-campus religious or moral instruction, indicating an intent to accommodate family choice and religious education within public-school scheduling. Because no transcripts or vote history are provided, there is no documented public debate in the record supplied here.
Contention
The main points of potential contention are the bill’s accommodation of religious instruction within public schools, the requirement that districts count released-time participation as attendance, and the credit-awarding provision. Opponents could object to public-school involvement in a religiously affiliated program, even with the bill’s neutral and secular evaluation language and its prohibition on using school resources. Supporters are likely to emphasize parental consent, limited district responsibility, and the bill’s safeguards that keep instruction off school property and outside district control. Another possible issue is the scheduling restriction, which protects core academic classes but still requires districts to manage student absences and credit determinations.