There were challenges, but the concept was upheld and a defined implementation resulted, blocking hostility to religious instruction for these students whose parents approved, permitting accommodation yet precluded public funding.
McCollum's suit stated that her eight-year-old son had been coerced and ostracized by school officials because her family had chosen to not participate in the district's in-school religious instruction program.
[4] It ruled that the Champaign program was unconstitutional since it used the state's compulsory education system to aid in the teaching of religious doctrine and tax-supported school buildings were being used.
In the aftermath of that decision, McCollum v. Board of Education, the number of released time classes dropped by 12 percent across the nation.
The court found that: There are approximately 1,000 released time programs in operation today, ranging from kindergarten to high school, with 250,000 students enrolled.
In some areas, including most public school districts in the state of Utah, released time programs allow students a daily class period, which may be used for extracurricular religious studies.
A multi-denominational Christian organization that supports Released Time Bible Education across the country is School Ministries, Inc.
It was created in 1990 to act as an association that assists local communities in the creation of Released Time Bible Education and to provide support for existing programs.
In the Western United States, such as in Idaho and Utah, it is common to find an LDS seminary building within close walking distance of public high schools, sometimes directly adjacent.
[15] A 1970s participant "from PS xxx in Brooklyn (walked) to a synagogue down the block" described it[15]: 2018 interview as "They lit the candles with us on Chanukah, told us stories, brought us matzoh for Passover... On Sukkot the children munched on snacks inside a sukkah."