My 6-year-old daughter looked sweetly but boldly into my eyes and said, “Dad, ‘May’ is what you say now, but I know it just means ‘No’ later.”

She isn’t wrong.

It is easier for me to tell my children, or anyone for that matter, that I “may” do something when I have already decided that the request won’t fit my schedule or will interrupt something I already have planned.

This same truth, spoken from the mouths of countless children to their parents, is now where many parents find ourselves as we petition our superintendents and school boards to implement and allow released time for religious instruction programs.

The Alabama State law clearly says “May,” but each parent is hearing a clear “No” from school officials. Despite community interest lists that balloon with signatures of parents and community members from different denominations showing support for release time religious instruction, the “May” they were told comes back as the same resounding “No.”

This is why we must demand a bill is passed to change this legal “May” to a more definitive “Shall,” requiring public school boards and leaders to honor the most basic of human and American rights—parental rights—by establishing released time religious instruction policies that do not allow school officials’ words to drown out the voices of parents and community members.

This is not a partisan issue, it is an issue of parental rights and ensuring that every parent has the opportunity to make decisions about their child’s education without undue interference from school officials.

I am a father of four and have been a foster father to an additional five. I am convinced that my children and yours hold the keys to America’s future, and because of that, I am passionate about the American parent’s right to raise our children without government interference. I have been at the forefront of fighting for release time religious instruction in the community where my children attend public school.

According to a Supreme Court ruling from 1952, released time religious instruction programs must meet five criteria to be legal:

(1) The parent or guardian of the student gives written consent.

(2) The sponsoring entity maintains attendance records and makes them available to the public school the student attends.

(3) The sponsoring entity makes provisions for and assumes liability for the student who is excused for released time.

(4) No public funds are expended other than de minimis administrative costs.

(5) No public school personnel are involved in providing the religious instruction.

However, after gathering local community support and forming a steering committee, our school officials refused to even acknowledge that the plan and program we proposed met those legal standards.

They admitted it wasn’t because they didn’t believe the program met those clear legal standards, but because they were worried about what program would be next to ask.

That is how the current law and this “may” are being used by those in power, and it is why the bill to replace the “may” with “shall” is so crucial. The voices of school officials prevented 170 voices from being clearly heard. We were never even permitted to present to the school board for approval because of the stonewall tactics we faced.

Like most things, I believe this is an issue of power and control and where it should reside. Currently, the voices of the school boards drown out parents’ voices. Is that how it should be? I don’t believe so, and I don’t believe any parent would.

Every student and every parent should have the same opportunity to benefit from release time religious instruction, should they so choose, free from interference from officials desperate to dictate and control programming to the community they are supposed to represent.

If you agree, please contact your local representatives and school board members to express your support for changing the law from “may” to “shall.”

Together, we can ensure that our voices are heard and that our children have the opportunity to benefit from released time religious instruction.

Austin Morse is a sales executive from Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He is a father and a graduate of Jacksonville State University.