By Kate Scanlon

(OSV News) — Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine signed the Religious Expression Days Act into law on July 24, requiring every public school to adopt a policy that “reasonably accommodates” students’ sincerely held religious beliefs and practices.

The new law allows students in grades K-12 to be absent for up to three school days per school year for religious expression so students can celebrate major religious holidays that are not school holidays without them counting against their attendance record.

The Catholic Conference of Ohio did not take a position on the law, HB 214, but did testify previously during the legislative session as proponents of a similar bill that would have also made accommodations for students in public schools to be excused for holy days.

Brian Hickey, the conference’s executive director, told OSV News the group “welcomes the provisions of the Religious Expression Days Act that recognize the importance of holy days for Catholic families in Ohio.”

“Providing Catholic students, and all students of faith, the freedom to celebrate holy days with their families enriches our society’s commitment to religious liberty and acknowledges the centrality of religion to Ohioans,” he said on July 30.

Lebanon City Schools Superintendent Isaac Seevers told Ohio’s WSYX-TV that its public schools work with families to accommodate students’ religious beliefs.

“We have students from a wide variety of religious, you know, expressions here in Lebanon,” Seevers said. “We have students who regularly communicate through their families. You know, ‘our kids aren’t going to be in school today because of a holy holiday’ or something.”

Seevers said parents should continue to work with school officials to ensure students are not missing critical instruction time.

“If they miss a day when there’s a test, how do we allow them to have those opportunities to make that up?” he said. “Those holidays are important, but it doesn’t excuse the students from the work either.”

According to data on the Ohio Catholic Conference’s website, as of January 2023, Catholics made up about 16% of Ohio’s population.