Hilliard-based LifeWise Inc., which holds offsite Bible classes for children during school hours, has reached a settlement after suing a northwest Ohio parent for sharing their curriculum online.
LifeWise sued Zachary Parrish in Indiana-based federal court this July for copyright infringement after he shared copies of their teaching materials.
According to a copy of the settlement provided by Parrish, the organization is required to share an up-to-date curriculum with anyone who requests it on their website. Parrish signed the settlement on Dec. 20 and Joel Penton, the CEO of LifeWise, signed it Monday. It is now awaiting final approval from the court.
LifeWise has already made the form to request a temporary full curriculum review available on their website as of Monday afternoon, a spokesperson confirmed. However, the form includes a caveat that access requests can be denied, although the settlement specifies that any adult can request it as long as they respect LifeWise’s terms and conditions.
A LifeWise spokesperson confirmed the form would be updated but did not specify when.
What is in the settlement between LifeWise and Parrish?
The settlement requires Parrish to delete all copies of the curriculum he still has and ask others with copies to delete them as well.
Joel Penton, the CEO of LifeWise, said in a statement shared by a spokesperson that the organization dropped the lawsuit because Parrish agreed to take down his copies of the curriculum and will not distribute others in the future.
“We believe in transparency and have encouraged families and communities to learn more about LifeWise and the positive impact of Bible-based character education,” Penton said. “Our concern has always been ensuring that the parameters of our licensing agreement with the publisher of the curriculum are followed.”
While Parrish isn’t completely satisfied with everything in the settlement — for example, the curriculum can’t be printed out directly and will only be available in 48-hour windows — he appreciates that LifeWise’s teaching materials will be more widely available.
“It’s a big win: that’s what this whole thing was about,” Parrish said. “It was never about me infringing on their copyright, it was about this (curriculum) needs to be available.”
Zachary Parrish, a parent in Defiance, Ohio, was sued by LifeWise for copyright infringement and $150,000 after sharing their curriculum online.
LifeWise opened up a limited curriculum access link this summer after filing the lawsuit against Parrish, but he said he knew of several people who were not allowed to review the curriculum.
The window to review curriculum materials is still 48 hours, but people are allowed to submit as many requests as they want to.
There are a few limitations: the materials can’t be printed out or saved as a full PDF file. People can share and comment on screenshots, as long as they don’t constitute an entire page.
People need to be at least 18 years old to access the curriculum, according to the settlement. LifeWise is also allowed to collect and store data shared on the review form.
A LifeWise bus parked outside the Westerville City Schools board meeting, which voted Monday to rescind a policy allowing the program that allows the program that teaches the Bible to public students during the school day.
Parrish is still allowed to access the portal to request the curriculum if he wants.
“They didn’t tell me I couldn’t, surprisingly. Even my attorneys were surprised that they didn’t ban me from accessing it personally,” Parrish said. “But I don’t care. It was never about me looking at it, it’s about the parents who want to know what their kids are being taught,” he said, adding that his child wouldn’t be enrolled in the program.
If LifeWise doesn’t stay true to their agreement, Parrish said he could see them back in court to uphold them to the settlement agreement.
“That works both ways: if I don’t delete my copies, they can do the same, but I’m going to make sure I abide by everything. I just hope they do too, because I will absolutely drag them right back into court if they don’t,” Parrish said.
Why LifeWise sued Zachary Parrish for copyright infringement
The organization sued Parrish for $150,000, claiming that he violated copyright law after sharing curriculum materials. LifeWise is dropping that financial demand in the settlement agreement.
Parrish got involved with advocating against LifeWise after teachers asked his daughter, then in 2nd grade at Defiance Public Schools, to join the program. He signed up as a volunteer with the organization to get the curriculum materials, and then shared them with other parents.
LifeWise launched in 2019 and has been expanding since. The organization projected this fall that 50,000 public school students in 29 states would be program participants.
The organization is allowed to operate under religious release policies. Two districts in central Ohio rescinded their policies earlier this year, but the state legislature recently passed a new law awaiting the governor’s signature mandating districts have a policy allowing students to leave school grounds for religious instruction during the day.
awinfrey@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: LifeWise settling lawsuit against parent, sharing curriculum online