A Pro-Homeschool Election Guide
- 2 days ago
- 8 min read
Updated: 1 day ago
I often see social media posts lamenting about the horrors that occur on a daily basis in the public school system, encouraging families to homeschool. As homeschool veterans, we obviously support this message. However, its not enough to just homeschool: we also need to be agens of change for the public and a positive influence to voters.
It goes without saying that we are up against a vast monopoloy of unelected government bureaucrats, teachers unions that only want to stay in control of schools and the source of funds which flows to them, and political ideologues that see the public school system as a way of getting what they cannot achieve at the ballot box. In other words, we are up against "Big Education". By encouraging families to homeschool, we are effectively encouraging others to "boycott" the public school system by removing themselves from the government's control. However, this isn't an effective boycott since even if a large number of families homeschooled, the public school system would still exist: it is simply not enough for families to homeschool by itself. We must be an agent of influence at the ballot box.
Conversely, the public school system has a large influence on tax payers, voters, an entrenched culture, and it has a stranglehold in the freedom of our communities. And "Big Education" often communicates that what they have is not enough. The "Big Education" movement is politically savvy and has endless marketing campaigns to bring even more services, support and tax dollars to their already bloated budgets. It seems that every election cycle, there are new public school funding or initiatives that would affect everyone directly or indirectly, including homeschool families.
And while "Big Education" enjoys a monopoly, homeschooling is under attack. Homeschooling has become more popular, which has merited the attention of local and federal legislators who see homeschoolers as a threat to their positions of power. Tyrannical homeschool laws are being created nationwide to regulate and control home education, so that politcal ideologues can stay in control. Law-fare is common in our community, and many school districts will harass homeschooling families through extra-legal (unconstitional) policies and often attack through making false accusations. Homeschool families need help from voters like you to help protect the freedom to homeschool for years to come.
And our society is not "homeschool friendly" due to the high cost of living. Homeschooling is a full time job that takes time and financial resources to be successful. Taking children to extracurricular activities, managing their education and meeting up with friends for healthy socialization all take time, which is why it can be challenging to homeschool in a dual income household. However, due to the high cost of living, depending upon a single income household to accommodate homeschooling can be difficult.
However, voting is free and has a lasting legacy.
If we really want to enable families to homeschool and reduce Big Educations' influence on society, we must be proactive in the political process which includes voting in all elections. In today's political climate, we must utilize every opportunity to preserve our freedoms and make positive changes to policies. While some laws and tax initiatives are out of our control, many are! We have a say in our elections and we can make an impact.
We have included several ways to vote in a way that would lower the cost of living, protect homeschool freedom and help make homeschooling more accessible to families.
We hope to see you at the polls!
Hello. We are veteran homeschoolers. We invite you to browse our website for more articles about school choice issues, navigating the homeschool world, limiting screen time for your family and more. Our site is not monetized. Support our site by following and sharing.
Vote NO on School Choice Vouchers
Homeschoolers are against these bills and you should be too.
One common misconception about school choice vouchers is that homeschool and private school families will simply get their public school tax dollars returned to them. This is not true.
When the state government creates school choice voucher bills, legislators also include strict and overly complicated regulations about how much money a family gets, who is eligible for the funding, how the family obtains the money, when they can receive it, and what they are allowed to use the vouchers on. School vouchers enable bureaucrats to have a deep level of involvement in the private finances of families and create a system of direct of control that reaches directly into daily life. In other words, school vouchers do not provide for education freedom -- they are mechanism for controlling families that are otherwise beyond the power of the bureaucrats that run the education departments in your state and local government. More so, school vouchers enable the next generation of legislators (who are likely to antagonistic of homeschooling) to extend their control. School vouchers are a form of tyranny.
If you are sympathetic towards homeschoolers being able to afford homeschooling, help make homeschooling more accessible by lowering the cost of living by cutting funding to the public school system as well as other tax funded programs.
Vote YES on Removing Homeschool Regulations
The homeschool community needs voters like you to help lobby against higher regulations with the true goal of rolling back regulations and making home education truly free for all.
The very first step for any family planning to homeschool is to familiarize themselves with their state's homeschool laws. Just like any state laws, they range from very free and relaxed to tyrannical. Homeschool laws may include testing, using state required curriculum, special communication with the school district, compulsive age requirements, (etc etc etc).
The HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) is a very important organization in the homeschool community. They are a group of lawyers who help homeschool families navigate their state's homeschool laws, and participate in hearings when new homeschool legislation is being proposed. Many homeschoolers have a membership to use their services because law-fare against families by school districts is common. Donating to HSLDA is one way to help the homeschool community.
