The truth behind ‘School Choice’ legislation

“School Choice Week” presents an opportunity to discuss the consequences of school choice policies, which are popular with most Republican legislators and national conservative think tanks.  

However, I believe it’s a grave mistake to use government funding to enroll children in private and Christian schools and to support homeschooling. Let me explain why. 

On its face “school choice” appears to be a viable solution for making alternative education affordable for parents who do not want their children indoctrinated through government schools. The problem is, once government money is infused into these alternative modes of education, they too will become controlled by the government and subject to the woke agenda that has ravaged government schools. 

In Grove City College v. Bell (1984), affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, the federal government prevailed over Hillsdale College, asserting that when an educational institution accepts students who receive government funds, it’s subject to government regulation.  

The safest way to make alternatives to government schools affordable is through tax credits on the state and federal levels. The federal child tax credit should be increased for parents who do not enroll their children in government schools and states with income taxes should follow suit.   

An increase in federal child tax credits will allow parents to keep some of their money to pay for education that best suits their child by paying fewer taxes. For families who don’t pay any income taxes, an earned income credit model could be applied.  

South Carolina has a tax credit bill being considered in the State Senate and a companion bill will soon be introduced in the State House. All other “school choice” options implemented with government funding have the potential to become regulated and could harm private, home, and Christian schools. 

Due to COVID-19 school shutdowns, parents became aware of the indoctrination happening in their children’s schools. As a result, many disgruntled parents all over the country lobbied elected officials to pass “school choice” legislation, and problems predicted by the organization I lead are beginning to manifest. 

After universal school choice legislation passed in Arizona last year, private schools increased their tuition eliminating the rationale for government money to make private schools more affordable to parents. Private schools took advantage of the increase in “school choice” funding to line their pockets, continuing to keep this option out of reach for many parents. According to the Arizona Daily Star, “…the cost of enrollment for seventh and eighth graders at Arrowhead Montessori, in Peoria, soared to $15,000, an increase of $4,200. In Mesa, tuition at Redeemer Christian School rose by nearly a quarter across most grades; families of high schoolers now pay $12,979, approximately $2,500 higher than the year prior. Similarly, at Desert Garden Montessori, in Phoenix, middle and high school tuition is now $16,000, nearly 24% higher than last year’s tuition rate of $12,950. And Saint Theresa Catholic School, also in Phoenix, reserved its biggest price hike — of about $1,800, or nearly 15% — for non-Catholic students in the elementary grades. Tuition for those students is now more than $14,000.” 

Moreover, the Arizona governor Katie Hobbs recently threatened to champion new regulations for private and home-school parents who accept government funding under the massive expansion of school choice passed in Arizona in 2022. Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, who sponsored the universal expansion, said that Hobbs seeks to strangle Education Savings Accounts and private education with bureaucracy and regulation. This is exactly why putting government money in private schools is a mistake.  

 United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE) has unique, bold and insightful education policy positions that differ from the leading foundation most conservative legislators follow. USPIE’s primary mission is to close the U.S. Department of Education, eliminate all federal education mandates and return local, community, and parental control of education. 

It’s important that we help parents find ways to take advantage of independent, private, and home school alternatives to government schools.  

Sheri Few is the Founder and President of United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE) whose mission is to end the US Department of Education and all federal education mandates. USPIE has established 20 state chapters and is growing rapidly amid the national outcry from parents who want to regain control of their children’s education. Few is a nationally recognized leader on education policy and is often quoted in conservative media. Few has spent much of the last year exposing critical race theory and serving as Executive Producer for the new documentary film titled “Truth & Lies in American Education.” 

Image: Kelly Hunter