A school district in Washington state is being forced to apologize, fork over $275,000, and attend religious liberty training after forcing students to hide Bibles in concealed envelopes.School officials in the Everett School District were accused of trying to make it difficult for children to participate in a release-time program on Christianity. The elementary students were forced to hide Bibles in “concealed envelopes,” and parents were forced to repeatedly submit permission slips.LifeWise Academy provides optional, privately funded Bible education to public school students during school hours. Classes take place off school property and require parental permission.Following complaints, First Liberty Institute and Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of a LifeWise parent and staff member after the district imposed restrictions that singled out the program.According to the lawsuit, the restrictions included excluding LifeWise from community events and flyer displays, requiring burdensome weekly parental reauthorization, and requiring students to keep materials received at LifeWise, including Bibles, sealed in envelopes in their backpacks.Additionally, a school board member was openly hostile about the program and “publicly declared animus toward LifeWise Academy” while grossly mischaracterizing the program during a school board meeting.School board member Charles Adkins accused LifeWise of engaging in an “effort to turn our nation into a fascist theocracy,” and publicly declared at a board meeting, “I want to make it very, extremely, abundantly clear, that yes, I do in fact hold animus toward LifeWise Academy.”In April 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington granted a preliminary injunction against the district.Now, LifeWise has announced a settlement with the school district.Joel Penton, CEO of LifeWise Academy, shared, “This settlement is a welcome victory for Everett families who simply want the freedom to choose Bible education for their children.”“Parents and students deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of their religious beliefs. We appreciate the district’s commitment to equal treatment and its agreement to issue a public apology. We look forward to moving ahead and continuing to serve the Everett community with Bible-based character education during school hours.”First Liberty notes, “An apology will be posted on the District’s website, which reads in part: ‘The District recognizes that comments made at various Board meetings that concerned LifeWise, including by Directors, were offensive and hurtful to the families participating in LifeWise programming. For that, the District and its Board of Directors offer a sincere apology.'”“‘We recognize that these statements negatively affected the exercise of your faith. The District values the rights of all families to raise their children according to their own religious beliefs. We further apologize to any students or families that were made to feel by these comments that your religious beliefs are unworthy of respect.'”Following the settlement, Penton added, “We are grateful to the Everett parents who courageously stood up for their children and defended their rights throughout the legal process.”“Our focus remains on providing Bible education to families who want it and helping students develop character that serves them throughout their lives.” The post WA School District That Forced Kids to Hide Bibles in “Concealed Envelopes” Must Now Apologize, Undergo Religious Liberty Training, and Fork Over $275K appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.