With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (P. L. 107-110), local schools are under increasing pressure to raise test scores. Consequently, some schools have eliminated release time programs that allow public school students to be excused from classes to receive off-site spiritual instruction during school hours. Although school officials assume that participation in release time programs results in lower academic achievement, no research has explored the accuracy of this assumption. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between release time participation and academic outcomes. The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) was chosen to examine this relationship. Like many other large urban school districts, the OUSD faces a number of challenges meeting the federal academic goals. At the time of the study in 2004, release time programs existed in 10 schools in the OUSD system. Of these schools, one was excluded from the study since the school was closed and the students disbursed. In the 9 remaining schools, students were classified into two groups—release participant vs. non-release time participants. The dependent variables consisted of three sets of academic outcomes: two sets of standardized, state-wide scores, one of which is used by the California Department of Education to determine compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and one set of local test scores, which are administered at different points throughout the year. Bivariate analysis revealed that approximately 7% (N = 86) of the student body participated in release time in the schools in which the program was offered. African Americans were disproportionately likely to participate. Multivariate analysis with logistic regression and ANCOVA indicated that no significant relationship existed between participation in release time and academic outcomes on the two sets of standardized, state test scores. Similarly, analysis of the local test scores revealed largely non-significant results. The few significant differences that did occur suggested that participation in release time may actually improve test scores in the area of writing, and perhaps other areas as well. As officials wrestle with meeting the new federal mandates, the results have implications for school policy across the nation. Specifically, the findings suggest that efforts to eliminate release time programs may be misguided. Consistent with a number of other studies that have found an association between religious participation and academic performance (e.g., Regnerus & Elder, 2003), the results suggest that release time may represent a form of social capital, particularly in low-income neighborhoods, helping to instill values that directly and indirectly assist students to achieve academically. Unlike students in more affluent suburban areas, youth in low-income neighborhoods often lack access to the mediating resources that can foster academic achievement. In environments that lack participatory, social capital enhancing groups, release time programs may be one of the few such organization options that students have open to them.

Regnerus, M. D., & Elder, G. H., Jr. (2003). Staying on track in school: Religious influences in high- and low-risk settings. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42(4), 633-649.