At least a dozen states have begun offering Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) starting in 2023. This is a type of government funding where parents are given tax dollars to use to pay for private schooling expenses and often even public and homeschooling expenses (including the purchase of curriculum, school supplies, etc.).
Many private and homeschooling advocates are cheering this wave of legislative change. However, as advocates for homeschooling and being previously involved in public education, I can share that this is not going to be the helpful boon for homeschooling that many are touting it to be. It is NOT a victory.
Instead, it is a temptation. It is the opportunity for the government to enter into the homes and lives of homeschoolers with unprecedented ease. The fight that has been going on for decades between the Federal government, states, and families over who the children belong to could be eroded overnight by simply offering parents money for their schooling needs.
As is always the case, the Federal and State governments love to provide taxpayer money in order to gain control of the lives of their constituents. While these new “incentives” may seem like a long-overdue balance of fairness is finally coming for homeschoolers in education, there are strings attached. While these may be well-meaning opportunities by conservative politicians to “right many wrongs” done to homeschoolers, these funds open the door for abuse and place a wedge into the front door of the rights of families to privacy and choice when it comes to the education of their children. There will be forms to fill out, information that will be obtained, including what you plan on doing with the monies provided, and permission given for the State to begin tabulating this data in case of “concerns.” Believe me when I say that the government DOES NOT WANT children homeschooled. IT WANTS THEM IN PUBLIC SCHOOL TO BE INDOCTRINATED INTO GOOD CITIZENS OF THE STATE! I want to emphasize this to bring it to your attention as parents in a strong way.
One advocacy group that champions homeschooling and homeschoolers is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA. HSLDA states,
“(We) oppose any kind of government funding for homeschooling—these funds are most commonly referred to as ESAs, but they may also be packaged as vouchers or school choice funds.
“We recognize that many families homeschool on a tight budget and might welcome additional resources, and that the thousands of dollars offered by some ESA programs can be very practically helpful for these parents. And we do support some programs that benefit homeschooling families financially, including some tax credits—as these allow homeschooling families to keep more of their hard-earned income…(W)e are convinced that ESAs and other tax-funded accounts will provide government officials with a reason to further regulate and oversee homeschooling.”
Here is a link to their full article about ESAs: https://hslda.org/post/how-esa-funding-could-undermine-homeschool-freedom
We understand that these “funds” are very enticing, especially to parents who:
- want to homeschool their children,
- are financially strapped,
- struggle to afford curriculum,
- believe this is the opportunity they hoped for in our country as a conservative solution to the liberal public school system.
We would love to be able to give our curriculum away and make it accessible to all who want it. However, that is not an option. The costs of keeping Homeschooling Torah running are very high. As it is, our prices, which are among the lowest on the market, are being cut into constantly by rising prices on all the materials and software necessary to provide our curriculum to our members and the HT family. We understand that ESAs and similar programs would greatly benefit members and likely gain more members. However, at the risk of not accepting these monies and possibly losing members due to rising costs, we cannot afford to sign up to accept these state-provided “funds.” There are three key reasons:
- The amount of paperwork is enormous for those accepting funding and is unique to each state. As a family-run business, we do not have the capability to keep up with this.
- We do not agree with the ESAs. Whenever the government seeks to trade dollars for information and control over our lives, we as believers should flee. The concept that there is “free” money is foolish thinking. While there are well-meaning legislators behind many of these programs, we see all over the place how programs like these are twisted to take away the rights of citizens and families. The right to homeschool has been a hard-fought battle that has taken time, money, and a great deal of effort and fortitude by many over the years to obtain. Will we be the generation that gives all that back in order to obtain a few bucks that come with strings attached?
- Nothing good is free, and nothing free is good. We have struggled, scrimped, and saved our whole lives to have our children homeschooled. We have not always been able to afford homeschooling materials. However, the purchase of these materials was a priority for our family, so we did without other things in order to give our children the best education possible while being able to share our family values and control the educational environment and social interactions of our kids. Therefore, we have learned and believe that there is nothing free. To get curriculum for free, you will be paying with your freedom to choose.
We at Homeschooling Torah understand that some of you may struggle to afford our services due to the current economic challenges. However, I hope you will stand with us in our decision not to accept state money for our curriculum as we stand with you and your rights as parents to homeschool your children. Every year, we are able to choose some families to receive scholarships for HT due to financial struggles. Unfortunately, we cannot do this for everyone. Many of those families have become paying members later and continue to enjoy our curriculum as Yah has provided.
Pray about how Yah can provide for you in purchasing our curriculum. May He bless your decision to use a biblically-based curriculum that seeks to put Yah first and teach the full counsel of His Word to our children. May your children grow up to be godly disciples who follow their master, Yeshua, with all their hearts, souls, and Torah-observant minds.
Yah bless,
Kraig Elliott
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