Federal legislation has been introduced by Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) – again – encouraging states to implement a “tax-credit scholarship organization” program where donors receive a tax credit on their federal income tax. The scholarship money will be distributed to K-12 aged children who meet eligibility requirements established by the state to receive education from various entities. The Education Freedom Scholarship Act, if passed by Congress, may be a good thing for families who need financial assistance to find alternative education options for their children. Our concern is whether it could lead to more government control of private schools and homeschools.
Only time will tell.
This article in The Daily Caller published on Senator Cruz’ Facebook page denotes a red flag for us here at NHN.
- “The Education Freedom Scholarship and Opportunity Act would provide a $10 billion annual federal tax credit for taxpayers who donate to state-based scholarships. These scholarships would afford families the ability to expand their children’s choice of elementary and secondary education, including private and home education, special education services and therapies, and summer, after-school, and tutoring programs.”
- “It gives states the choice to opt-in, rather than requiring nationwide participation and yields flexibility to determine how to structure its programs, including what schools and students are eligible.”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos takes it further in her Prepared Remarks by Secretary DeVos at the unveiling of the Education Freedom Scholarships proposal!***see 5/29/2019 addendum below.
- “And let’s stop and think about what public education really is. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently said it well: “If the taxpayer is paying for education, it’s public education.” He’s right! And if the purpose of public education is to educate the public, then it does not matter what defining word comes before school. Because education isn’t about school buildings or school systems. Education is about school children.”
This statement is of concern because it hints that all education provided to children should be “public education” or could be interpreted in such a manner by dianabol compatibilita future administrations. NHN holds that parents, not the government, are ultimately responsible for the education of their children, including the financing of said education. States may “provide for public schools and other options” as put forth in state constitutions but that doesn’t mean government should be the only providers of education. Nor should government dictate what education for the individual child is to look like.
Based on Nevada’s homeschool history of government over-regulation and what has happened more recently with the non-operational NV-ESA and NV-Choice/Opportunity Scholarship (a business tax-credit program introduced by Governor Sandoval in 2015 and over-regulated by the NV-DOE the same year) – we are concerned NV state government would seek to control the education of a student utilizing such scholarship funds.
“Innovation, voluntary collaboration, and an entrepreneurial spirit fuel the engine of the homeschooling movement.” (JimMason, HSLDA). Private schools and homeschoolers need to always be cognizant of possible drawbacks to government education programs. Often government sponsored education programs only offer “choice” with “accountability” and not the freedom to educate children according to the independent standards of the private school and/or parents.
Having said all this however, our friends at HSLDA have come out in support of the bill. NHN has worked with HSLDA since our founding in 2002 as did other Nevada homeschool organizations dating back to 1983. We value and trust their opinion! Key to their statement is the following:
- “Some of the ways states could expand students’ access to educational opportunities include dual enrollment, tutoring, summer education programs, advanced and remedial courses, special education services and therapies, and private and home education.The bill also includes strong religious liberty protections. It explicitly prohibits any federal control over participants.The bill’s language ensures that if a state chooses to join the program, officials cannot then refuse to include religious, private, and homeschool SGOs or attempt to regulate them. Secretary DeVos stated that the “key element of the proposal is freedom,” and crafters of the bill ensured that, while expanding educational freedom, it did not curtail other liberties.”
HSLDA gives the example of a program for low-income families in New Hampshire that is working well for families to choose homeschooling without increased government regulation (though homeschooling in NH is considered “moderately” regulated as compared to Nevada’s “low” regulation). NHN reviewed the New Hampshire program back in 2014 and found it to be a beneficial program for some families. Giving families a choice in the education provided to their children is a good thing.
In reviewing the current federal bill ourselves, we are encouraged by strong protective language barring states choosing to implement the program from controlling the private school or homeschool beyond existing state statutes. Section 102, Subsection (d)(3-5) on pages 9-11 of the proposed legislation – as written – seems to adequately protect both private schools and homeschools within this state to operate without further intrusion by federal or state government. Modification of this section by amendment if the bill moves forward would of course need be watched carefully.
