LOCAL EDUCATION · TEXAS
Texarkana ISD LifeWise & Released-Time Religious Instruction Tracker
Texarkana ISD approved a 2026–27 agreement with LifeWise Academy in a consent agenda that passed 7–0 on August 25, 2026. That is documented board approval; it does not establish which schools are participating or whether classes are currently meeting.
Approved provider agreement; operation unverified
Policy, provider plans and actual operation are tracked separately. Research baseline: October 7, 2026.
Current status and local rules
| Question | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Current board action | Signed August 25, 2026 minutes list the LifeWise MOU as consent item 7. The entire consent agenda passed 7–0; this was not a separate provider-only roll call. | Document / record |
| Provider and agreement term | LifeWise Academy; the approved MOU is for the 2026–27 school year. The official summary corroborates the signed minutes. | Document / record |
| Policy code and adoption record | The December 15, 2025 Board Briefs report adoption of Update 126, including addition of FEF(LOCAL), Attendance: Released Time. The full current policy and executed MOU were not retrieved. | Document / record |
| Participating schools and actual operation | A district-certified current roster and dated evidence of a completed class were not located. Staff or campus names elsewhere in the minutes are not a participating-school list. | Document / record |
| Hours and scheduling | The state framework is 1–5 hours weekly. The reviewed board records do not establish Texarkana’s actual weekly allowance, class-period restrictions or travel schedule. | Document / record |
| State requirements: consent and provider records | SB 1049 requires written parent/legal-guardian consent, provider-maintained attendance records available to the school, and provider responsibility and liability while the child is in its care. | Document / record |
| State requirements: transport and missed work | Transport, including disability-related transport, is assigned to the private entity, family or student. Students remain responsible for schoolwork issued during their absence. | Document / record |
| Academic credit | SB 1049 does not itself award academic credit for religious instruction. No separate local credit authorization was established in the records reviewed for this tracker. | Document / record |
| State limits on public resources | School funds may not facilitate the course except for de minimis costs. Use of school property is restricted unless allowed under a neutral equal-access policy for community organizations. | Document / record |
Texarkana, Texas: which district does this cover?
This page covers Texarkana Independent School District in Texas. It does not describe Texarkana schools in Arkansas or neighboring Red Lick ISD. A provider listing for the wider Texarkana area cannot establish participation in this particular district.
The local record has a useful sequence: a pilot, revisions, a December 2025 policy addition and a later school-year agreement. Parents can use those dates to request the correct version of the agreement instead of relying on an earlier launch announcement.
What the LifeWise agreement approval establishes
The board record names a provider and an agreement term. It does not reproduce the executed agreement, transportation plan, insurance certificate, screening documentation or campus schedule. Those details remain unpublished here until the underlying records can support them.
The seven-to-zero tally belongs to the August 2026 consent agenda as a whole. The earlier six-to-zero tally belongs to the August 2025 consent agenda. Neither is presented as a separate vote on the merits of religious instruction.
Before requesting release from a Texarkana school
Ask the campus for its current released-time request form, the policy governing the request and the 2026–27 provider arrangements applicable to that school. Confirm the total time away, departure and return procedures, transport for any disability-related needs, attendance reporting and the deadline for missed assignments.
Request the executed MOU to check who supervises travel and instruction, what insurance or screening documents are required locally, and how the school is notified if a session is canceled. Those questions are practical follow-up items, not claims that the reviewed agreement contains a particular requirement.
