| One of the most pressing issues in many states right now is the issue of “School Choice.” There is a call from many Republican legislators for government money that “follows the child.” This view is promoted by almost all of the conservative right-wing think tanks (including the Christian ones), so it sounds compelling to many Christian school or homeschool parents.
It is vital for us to realize: Whatever the government pays for, it controls and regulates. The only way to truly control the content of your child’s education is to pay for it yourself. Yes, it is unfair we must pay for our own child’s education through private schooling or homeschooling, and then pay for everyone else’s schooling as well, but the solution is not to welcome government intrusion into the very last bastion of educational freedom on the landscape today. I want to share some FREE resources with you to help you think through this issue: The first is a brand new podcast episode where I was a guest on Robert Bortins’ (CEO of Classical Conversations) podcast (Refining Rhetoric): https://refiningrhetoric.com/2023/02/01/israel-wayne/ Next is an article I’ve written entitled, “Why School Vouchers are Bad for Conservatives”: https://christianworldview.net/2015/12/08/why-school-vouchers-are-bad-for-conservatives/ The next is an explanation I wrote on why our messaging on this topic needs to consider which direction someone is headed on the educational highway (toward, or away from, educational freedom and liberty): https://illinoisfamily.org/education/2-school-choice-parable-of-two-roads/ The next is an article by Robert Bortins on how school choice is exponentially increasing inflation (driving up all education costs and even costing you more when you go to the grocery store). You pay for these government programs, often through the increased cost of goods and services. Nothing is free. The government doesn’t have any money. It only has what it takes by force from one citizen to give to another, or what it prints (which causes costs to go up at the pump and the checkout counter): https://illinoisfamily.org/education/the-cost-of-school-vouchers-sky-high-inflation/ The next is a modern-day example of how government has gone after private religious schools in New York state and Alberta, Canada because they took state funds: https://illinoisfamily.org/education/hasidic-schools-a-lesson-regarding-school-choice/ Finally, our friends at Christian Education Initiative have written an important free e-book entitled, “Vouchers: Shekels with Shackles”: https://christedu.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Vouchers-Revision-11-28-22.pdf Please take time to listen to, and read, these important resources to educate yourselves on how “school choice” for private schools and homeschools is still rooted in the Marxist, forced-redistribution-of-wealth model, and is not fiscally conservative (despite Republican claims to the contrary). I have also written distinct chapters on these topics in each of my education books. You can save money by buying them both together here (perhaps give an extra copy to a friend!): https://familyrenewal.org/store/product/christian-education-bundle/ |
Israel Wayne is an author and conference speaker and Director of Family Renewal. www.FamilyRenewal.org
Could you please address the idea of whether–once you’ve taken the funds–you can simply drop out to gain your curriculum choice rights again, or if taking the money at any point compromises that.
If you have taken government funds, you can opt out of that at any point and purchase your own materials with your own money to get out from under the government’s jurisdiction.