Homeschoolers Should Reject “School Choice”

I tried to be quiet on school choice because the response to it has been overwhelmingly positive. Rather than voice my concerns, I sat back and watched as conservatives, Christians, and homeschoolers championed school choice legislation. Proponents keep repeating phrases like “the money follows the child” and “fund students not systems.” It sounds nice, but closer examination reveals school choice is a trap. Everyone, especially homeschoolers, needs to reject school choice legislation before it’s too late. Allow me to begin by telling you what finally made me unwilling to quietly watch school choice take hold around me.

A School Choice Takeover?

When I lived in Illinois, we had a great Christian homeschool group. It put on a God-focused convention, purposed to train families how to disciple their children and take responsibility for their education, and it also offered homeschool resources and activities throughout the year. I assumed all states would have a similar group. Unfortunately, I was wrong and missed it when I moved to my current state of residence.

My current state had a Christian homeschool group before I moved here, but they shut down and left a hole in the Christian homeschool community. However, last year things changed. Seemingly out of nowhere, we were bombarded with marketing materials about a large homeschool conference right here in our state. The speakers were exactly who you would expect, and there was even a celebrity guest speaker. Most homeschoolers I knew, myself included, were very excited to have a local homeschool conference and a Christian homeschool group again.

But… One thing seemed odd to me. The sole sponsor for the event was a private Christian school. It has traditionally been a brick and mortar school, but during the pandemic it began to offer a virtual school to families throughout the state. Honestly, I thought that was a brilliant move on the part of the school. With so many Christian families stuck at home, why not give them the opportunity to experience a Christian education? But why were they sponsoring a homeschool conference?

Warning Signs

Well, the conference is back again this year. The newly formed Christian homeschool group had not created a website aside from the one for the conference. Also, there had been no attempt to reach the homeschool community all year until it was time to advertise for the homeschool conference again. And boy, did homeschoolers jump on this event! It sold all the discounted hotel rooms almost immediately. Interest was even higher this year than last year.

I went back to the website to see what they offered. Again, the speakers are going to be a who’s who of the homeschool conference circuit. Additionally, the conference has secured a celebrity guest speaker. The sponsor, as last time, was just this one private school. Adding to my suspicion, the website, which offers very little information on who is behind this conference (i.e., board members of this “home educators” organization), shares stats that seemingly classify virtual school and homeschool together. The site acknowledges there is a difference, but I suspect the creator of this web page sees the two as a team effort to get kids out of public schools.

After my husband received an email saying this private school was willing to pay for pastors and their wives to attend the conference and give them ridiculously discounted rooms, my husband and I were beyond suspicious. Why was a private school pushing so hard for people to go to a homeschool conference?

The Call

After a little research, I discovered that this private school is, at least partially, funded by school choice vouchers. Not to mention, the homeschool conference features a session that is all about this private school and how it offers free Christian curriculum that can be completed through their online school all while staying at home. Some call this informational. I call this a sales pitch.

How many people interested in homeschooling will be pulled into a school choice option because of the “free” stuff and perceived ease of doing it through a school? (It’s still a lot of responsibility on parents. Don’t be fooled. I know folks who use this school, and they wouldn’t say it has made school “easy.”) I viewed this as a fox in the henhouse situation. So, my husband, who agreed with me, called the president of this school and they spoke for a bit.

Incompatible Bedfellows

The president, to his credit, was polite, more than willing to speak to my husband, and appears to genuinely believe he is being a help. I’m thankful to know he’s not some slimy business guy looking to make a buck. I’m still not satisfied with his answers, though. The president took notice that our state was lacking a Christian homeschool group when, as he reported, he was looking to offer help to the homeschool community. Then, he decided that he would take it upon himself to spearhead a home education conference.

I say “home education” rather than homeschool because he is partnering his Christian virtual voucher school with homeschool. I think it is essential to clarify the difference because a homeschooler has reported to me there has been quite a bit of confusion with new virtual school parents asking how to report their homeschool because they didn’t know they were not homeschooling. The state required nothing from them because their children were not legally considered homeschoolers. I wonder why that wasn’t more clear to them.

My husband pushed back about the lack of transparency with the conference and said it was not the most appropriate pairing – homeschool and school choice voucher school. However, the president (as I understand it) believes there is no conflict of interest and sees homeschool and school choice as being able to work in tandem. Although sincere on his part, this take on the situation proves he has no clue what the vision of most homeschoolers is and why we choose to remove ourselves from all government entanglements. Not to mention, his creating this “homeschool” conference essentially squashes any opportunity for a real homeschool group to form because most people won’t understand his group is not a homeschool group, and no grassroots homeschool organization can compete with his government money.

