A Law That Helped Convert Indigenous People Is Now Used to Get Churches Near—And On—School Grounds

Earlier this year, a small school district south of Tucson made an unusual decision: It would allow the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build a complex on public school district grounds where students could be released from class to worship.

But the project quickly unraveled. A few weeks later, the Vail Unified School District reversed course, saying the church canceled the contract after local media reports and secular groups criticized the plan. Still, the construction of religious buildings near schools for the temporary release of students to practice their faith has become a growing concern of church-state separation advocates, who argue it violates legal requirements that keep public schools secular.

In Arizona and several other states, ‘release time’ for religious instruction is not only legal—it’s common.

State law allows students to be excused from school during the day to participate in religious instruction off campus. In the case of LDS students, these classes often include lifestyle lessons. They are typically held in buildings just outside campus boundaries, sometimes only a few hundred feet away.

Religious conservatives have pushed to expand release-time programs nationwide, arguing there is no need to separate religion from daily education. Here, such programs are only growing more popular.

Arizona’s History With Religious Release Time

More than a dozen states currently require school districts to adopt release-time policies.

Most recently, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, signed a bill in February mandating school districts create a release-time policy after two districts rescinded theirs. Previously, Ohio law didn’t require districts to offer the program. The new law, known as the Parents’ Bill of Rights, also bans discussions of sexuality or gender identity before fourth grade.

The Guardian reported that the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, designated an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has helped draft model legislation for states to expand release-time programs. This gives parents more authority over their children’s ‘moral and religious’ upbringing, often limiting exposure to diverse communities and families.

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If that sounds familiar in Arizona, it’s because the government passed a similar Parents’ Bill of Rights, which has complicated school district operations. State law requires schools to notify parents in all grades when topics involving gender or sexuality may be discussed, adopt an opt-in sex education policy, and excuse students for religious purposes, including release time.

That law was championed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative group aligned with Alliance Defending Freedom and other far-right political organizations such as Turning Point USA and the Heritage Foundation, which have both advocated for more faith-based teaching in public schools.

Arizona's use of religious release time dates back well over a century with attempts by Christian groups to convert Indigenous students.

In 1966, Arizona Baptist News called for buses to transport Navajo youth from federal boarding schools to churches for release-time classes. “The Mormons are leading these young people by the hundreds into Mormonism,” the periodical stated. In 1970, it highlighted a reverend in Tuba City who was organizing release-time education, and by 1974, the Apache Lutheran noted that Apache students at federal boarding schools had been attending midweek Bible story hours for about 20 years in the early 1900s.

Legal challenges have followed. Between 1976 and 1995, a series of state attorneys general responded to school districts seeking clarity on release time rules.

In 1976, then-Attorney General Bruce Babbitt, a Democrat, agreed with Cochise County officials that release time was legal in Arizona and students couldn't be prohibited from participating. However, in 1977, Babbitt ruled that school facilities could not be occupied for religious instruction: “It is clear that the schools cannot turn over the school buildings for the purpose of religious instruction.”

In 1978, Democratic Attorney General John LaSota ruled unconstitutional a Yavapai County school’s inclusion of a seminary class in its curriculum. “By putting Seminary on the student's official schedule the resultant effect creates the impression that Seminary is a duly authorized class. ... and tends to blur the distinction between religious and secular classes and teachers,” LaSota wrote.

The LDS church has long sought to expand its footprint in Arizona, especially on Native lands, where it established settlements more than a century ago. In 1938, there were just five LDS seminary programs in the state, according to the church’s website. Today, that number has grown significantly.

The church's curriculum has also expanded. In 2024, LDS seminaries and Institutes of Religion launched new "Life Preparation lessons" aimed at youth in release time programs nationwide, according to a press release.

What Happened in Vail

Arizona law allows school boards to adopt policies excusing students from attendance for religious instruction. However, the law requires the religious activity to take place off school property.

“It requires that you go to whatever religious thing you're going to away from the school ground. It's not in the school ground,” said Dianne Post, legal director for Secular Communities of Arizona, which issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Vail Unified School District, calling the proposal unconstitutional.

Last month, the district's governing board unanimously voted to accept funds from the LDS church to build a structure near Cienega High School for use as a seminary classroom, according to the donation and lease agreement. Architectural plans were expected by 2026.

The district agreed to a 10-year lease, with a 9.5-year extension option, charging the church $600 a month to cover rent, utilities and maintenance. The church would have exclusive weekday access to the building from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The proposed 1,300-square-foot structure would include one classroom, one or two offices, and a restroom.

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The agreement was approved during meetings scheduled around spring break, with the first hearing on March 11 and the vote on March 25—a timeline that angered critics.

District administrators told KGUN9 they had been working with church leaders for 13 years to find space for release-time classes for Cienega students. While students wouldn’t receive academic credit for the classes, they could substitute them for an elective.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, which advocates for church-state separation, warned the district it was violating the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. “Public school districts cannot use public resources to benefit favored churches or assist churches in carrying out religious release-time classes,” a staff attorney wrote, noting the board was giving preferential treatment to the Mormon church.

Secular Communities of Arizona also pointed out that the deal appeared to breach sections of the district's own policies, including potential disruptions to school operations. District lawyers said the planned building would be located on district-owned property separate from the Cienega campus.

Post argued that the church’s offer to build the facility violated a key clause in Arizona’s constitution, which bars public agencies from giving donations or subsidies to private entities. Charging the church below market rate, she said, constituted an unlawful gift: “This ‘deal’ is clearly a gift to benefit the church and not the school.”

According to The Arizona Republic, more than 60 people attended an April 16 meeting to share  concerns, including retired teachers, parents and local residents who said they felt “enraged, frustrated and disenfranchised” with how the district handled the contract.

At least five people had previously lodged complaints with Secular Communities of Arizona, and another contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Two current district governing board members are alumni of the church-owned Brigham Young University, and another graduated from Liberty University, a private evangelical school affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.

After growing backlash and media coverage, the LDS church withdrew. “We are grateful to the Vail School District for their efforts to provide opportunities for our students,” the church wrote to LOOKOUT. “We regret that at this time we will not continue in negotiations. We recognize our right to practice our religion in public spaces but do not want our efforts to be a distraction to the community and district.”