Below is the current map illustrating state homeschool requirements from the HSLDA website. More information about specific laws is available on their website.
Many homeschool families are surprised to learn that they cannot just pull their child immediately out of public school to homeschool, even in the case of a crisis. Depending on the state, there is very likely to be a long legal process which may be complicated and time consuming. The homeschool family risks truancy, a CPS case or other legal action from the school district if the process is done incorrectly.
A states with high regulations does not mean it is impossible to homeschool there. If you live in a free state with low or no homeschool regulations, join to homeschool community by voting to protect homeschool freedom in your state.
Vote NO on bills that would "allow homeschoolers to participate in public school activities" like sports.
Homeschoolers do not support any legislation that would make it possible for them to participate in public school activities.
Idaho recently had bill SB 1290 that created a “public school social access pass program.” This article covers the different reasons homeschoolers lobbied against this bill. It covers the valid concerns to keep in mind if your state decides to create similar legislation. If your state already has these laws in place, lobby to remove them.
"Big Education" should not have a strong monopoly over youth athletics in the first place. They have been bad stewards of our tax dollars. Public schools are making the news daily for title IX violations and criminal teachers and coaches. And again, Americans can no longer afford this extra amenity.
Homeschoolers regularly participate in private or town wide sports programs. One way to support homeschooling is to support small businesses that offer extra curricular programs like these.
Vote NO on any new funding toward public schools
For as long as public schools are funded by tax dollars, American citizens have the responsibility to participate in elections where public school funding is on the ballot.
According to the Census Bureau, the average cost per pupil per year is $15,633. These monies should not be taken from us (the taxpayers) to begin with. At the very least, public school budgets should be smaller and reduced to providing the absolute basics in education; math, science, history and english. Tax payers should be involved in reforming the public education system to decrease the amount of tax funded public school hours and all other unnecessary and redundant services and amenities.
True freedom is when I pay for me and you pay for you.
True education freedom is when I pay for my child's education and you pay for yours.
Recently, school choice has gotten more popular. Homeschooling numbers are up. Public schools are selling their school buildings and consolidating their schools. This is the right decision. If the public school were a private business, and had fewer customers, they would be closing their stores, liquidating their assets, merging, filing bankruptcy and possibly make other changes to their business model. It would also be appropriate for the public schools to also make appropriate changes due to their staff vacancies (teacher shortages) and decrease of enrollment ( low birth rate and increase in school choice).
The high oxymoronic cost of "free" public school is contributing to the high cost of taxes and high cost of living. Vote NO on any new funding to public schools.
Vote NO on any new taxes
Support a fiscally responsible government tax budget by voting NO on any new taxes.
What if you only paid for fire, police, and road maintenance in your property taxes and everything else had a crowd funding page?
Americans would have vastly more financial freedom.
One of the reasons the cost of living is so high is due to the high budgets of local tax funded, government services. Government spending inherently causes inflation, which raises the cost of everything, whether at the federal, state, or local level. A new community center, a new splash pad, a new state of the art playground to replace a perfectly good playground, a new town pool, a pickleball court, etc: none of these are free. They are a huge financial burden on our already high taxes and increasing the cost of living. Vote NO on any new taxes.
Vote to cut spending. Americans cannot afford these amenities any longer.
Voting to decrease government tax budgets will benefit everyone, not just the homeschool community. Maybe your neighbor would be able to retire sooner, the birth rate may increase, more families would be able to afford to pay off their student loans quicker, Your friend might not need that second job and buying a house would be more accessible to young families.
There may be more of a godly general impact. Americans would be able to participate in more charitable giving opportunities, Generational wealth would be prevalent in our society including parents ability to save money for their children's' college education. Bible believing churches would grow due to the legacy of individual donors. American Heritage Girls and Trail Life would grow as godly scouting and character organizations.
Vote for Politicians who Support Freedom
With social media, youtube, personal websites and search engines, it is easy to research candidates to learn about their beliefs and what to expect from them if they become elected officials. Vote for politicians who will not attempt to pass school choice voucher bills. Vote for candidates who will vote against more funding for schools. Vote for politicians who will remove medical tyranny from families. Vote for a politician who will support a fiscally conservative tax system.
We hope this article encourages you to vote at the next election. Together, we can help make a positive impact on the homeschool community by participating in elections. Your support in preserving homeschool freedom matters.
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