Before We Move On

I want to say that I understand why people may choose a voucher school like the one I’m discussing. It offers top notch curricula, great opportunities for field trips, resources that are often difficult for some families to obtain, and teaching support that is often missing in the homeschool world. So, I’m not here to shame anyone. The more I learn about school choice, though, the more I am convicted it’s a problem for the future of homeschool freedoms. Let’s discuss that now.

What Is School Choice?

After my unsatisfactory response from the president of the private school and the lack of support from fellow homeschoolers in my outrage, I wondered if maybe I was just too worked up. It’s been known to happen.

Why were parents so eager to accept school choice? Why is nearly every conservative politician pushing it? What is school choice, and why does everyone love it. Life Hack: If nearly everyone loves and supports something, be suspicious…

The School Choice Claim

Those advocating school choice claim it allows parents the freedom to give their children the education of their choosing. I guess they all missed the memo because we already have school choice. Parents can send their kids to public school, private school, or homeschool. Literally, no one is going to stop you as long as you follow the law.

School choice legislation, though, is ultimately about control. It all aims to put the government between parents and their children’s education. In a very disappointing move Republicans, who are known to push for smaller government, are the loudest voices behind programs like school vouchers which is just a tool to control education in this country. And we are handing that control over throughout the nation each time we vote for school choice legislation.

What Are The School Choice Programs?

Each state appears to be pushing whatever program looks most likely to find acceptance among the people. I consistently hear and read about three. So, I’ll address those three today.

School Choice: Vouchers

School vouchers allow families to receive government funds (i.e., vouchers) to use in order to pay tuition at the school of their choosing. It is with vouchers that you will most often hear the chorus of “fund students not systems.”

The idea repeated in school choice circles is that if we are already paying taxes for education, then we should be able to choose how that money is spent. Since when was that a thing? I’m no tax advocate, but taxes don’t work this way. The government steals collects its money and then uses it as the government deems fit. If we all personally decide what our tax money is for, then why have a government at all?

A Little Voucher History

Before we move on, let’s look at the shady history of vouchers. School vouchers were voted down between 1966 and 2000 in all but one of twenty-five attempts in state ballot initiatives to secure public funding for private schools. Clearly, Americans opposed school vouchers.

In 2002, Dick DeVos suggested hiding the fact that vouchers were a conservative proposal and to keep the work on school vouchers quiet. Moreover he suggested making it appear like more of a grassroots movement.

Well, mission accomplished, because today lobbyists are pushing hard for school vouchers. We have men like Corey DeAngelis, a childless atheist, pushing for government entanglements in education…for the children, of course.

🧵 Corey DeAngelis is working for the lobbyists. Lobbyists are very similar to unions. They have large money backing them, get the red-carpet treatment from our legislators, and have more sway than the average citizen voter.

Another thing about Corey: he’s part of UNESCO. 1/ https://t.co/P1gfdLwG4R

— Nickitruesdell (@nickitruesdell1) February 1, 2023

School Choice: Education Savings Accounts (ESAs)

States with ESAs give eligible families a government-authorized savings account with limited uses. Think: Health Saving Accounts (HSAs). These funds can be used for community college, private tutoring, homeschool, etc. Also, as it should be no surprise, all vendors must be government-approved.

School Choice: Charter Schools

Charter schools are defined as schools that receive government funding but operate independently of the established state school system in which it is located.

These institutions are public schools, but they operate differently. Charter schools can be more experimental in approach and tailor the curriculum to their students’ needs. They don’t have free rein, though. They must work according to the agreements (i.e., charters) they have made with the government. In addition, these schools are held to a higher level of accountability with parents and the government.

Do they have more freedom than a traditional public school to choose curriculum? Yes. Are they free from governmental input on the curriculum they choose. No.

School Choice Requires Us To Trust The Government

Unless you were born yesterday, you know we can’t just trust the government. In the last few years the government’s talking heads have told lie after lie after lie, and anyone who questioned them was shut down, silenced, or canceled. So, pardon me if I see the government’s track record with truth, accountability, and acting in my best interest and think, “Yea…no, dawg.”

We know a few things about what happens when the government legislates itself into something. The government takes over, spends gobs of money, and is simply bad at whatever it does.

1. School Choice Will Come With Regulations For Homeschoolers

There is no such thing as “free” money. Whenever the government gives out money or funds something, it will attach strings. Friends, you aren’t walking away without owing the government something, even if you don’t know about it yet.

So cynical, right? I admit it. I’m a very cynical woman, but I looked for evidence to discredit my cynicism. Here’s what I found.

