Constitutional Home Educators Alliance has been helping parents navigate the nuances of EdChoice, ESAs, parent/school choice, vouchers, and special scholarships. Visit their site for information and research on the topic, and read why they support Education Liberty over EdChoice and similar policies.
Check out our new Educational Freedom website, where youâll find videos, resources, and additional reading on the topic.
Even if you arenât a Colorado resident, it is important to keep abreast of the political climate in other states because it wonât be long before itâs in your state. Be prepared for whatâs coming your way.
Carolyn Martin, the Director of Government Relations for Christian Home Educators of Colorado, sounds the warning on HB23-1003, a bill currently under consideration that represents an outright assault on parental rights.
The question we need to ask is: âWhere does the civil governmentâs authority and jurisdiction stop?
“This year an introduced bill, HB23-1003 School Mental Health Assessment, grants children twelve years or older the ability [to] override a parentâs wishes concerning a mental health assessment given in a public school. Although the bill allows parents to opt their child out of the assessment, it also authorizes the school to ignore the opt-out when the child dictates. Children can also keep parents from seeing the results of the assessment. Note: If your child participates in a part-time public-school program, this bill applies to you as well!“
Keep reading here.
Education policy jargon is enough to make anyoneâs head spin! What in the world is the difference between school vouchers and ESAs? How does taxpayer-funded education threaten your educational freedom? And how does so-called parent choice (or school choice) actually eliminate your educational options?
The Constitutional Home Educators Alliance has created a fantastic video to answer these questions and more. And have you read our blog post, All That Glitters Isnât Gold, published on December 28, 2022? Be sure to check it out!
âDonât wait until you are ready to take action. Instead, take action to be ready.â âJensen Siaw
Perhaps youâd love to start communicating with your elected officials on a regular basis but are at a loss for what to discuss. Consider these possible topics:
You can also check this website and your state governmentâs website for updates and additional suggestions.
Also, keep in mind:
Capitol Days, Legislative Days, Homeschool Day at the Capitol, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. This is a great opportunity for you to teach your children the importance of the legislative process and help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms. While the chart below lists January and February Capitol Days, you can check your stateâs dates here if not listed below.
| Arkansas | February 21, 2023 |
| California | January 18â19, 2023 |
| Hawaii | February 27, 2023 |
| Idaho | February 8, 2023 |
| Indiana | January 19, 2023 |
| Kansas | February 2, 2023 |
| New Mexico | February 2, 2023 |
| Oklahoma (Homeschool Oklahoma) | February 7, 2023 |
| Oklahoma (Constitutional Home Educators Alliance) | February 8, 2023 |
| Virginia | February 2, 2023 |
| West Virginia | February 3, 2023 |
Save the date for Unfragmented, a new book club hosted by our very own Leigh Bortins, beginning Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Just click the Unfragmented book club banner on the home page of Leigh’s website to find the Zoom link and join in the discussion.
January will feature author Kevin Novak and his book, Abolition. No preparation is required, but it definitely helps to have the book in hand. Enjoy the relaxed conversation!
You can also listen to this interview between Leigh and the author.
Taxpayer-funded education goes by a variety of names these days, such as school vouchers, charter schools, and education savings accounts (ESAs), which different states variously call Education Freedom Accounts, Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or Individualized Education Accounts.
These lovely names suggest a commitment to the principles of freedom and self-determination that define the homeschooling movement, but buyer beware: all that glitters is not gold.
Take No Child Left Behind: glittering name, pyrite legislation. Enacted with bipartisan support, NCLB promised to fix the substandard and ever-worsening quality of the public education system. In fact, one of the legislationâs objectives was to offer parents school choice! (Sound familiar?)
Instead, NCLB vastly expanded the federal governmentâs role in education while public schools continued to deteriorate and school choice was left by the wayside. Despite the glittering name, despite the promise of school choice, NCLB only eroded educational freedoms.
School choiceâa.k.a. âparent choiceââfunded by taxpayersâ money represents a similar bait and switch. The government offers this money to parents when they withdraw their students from the public school system, ostensibly because the money wouldâve followed the students anyway. Sounds great, right?
Hereâs the catch: this money is then deposited in government-authorized savings accountsâaccounts subject to government oversight. And thatâs where the trouble begins.
Government oversight means regulation. Regulation is the death of freedom and self-determination. Soon, you wonât be able to spend those funds according to your own wants and needs. Instead, youâll need the governmentâs approval for your expenditures.
And then your home school wonât be your home schoolârather, your home school will be just another government-run program in your living room.
Pyrite is called foolâs gold because it tricks people into believing itâs real gold. School choice funded by taxpayersâ money isnât school choice at allâitâs just foolâs gold. Like No Child Left Behind, taxpayer-funded education will only undermine legitimate educational freedom.
Donât trade your childâs future for pyrite.
Capitol Days, Legislative Days, Day at the Capitol, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. This is a great opportunity for you to teach your children the importance of the legislative process and help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms.
Californiaâs Capitol Day is January 18â19, 2023. You can get details here.
Indianaâs Homeschool Day at the Capitol is January 19, 2023. Details are coming soon here.
Do you see your stateâs Homeschool Capitol Day or Day at the Legislature here? Keep checking back if not!
Looking for devotional resources for the Advent season? Check out Biolaâs 2022 Advent Project for daily reflections upon the coming of Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Advent calendars come in all shapes and sizes but what they have in common is a daily rhythm of anticipatory reflection. Biolaâs Center for Christianity, Culture, and the Arts offers a FREE online Advent Project designed to help you pause each day to reflect on the beauty and meaning of the season. The 2022 Advent Project starts on the first day of Advent, November 26, 2022, and continues through January 7, 2023. Each day of the Advent Project features a Scripture passage, a devotion written by a member of the Biola community, a work of visual art, a poem, and a piece of music. Our prayer is that in the midst of the busy Christmas season, the Advent Project will help ground you in the unsurpassable beauty, mystery, and miracle of the Word made flesh. – Biolaâs Advent Project 2022