In our experience here in Nevada private, self-funded homeschool freedom is put at risk every legislative session as these programs are added, changed or updated according to the whims of politicians and government bureaucrats. We want to believe the best but will always view government “help” with a skeptical eye.
To clarify, Nevada Homeschool Network (NHN) advocates for the right of parents to direct the education of their child. We strive to guard the freedom of each family to educate their own children as they see fit and pay for it themselves! To that end, keeping the NV homeschool law separate from any government approved/funded program has always been, and will continue to be, a goal for NHN. We support parents’ right to choose the best education option for their children – even a government sponsored program – as long as parents who prefer private, self-funded homeschooling free from government controls always have the LIBERTY to do so.
Several organizations that we also respect have voiced their objections to The Education Freedom Scholarship Act. We find many of their arguments compelling and encourage everyone to read these as well. Liberty assures that we are free to make up our own minds after reading both sides of an issue.
- Federalizing School Choice Could Be Trump’s Common Core – Inez Feltscher Stepman, The Federalist 2/27/2019
- Even Something as Great as School Choice Should Not Be Federalized – Neal McCluskey, CATO Institute 2/28/2019
- Betsy DeVos Unveils Federalized School Choice Plan – Dr. Susan Berry, Brietbart 2/28/2019
- Why A Federal School Choice Program May Be The Dumbest Way For Trump To Promote School Choice – Joy Pullman, The Federalist 3/4/2019
Other articles in support:
- 3/14/2019 – DeVos scholarships would give control to parents, not bureaucrats – Quin Hillyer, The Washington Post.
Addendum – 5/29/2019: The link to the DeVos quote above is broken or gone – of course. However, she restated her ridiculous logic in May 2019 and was quoted in this article, Ed Secretary DeVos: All Education is “Public” Education by Alex Newman, Freedom Project Media 5/28/2019. To avoid “losing” a direct link again, we’re posting the full article:
- “U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos called for redefining all forms of education as “public” education, an idea with potentially catastrophic implications for educational liberty and true school choice.The rhetoric was especially troubling in light of DeVos’ efforts to provide federal funding for government-controlled “choice” under the guise of “school choice.” Her brazen dishonesty relating to Common Core, as well as her inking a globalist deal on education with fellow G20 education bosses, should also alarm anyone concerned with freedom and real education.
The speech in question, given at the Reagan Ranch while speaking at the neoconservative-leaning Young America’s Foundation on May 17, sparked alarm among educators and education researchers. And it is easy to see why.
“Let’s stop and rethink the definition of public education,” she said. “Today it is often defined as one type of school funded by taxpayers, controlled by government. But, if every student is part of the public, then every way and every place a student learns is ultimately of benefit to the public,” DeVos continued. “That should be the new definition of public education.”
Of course, if every form of education is “public” education because it benefits “the public,” it follows that “the public” is entitled to some say over that allegedly “public” education. And that is exactly where DeVos and others pushing this agenda are going.
And DeVos has been a leading advocate of phony “school choice,” which would see federal tax dollars going to fund private schools and potentially even homeschoolers. The dangers of this unconstitutional idea are hard to overstate.
Consider: With federal funding comes federal control. And just as state funding such as “vouchers” has resulted in formerly independent schools having to ban the Bible and teach Common Core, so too will this DeVos-backed “choice” result in government hijacking all education. The Supreme Court has agreed that what the feds fund, they can regulate.
The dictator-controlled United Nations “Human Rights Council” passed a resolution in 2015 demanding that governments worldwide crackdown and regulate non-government education, even calling for the same “standards” to be imposed on both. That is the real agenda.
Last year, The Newman Report exposed DeVos’ agreement with mass-murdering regimes and other G20 governments to facilitate the ongoing “internationalization” of education. The same deal also purported to commit the signatories to advancing the totalitarian ideology of “sustainable development” through “education.”
The staggering implications of DeVos’ statements and schemes must be understood clearly as a direct assault on educational freedom. It is past time to shut down the unconstitutional U.S. Department of Education and get the feds out of schools completely. Advocates of true school choice must turn up the heat or risk losing educational freedom in the years ahead.”