West Virginia

West Virginia passed school choice legislation in 2021 which provided money for parents to spend on education expenses for their children. Homeschoolers were included in the legislation. In fact, homeschoolers worked with the government in formulating this legislation. They accepted that families receiving government money would be expected to work within governmental regulations, but they added a provision protecting homeschoolers who did not accept the funds. Job well done. Until…whoops.

This year, 2023, West Virginia has filed a bill to remove that protection for homeschoolers who chose not to accept government funding. Why? The popular theory is that West Virginia legislators want to push those government regulations on all homeschoolers. As of this writing, the conclusion to this bill is yet to be seen.

Florida

Florida lawmakers introduced House Bill 1 (HB 1) on January 19th, 2023. HB 1 offers government funds to homeschoolers and families with children in private school. This carrot dangles from a big string, though. First, students must take government-approved tests annually. I’m not sure how any parent could help a child successfully pass a government-approved test without also using a government-approved curriculum. Something tells me Apologia, My Father’s World, Sonlight, and BJU Press won’t be on that approved list. (Update: The bill passed and some changes have been made to it, but homeschoolers are still included. Thankfully, it appears some of the heavy government involvement has lessened…for now.)

Second, each family would meet with a Choice Navigator every year.

This individual is intended to assist parents in determining their children’s educational needs. Then, of course, the Choice Navigator will ensure the parents meet those needs. Further information about this position has yet to be shared. But I have my concerns…

Alberta, Canada

The examples so far are threats to our freedoms as homeschoolers, but has a government actually mandated a particular curriculum? Yes. Look no further than our neighbors to the north who, as you may have noticed, are a little further down the road with an overreaching government than the United States.

Private schools could receive government funding through a voucher program that had been around for twenty years. There were no problems of which to speak until 2016. Suddenly, the vouchers came with a new stipulation. In order to keep the funds, these schools had to offer an LGBTQ+ curriculum. Almost all the private schools received those funds, therefore, nearly all those private schools were forced to teach a government-mandated curriculum.

By the way, this affected homeschoolers, too, because many were homeschooling through the private schools.

UNESCO

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization. In 2021, they shared a background paper for the Global Monitoring Report discussing goals for education across the globe. Two things jumped out at me as not just unsettling but worrisome.

First, the paper had a strong focus on equal outcomes (i.e., equity). This is different than equality and can only be achieved by taking opportunities and resources away from some people and giving it to others. Socialism, anyone?

Homeschooling is often seen as a privileged person’s form of education despite the fact that anyone can homeschool. (Please, check out Nicki Truesdell for more on this.) If homeschool is a perceived privilege, do think the United Nations wants people to continue doing it? And don’t forget, one of the loudest voices for school choice is UNESCO member, Corey DeAngelis.

Second, there is this gem of a quote. School choice “recently emerged as the main policy option to tackle education inequalities, resulting from private actors’ involvement in the provision of education.” Who do you suspect these “private actors” are, Mom? I think it’s us. They can’t achieve complete equity with pesky parents advocating for their children’s well-being, after all.

2. School Choice Will Have Hidden Costs

When the government gives out free money, it’s not really free. Remember, the government doesn’t earn money, it takes it from American citizens in the form of taxes. Therefore, when money is getting handed out, it’s coming from you and me.

Thankfully, our government officials are good at keeping spending down while resisting the urge to grow programs and create bloated departments. Oh, wait. I meant the opposite of that.

We can count on school choice funding to increase the number of eligible families, as well. Realistically, the government probably wants to have full control of education and disseminating necessary funds is a great way to get started.

And where will all this money come from? Your family’s bottom line. Sure, school choice looks like free money, but the inevitable increased taxes will mean you are really the one funding school choice.

Don’t Forget Our Own Greed

Another hidden cost is our own greed. When there’s “free” money to be had, then you can guarantee there will people angling a way to get it whether they qualify or not. Case in point…California.

Homeschools register as private schools in California, so they are not subject to the same regulations as public schools. California doesn’t offer funding to private schools, but charter schools are eligible for government money. Guess what homeschoolers began doing. I bet you figured it out already. They started registering themselves as charter schools in order to get the money.

For some financial support, these parents gave up educational freedom to participate in public school at home. Meanwhile, they have increased the costs to taxpayers and set a precedent of homeschoolers inviting government involvement into their children’s education.

3. The Government Doesn’t Usually Improve Things

Any time the government is about to take over something, Americans let out a collective sigh and eye roll. You’ve been to a DMV, right? Other than feeling joyless, it hardly seems like things are being run well and with the best employees available. But maybe my experience in various regions of two states is not enough to claim government-run departments, offices, programs, etc. are lesser versions of what could be done through private ownership. Other than the DMV, has the government proven itself to be inept when it’s in charge?

