Welcome to February on Capitol Hill. While the President’s State of the Union speech did not mention education at all, that topic continues to dominate the conversation in Congress—which was especially clear during National School Choice Week earlier this year.
There are clear lines between those who don’t support increased access to non-public school alternatives and those who do. But there are also many shades of disagreement within the private education sphere itself—for those of us in the homeschool world, our most frequent argument is actually with some of our friends in the school choice movement.
Some who work closely with private, charter, and other options advocate for some kind of government funding of private education, usually in the form of Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) or vouchers. The trouble is that—because they come directly from the government—these sorts of funding systems necessarily come with regulatory strings attached. And so we at HSLDA Action always advocate for homeschoolers to be left out of such plans. It’s not that we want homeschoolers to be discriminated against or have access to less funding; it’s that we want homeschooling to remain the unparalleled educational tool that it is and remain free from unnecessary government intervention.
So whenever National School Choice Week rolls around—like it did in January—we must be extra vigilant. That week always comes with a flurry of new, well-meaning school choice legislation that will ultimately hurt the homeschooling movement.
But just because homeschoolers don’t want federal funding, that doesn’t mean that Congress can’t help. This year, there were two bills introduced that would improve school choice without increasing oversight:
- House Resolution 539: Military Child Educational Freedom Act
This is the third year that Congressman Joe Wilson (SC-02) has introduced this bill, and the third year that we have endorsed it. Currently, families who live in states that define homeschools as private schools can use Coverdell Savings Accounts for their homeschool expenses. This bill would allow military families to use those accounts, regardless of what state they are stationed in. It’s a seemingly small change, but one that would provide some financial relief to military families without increasing government regulation.
- Senate Bill 120: Educational Choice for Children Act
This bill, introduced by Senator Bill Cassidy (LA) does not provide any sort of education funding directly from the government. Instead, it offers a tax credit to any individuals or corporations who donate to organizations that provide scholarships to K–12 students for non-public education alternatives. It encourages private individuals to help low-income families pursue education outside of public schools by donating to worthy nonprofits.
The state of education in America needs help, but increasing the government’s role isn’t the answer. These bills are proof that there are ways that legislators can help ease the financial burden of private education—and therefore help more families pursue the education that’s best for them—without using public funding.