Everett, Wash., school district settles LifeWise Academy lawsuit, will apologize and pay $275,000
Everett Public Schools settled a federal lawsuit brought by LifeWise Academy, which runs optional off-campus Bible classes during the school day. The district agreed to pay $275,000, post an apology and have its board take religious-liberty training, without admitting wrongdoing.
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The school board of Everett Public Schools in Everett, Wash., voted on Tuesday, Oct. 13, to settle a federal lawsuit brought by LifeWise Academy. The Ohio-based nonprofit offers optional Bible education to public school students off campus during the school day. Such "released-time" religious instruction has been allowed since a 1952 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, as long as no public money is used.
LifeWise sued the district in December 2025 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It said the district violated its free-speech and free-exercise rights by keeping it out of a community resource fair, requiring a separate permission slip for each release, and requiring students to keep LifeWise materials sealed in their backpacks. In April, Judge Lauren King issued a preliminary injunction largely in LifeWise's favor, The Everett Herald (HeraldNet) reported.
Under the settlement, the district will pay $275,000 toward attorney's fees, and its board members will take religious-liberty training. The district will also post an apology on its website for six months, according to First Liberty Institute, the legal group that represented LifeWise. The district did not admit wrongdoing. In a statement, the district said it "apologizes for the frustration and difficulty its actions caused those students and families." A district spokesperson told KOMO News that student release guidelines were updated to comply with the settlement, adding, "There were no changes to the policy."
LifeWise's lawyers had pointed to comments by school board member Charles Adkins, who at a December 2025 meeting called the group "an organization of homophobic bullies." The district argued in court that his remarks did not show the board targeted LifeWise. LifeWise CEO Joel Penton called the settlement "a welcome victory for Everett families who simply want the freedom to choose Bible education for their children during school hours." The program operates near about 1,200 schools nationwide.
Sources
The Everett Herald: Everett Public Schools settles with LifeWise Academy, ending lawsuit (Oct 14, 2026)
https://www.heraldnet.com/2026/10/14/everett-public-schools-settles-with-lifewise-ending-lawsuit/Archived copyKOMO News: Everett Public Schools reaches settlement over Bible study with religious education group (Oct 14, 2026)
https://komonews.com/news/local/everett-public-schools-reaches-settlement-with-religious-instruction-program-district-policy-first-amendment-church-christianity-state-regulations-ruling-insturction-campus-school-hours-fundsArchived copy
Corrections and updates
- Update, October 22, 2026: Brief prepared from HeraldNet / The Everett Herald (Will Geschke; page datePublished Oct. 14, 2026) and KOMO News (Jackie Kent; page datePublished Oct. 14, 2026, updated Oct. 15). One-off; no threadId. The sheet date is Oct. 13, the board vote, so sourcePublishedAt is 2026-10-13. The brief is in the Oct. 22 edition, so publishedAt and editionDate are 2026-10-22. Tags are us, religious-liberty, and law-courts. Both topic tags exist. Tradition is omitted. No persecution tag. Board member Charles Adkins' remarks stay attributed. An Oct. 15 Wayback snapshot is linked for HeraldNet and for KOMO News. No photo.