Homeschool Advocates Concerned That Accepting State Funds For Education May Come With “Strings Attached”

Some Conservative Advocates For Educational Alternatives From Public School Are Seeing Potential Issues With Acceptance Of Government Money Being Integrated Into Spending For Private And Homeschooling Families.

Image Credit: Gov. Bill Lee / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Kelly M. Jackson] –

Recently, Governor Bill Lee has been promoting legislation that will undoubtedly be a major center piece and a top agenda item for the upcoming legislative session this coming year.

Many conservatives hear the phrase “school choice” and automatically associate it with an opportunity to engage in what has been referred to as “backpack” funding, where taxpayer dollars flow directly to students and not the school districts. In other words, as frequently stated in conversations involving this type of funding, “the money follows the kid”. 

For many tax-paying parents, this seems like a great idea. Especially for those whose children are tethered to a failing school. In theory, it would give the student the opportunity to have access to an alternative for a better education, with money their parents already contribute to the system. 

As a bonus, it creates an environment where schools are forced to compete for the dollars that would have otherwise simply been allocated to them with no effort on their part. 

While this concept is incredibly attractive to frustrated and in some cases, distrustful parents who worry about what school materials and concepts are being introduced to their children, public school systems that have expressed intent to treat students mental health issues in schools where there is no parental supervision, and access to library books that meet the obscenity standard in criminal code, critics warn against unbridled enthusiasm without considering the issues that seem to inevitably surface with the introduction of “school choice” initiatives.  

While most generally agree that the public school system is failing our children, the solution from progressive organizations like the Tennessee Teacher’s Association is often to simply throw even more money at failing schools, because they claim that more money will fix the problem. 

In a time where schools are still spending billions of dollars leftover from the federal government due to the response to the covid-19 pandemic and increases across the board in state spending on education, school districts are “swimming” in money. 

And yet, despite this fact, increased spending has done little if anything to improve the numbers for math and reading levels in Tennessee. 

However, even some conservative advocates for educational alternatives from public school are seeing potential issues with acceptance of government money being integrated into spending for private and homeschooling families.

In a recent report, Claiborne Thornton, president of the Tennessee Home Education Association, expressed his concern that taking taxpayer dollars, in any form, will “inevitably” come with regulations that were not expressly indicated initially. Thornton and his wife homeschooled all three of their now adult children. 

Thornton said, “Just be mindful that if you are receiving money, you’re also going to be receiving requirements. Both will be coming to you. Maybe not initially, but both will be there. Be careful,” said Thornton. “And although those may not be in at the beginning of a process like this, it will inevitably be a part of how that program is administered ultimately, no question. So, we would advise people to not become involved in that.” 

Considering an official version of the legislation has not been produced for public consumption and review, it is still unknown as to what kind of requirements will be included, and whether the schools that qualify will get a choice as to whether they wish to participate. 

Even if those caveats are not present in the early forms of the legislation, there is no guarantee that they won’t appear later, as the government, or the provider of those funds becomes increasingly interested in how the money is being spent. 

This seems to be the most prevalent issue that has been raised by concerned homeschool parents who make up a much larger portion of the population since 2020. 

In 2020, there were up to 2.65 million homeschooled students and in 2021 – 3.7 million. By 2022, this number has grown to 4.3 million.

According to this website,  Brighterly.com, the number one reason (stated by 14.5% of parents polled) parents opted to move their children from public to home school, due to bad academic quality. While 13% decided to homeschool their kids because they wanted to provide and integrate religious instruction into the curriculum.

According to Governor Lee’s website for Education Freedom, students who are enrolled in a Category IV homeschool program are eligible for what is being called an “Education Freedom Scholarship”. Data reveals that in Tennessee a vast majority of those very programs have a religious affiliation. 

In a video presentation, Executive Director of Tennessee grassroots organization Tennessee Stands, Gary Humble demonstrated the real possibility the state could decide to impose requirements that restrict religious content due to the funds being sourced through public funding, or taxpayer dollars. 

Humble stated in his video, “as those taxpayer funds, enter into private schools and home schools, do you think regulations are never going to follow that money? Even if they don’t today, can you honestly say… if we begin to put taxpayer funds into the private sector and into our homes, that at some point in the probably very near future, the government is not going to be more interested in having more say in the kind of curriculum we are using in our home schools and our private schools?” 

Based on a statement in a recent report, given by Tennessee State Representative Sam Whitson, who said “they’re even talking about [including] home schoolers and unchartered schools…they should be under the same standards and requirements as the public schools so we can track achievement and progress.” 

So, by their own admission, there appears to be an intent for more government involvement than there has ever been before, but under the guise of transparency and accountability. 

Homeschool families have indicated that they want nothing to do with state sanctioned funding, but feel that this is being forced on them as a way to justify taking control of one of the last places parents can go to have total control of their child’s education. 

We will continue to follow this story as it develops, as we enter the new legislative session, and the actual language of the legislation is provided giving Tennesseans a clearer picture of what Governor Lee intends to introduce come January. 

About the Author: Kelly Jackson is a recent escapee from corporate America, and a California refugee to Tennessee. Christ follower, Wife and Mom of three amazing teenagers. She has a BA in Comm from Point Loma Nazarene University, and has a background in law enforcement and human resources. Since the summer of 2020, she has spent any and all free time in the trenches with local grassroots orgs, including Mom’s for Liberty Williamson County and Tennessee Stands as a core member.  Outspoken advocate for parents rights, medical freedom, and individual liberty. Kelly can be reached at kelly@tennesseeconservativenews.com.