Everett School District No. 2
Everett Public Schools' mission is to inspire, educate and prepare each student to achieve high standards, contribute to our community, and thrive in a global society. They will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and skills to adapt to the emerging needs of a changing world. Our more than 2,500 staff work passionately with over 21,000 students to ensure equitable, high-caliber education for each student. Annually our students academically outperform the state average and demonstrate year over year improvement in most categories.And, thanks to our hardworking educators, success is within reach for all of our students with an increased emphasis on reading at early levels, strong monitoring and collaboration, and core focus on climate, culture, systems and instruction. In 2019, our 4-year graduation rate improved again, moving up to 95.9%. This work is led by our strategic plan and annual operating plans.www.everettsd.org
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Search complete. 17 mentions across 11 episodes found for "Everett School District No. 2".
Oct 20, 2026
Tudor DixonHOST
And you're going to be horrified when you hear this.
Tudor DixonHOST
So their complaint centers on Everett Public Schools in Washington and LifeWise Academy.
Tudor DixonHOST
It's a nonprofit organization that offers voluntary Bible instruction off campus, but during the school day.
Tudor DixonHOST
So according to the federal lawsuit filed in December of 2025, the district imposed restrictions on the program that allegedly required students who were returning to school to keep their Bibles and the religious materials sealed inside of an envelope inside of their backpacks.
Tudor DixonHOST
And under the agreement, This is the great part.
Tudor DixonHOST
This is why I tell you guys to fight back on this stuff.
Tudor DixonHOST
Under the agreement, Everett Public Schools agreed to issue a public apology and pay $275,000 in attorney's fees.
Tudor DixonHOST
That is a hit to the pocketbook.
Tudor DixonHOST
And you're going to be horrified when you hear this.
Tudor DixonHOST
So their complaint centers on Everett Public Schools in Washington and LifeWise Academy.
Tudor DixonHOST
It's a nonprofit organization that offers voluntary Bible instruction off campus but during the school day.
Tudor DixonHOST
So according to the federal lawsuit filed in December of 2025, the district imposed restrictions on the program that allegedly required students who were returning to school to keep their Bibles and the religious materials sealed inside of an envelope inside of their backpacks.
Tudor DixonHOST
And under the agreement, This is the great part.
Tudor DixonHOST
This is why I tell you guys to fight back on this stuff.
Tudor DixonHOST
Under the agreement, Everett Public Schools agreed to issue a public apology and pay $275,000 in attorney's fees.
Tudor DixonHOST
That is a hit to the pocketbook.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
We'll share that with you today.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
And then finally, in keeping with our school districts, the Everett School District has agreed to settle a case.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
They lose.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
The challengers win.
15 MINS LATER
Carleen JohnsonHOST
But I would think that if they're going to do so, They will do so with some urgency, knowing that Cali's, you know, next wrestling season begins here in just a matter of weeks.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
And then, of course, voters will be deciding on Initiative 638 on your ballot, having to do with the protection of girls in sports.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
Now, finally, in keeping with our sort of school district theme, I guess, today, the Everett School District has posted an apology on its website for how the district treated a Bible club at an Everett School District elementary school.
Carleen JohnsonHOST
This came after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of these students who were part of LifeWise Academy.
Billy HallowellHOST
Yeah, this is interesting.
Billy HallowellHOST
Um, this Washington State school district, Everett School District out in, you know, again, in Washington, they've agreed to pay $275,000 in legal fees.
Billy HallowellHOST
Uh, that's taxpayer dollars by the way because this is a pretty big mistake to make, um, you know, an alleged mistake since they, you know, are agreeing to a settlement.
Billy HallowellHOST
Um, and I don't wanna accuse them of anything, but when you settle it's usually 'cause you want it to go away.
Casey HarperHOST
That's VOTE to 67742.
Casey HarperHOST
All right, this week, LifeWise Academy and its attorneys announced that a settlement was reached with the Everett Public Schools in Washington State.
Casey HarperHOST
Now, this closes the book on the legal fight over the school district's hostility against the nonprofit, which just provides voluntary privately funded off-campus Bible education to public school students.
Casey HarperHOST
during school hours.
Casey HarperHOST
All right.
Casey HarperHOST
So this is sort of settled Supreme Court precedent, as you said, and the school's not paying for it, is what I heard you say.
Casey HarperHOST
So how was there a problem here with the Everett Public Schools in Washington state?
Holly RandallGUEST
The program in Everett was operating successfully, but then the school started implementing different burdensome restrictions and sort of obstacles to its operation.
ScafiHOST
This is in the Washington state in the United States, not to be confounded with Washington, D.C., Washington State, which also happens to be one of the most secular states in the United States of America, all of that east – the west coast of America tends to be – tends to lean more secular as far as their demographics goes.
ScafiHOST
But what happens is that the Everett Public Schools board directors in Washington – Let me backtrack a little for a second here and explain to you one thing.
ScafiHOST
You know special religious education in Australia? SRE.
ScafiHOST
So basically in Australia, there is this program called SRE.
ScafiHOST
And for each character of the Bible that they encounter, they classify them in terms of a core value like kindness or courage or faith and so on.
ScafiHOST
It's a very nice program.
ScafiHOST
However… Not a lot of people were enjoying that, particularly the board members in the Everett Public Schools Board, because they were making the students' lives as hard as they could with that program.
ScafiHOST
Let me explain to you how.
Jim SchneiderHOST
Um, that, truly, uh, uh, troubling here.
Jim SchneiderHOST
Joel Penton, founder and CEO of LifeWise Academy, told Fox News that the parents describe the emotional toll of the Everett School District's restrictions that also included requiring families to submit permission slips every week for their children to attend voluntary off-campus Bible instruction.
Jim SchneiderHOST
Well, the school district has been forced to hide, uh, had tried to force children to hide their Bibles.
Jim SchneiderHOST
Uh, let's go to Richard in Franklin County, Washington.
Keith BlackHOST
The settlement, as approved by the Everett Public Schools Board of Directors, requires the board to undergo religious liberty training, make changes to the district's policies governing religious activities, issue a public written apology for its actions visible for six months, and pay two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars in attorney's fees.
Keith BlackHOST
LifeWise Academy, which provides voluntary Bible education to public school students during school hours under released time religious instruction laws, alleged the Everett School District singled out LifeWise for onerous regulation and hostile remarks.
Keith BlackHOST
Joel Penton, CEO of LifeWise Academy, said in a statement, "This settlement is a welcome victory for Everett families who simply want the freedom to choose Bible education for their children during school hours.
Keith BlackHOST
We are pleased that LifeWise will receive the same access and respect given to other optional programs.
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