Yes.

Healthcare

Do you remember when President Obama’s administration was set to launch the Affordable Care Act’s website, healthcare.gov? I do. It was a disaster! It went live on October 1, 2013, and the site went down two hours later. The administration didn’t anticipate so many visitors to the site which still boggles my mind.

Later, we discovered the issues with the site ran deeper, but the worst part of this government-run healthcare program was not a bogus website. It was the lies. The president said, “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” Congress said everyone could see what was in the healthcare bill after it was passed. Meanwhile, we needed to trust them. And don’t forget that the name “Affordable Care Act” was a lie because prices went through the roof.

Well done, Big Government.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The VA is meant to provide life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans, and I’m glad something like this exists. We should absolutely help our veterans, but have you ever spoken to a veteran? The VA is filled with long waits, denied care, refusal to acknowledge particular afflictions because it makes the military look culpable, and an inconsistent quality of care.

Thankfully, the VA has been a blessing to plenty of our veterans, but it was interesting that when the Affordable Care Act was on the way, those who had personally experienced the VA were some of the loudest voices speaking against a government-run healthcare.

Full transparency: A study by the RAND Corporation suggests services at the VA are equal to or even better than at non-VA hospitals. Three facts to note, however, are that the rating of the best and worst VA facilities varied greatly, researchers did not study the timeliness of care, and the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs paid for the study.

The Covid Pandemic

Let’s not relive that here, but can we all agree that the government didn’t really rise to the occasion concerning this crisis? Lies, misinformation, infringement of rights, and incompetence abounded. It was yet another great example of how well things run when the government takes the lead.

Public Education

You knew I had to get to it. I can’t tell you school choice is problematic because of government involvement and not mention the current state of public education.

Violence

Overall, it’s not going well. Violence in schools continues to increase. Videos of students attacking students are a daily occurrence online. For instance, in January of this year a twelve-year-old boy was strangled on the bus by a much larger student in Fairfax County, VA. The aggressor was not disciplined properly, according to the victim’s mother, and still walks the halls with this boy.

The violence extends to teachers, as well. In February, a seventeen-year-old attacked a teacher’s aide in the hallway by pushing her to the ground, and then he inflicted a barrage of punches to her body and head. Reports say the teacher’s aide had allegedly taken his Nintendo Switch away from him in class. The teacher’s aide denies this. The 6’6” student is facing a felony charge with up to thirty years in prison.

Sexual Predators

Abuse can come from the teachers, too, though. A quick search will yield a large number of stories accusing teachers of being sexual predators. The data on this subject is severely lacking, and it’s disappointing that there would not be more accessible information about the safety of our children in an environment they spend a significant amount of time.

For now, the best estimate is that approximately 1 in 10 students will receive unwelcomed sexual attention from school staff. This includes verbal, touch, molestation, and even rape. Students, of course, can also be predators toward other students. With the introduction of transgender advocacy in schools, I can only imagine what extra opportunities students will have to be sexually aggressive toward others.

The most notable case in recent news of sexual crimes committed by a student on a student is from Loudoun County, VA. A transgender girl (i.e., biological male) wearing a skirt sexually assaulted a female in the girls’ bathroom. The story is filled with twists and turns, but the superintendent was eventually fired for a cover-up.

Academics

On a small scale, let’s look at my home state of Illinois. A recent study of fifty-three schools in Illinois found zero students were proficient in math, and zero students in thirty of those schools were proficient in reading. Each student in these schools brings in $20,500 in taxes a year.

Illinois may be struggling, but the nation must be doing better than that, right? Well, the reports came out a little while ago, and the news media went wild over it. The National Report Card shows that performance went down in every subject between 2019 and 2022. We have to acknowledge the pandemic affecting things, but if we look at the National Report Card from other years, American students were obviously already falling behind.

Final Thought

I’m all for school choice if it means parents have complete control over the kind of education their children receive.. But lobbyists have co-opted the phrase “school choice” to mean that the government will involve itself in all the choices. I can’t get behind that line of thinking.

If a parent wants to send her children to public school, she has that right. I’m not here to dictate a parent’s decision. Private school sounds good? Great. I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way. However, homeschoolers, you need to be thoughtful about what you are willing to support.

School choice may be presented in an attractive light, but think about what it really offers. Poison served in a pretty glass still kills, and the more opportunities we hand the government to infringe upon our rights, the less likely we are to have any left at all. Whether it’s legislative attacks to homeschooling or a quiet takeover from a well-intentioned private school, we must resist school choice. It could mean the difference between keeping and losing the right to homeschool.

Where do you stand on school choice? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Image courtesy of Kimberly Farmer via Unsplash.