Atheist group faults schools’ policies for opting out of ‘religion classes’

A new report critiques the processes used by schools to enable students to opt out of religion class.
Atheist Ireland claims most schools are not providing sufficiently transparent policies in their admissions statements and claims they are thereby defying the law.
The Education (Admission to Schools) Act, 2018 outlined new requirements that apply to admissions for September 2021 onwards. Among those is that “an admission policy should provide details of the school’s arrangements for students who do not wish to attend religious instruction”.
The survey details how 100 sample schools address the issue in their Admission Policies for 2020/21.
In response to a request for comment, the Department of Education said the manner in which any school ensures that the right to opt out of religion classes is upheld “is a matter for the school concerned”.