[SeeGov Enhanced] DPS board sets one-hour limit for off-campus religious instruction

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Southpoint AccessWes Platt

The Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously Thursday to let students leave school for private religious instruction for up to one hour a week.

That time includes the trip there and back.

Board members said they had to adopt a policy to comply with state law, and some want to revisit its safeguards.

The instruction must take place off campus and be requested in writing by a parent or guardian. Families must arrange transportation. Students won't receive academic credit, and DPS employees may neither encourage nor discourage participation. The district's Policy 3510 bars the absence during math, science, social studies, and English language arts classes, as well as state-required tests, screenings, remedial instruction, interventions, and retesting. Parents must document each visit, and students must make up missed work.

North Carolina's 2026 budget law requires school systems to authorize at least one and no more than four hours a week for what it calls “released time religious instruction.”

“This is one of those things that we have to do to remain in compliance,” said Board Member Millicent Rogers. She said the Policy Committee wants to revisit the policy in January. Members could then look at how many students use it, whether problems have come up, and what else the district can do to protect students.