Board actions and implementation timeline
| Date | Record type | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| April 23, 2025 | Official approval summary | Board Briefs report approval of a LifeWise pilot for 2025–26; this predates SB 1049’s effective date. Source |
| August 27, 2025 | Approved minutes | A revision to the 2025–26 pilot was included in a consent agenda approved 6–0. Source |
| December 15, 2025 | Official approval summary | Update 126, including FEF(LOCAL), and a revised LifeWise MOU were approved. The summary does not supply the roll-call tally. Source |
| August 25, 2026 | Approved minutes | The 2026–27 LifeWise MOU was included in a consent agenda approved 7–0. Source |
| October 7, 2026 | Evidence review | Agreement and policy-adoption records verified; full current policy and MOU text and actual school participation remain open. Source |
How the Texas law applies
The enacted state framework requires a release policy, qualifying parent-requested absences, written consent, provider attendance records and liability, privately arranged transport including for disability-related needs, and responsibility for missed work. The statutory weekly range is 1–5 hours. Public-funding and property restrictions have limited exceptions.
Read SB 1049. The Texas statewide tracker separates those requirements from local choices and explains TEA guidance, attendance and academic credit.
Frequently asked questions
Did Texarkana ISD approve LifeWise for 2026–27?
Its signed August 25, 2026 minutes document approval of the LifeWise MOU within a consent agenda that passed 7–0. Source
Which Texarkana schools participate in LifeWise?
A current school roster was not established by the reviewed board summary. Approval of the agreement does not identify every participating campus. Source
Is the 2026–27 program verified as operating?
This edition verifies agreement approval. It has not independently verified a completed class or a current attendance roster. Source
Does the agreement provide school credit?
No academic-credit entitlement was established. SB 1049 itself creates an excused-absence framework, not a religious-course credit award. Source
Source and document library
Research baseline: October 7, 2026. Source type and document vintage are shown below. A provider statement, agenda and final adopted policy establish different facts.
- Texarkana ISD signed minutes — August 25, 2026
Approved meeting minutes. Page 3 was visually reviewed: the 2026–27 LifeWise MOU is item 7 in the consent agenda approved 7–0. This establishes agreement approval, not student attendance.
- Texarkana ISD Board Briefs — August 25, 2026
Official board-action summary. Independently identifies approval of an MOU with LifeWise Academy for 2026–27; agreement text and school roster are not included.
- Texarkana ISD signed minutes — August 27, 2025
Approved meeting minutes. Pages 2–3: consent agenda includes a LifeWise pilot revision; the whole consent agenda passed 6–0. No separate LifeWise roll call is claimed.
- Texarkana ISD Board Briefs — April 23, 2025
Official board-action summary. Reports approval of the LifeWise Academy pilot for 2025–26. A summary is not the full provider agreement.
- Texarkana ISD Board Briefs — December 15, 2025
Official board-action summary. Reports approval of Update 126, including addition of FEF(LOCAL), Attendance—Released Time, and a revised LifeWise MOU. The summary does not provide the full policy, agreement or roll-call tally.
- Texarkana ISD board minutes archive
Official district record index. Use the signed minutes and dated summaries for action evidence. Full current policy text, MOU conditions and operating roster remain to be obtained; the December 2025 summary identifies the FEF(LOCAL) addition.
- SB 1049 enrolled text: Education Code §25.0875 and implementation dates
Enacted Texas legislation. Sections 1–4; effective September 1, 2025. Policy adoption due January 1, 2026. Reviewed October 7, 2026.
- TEA adopted 2025–26 attendance handbook, §3.6.3
Adopted agency guidance — prior school year. Page 64 discusses released-time attendance accounting; adjacent guidance addresses documentation and missed work. Do not relabel this as the adopted 2026–27 edition.
Update log and next records
Published source-linked findings with separate labels for law, policy, provider agreements, announced launches and activity. Next review: current adopted policy, approved minutes, school consent procedures and confirmation of any operating program.
Updates require a dated source and a stated change in status. No automatic monitoring schedule is active. Submit a documented correction · Editorial standards.
Explore the released-time network
National laws and research register · Ohio law and district status · North Carolina law and district status · Texas SB 1049 and district status · Bedford County, Tennessee
Wake County · Cumberland County / Fayetteville · Edenton-Chowan · Bladen County / Bladenboro · Plano ISD · Houston ISD · Westerville · Upper Arlington · Hilliard · Twinsburg