A Christian group teaches public school students during the school day. Their footprint is growing

Joel Penton, founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy, poses at LifeWise Academy offices Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Hilliard, Ohio. The Ohio-based Christian nonprofit that organizes off-campus Bible classes for public school students has taken off in Indiana since the state passed legislation forcing school districts to comply. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

An Ohio nonprofit that provides off-site Bible instruction to public school students during classroom hours says it will triple its programs in Indiana this fall after new legislation forced school districts to comply.

To participating families, nondenominational LifeWise Academy programs supplement religious instruction. But critics in Indiana worry the programs spend public school resources on religion, proselytize to students of other faiths and remove children from class in a state already struggling with literacy.

LifeWise founder and CEO Joel Penton told The Associated Press that many parents want religious instruction to be part of their children’s education.