In my last post, I suggested you consider placing your children in a parochial school rather than continuing to send them to the public school where one problem after another seems to rear its ugly head. Now we have to talk about how to accomplish that. Here is an excerpt from my book, Who’s Got Dibs on Your Kids?:
Do you remember when your little darling was about two or three and the strident “NO!” bounced off the walls anytime an unwanted food was approaching, or the car seat became the hated object of the day? Then there was the “I don’t want to” accompanied by a foot stomping. Not all kids go through that stage; it isn’t very pleasant, but you have to admit it gets attention.
If you are going to exercise your parental rights to protect your kids from unwanted overreaching authority, you are going to have to do a little foot stomping yourself, accompanied with a don’t-mess-with-me “NO!”
What the Courts have to say
In November 2005 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled your rights as a parent to control the way your children are raised, and what they are taught, end when you let go of your kids’ hands and they step foot into the school. The ruling reads, your right “does not extend beyond the threshold of the school door.” They also determined that the school has the right to teach your kids anything they want to teach: “. . . whatever information it wishes to provide, sexual or otherwise.”
You are not alone!
Maybe you’re feeling like you’re the only one who feels the way you do.
Your one small voice won’t mean a thing. Think again. The American Federation for Children (AFC) recently referred to a poll in which they asked the question, “School choice gives parents the right to use the tax dollars designated for their child’s education to send their child to the public or private school which best serves their child’s needs. Generally speaking, would you say you support or oppose the concept of school choice?”
Overall 71 percent said they supported the statement. This included 69 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans. Divided between race and ethnicity, over 65 percent in all of the categories supported the statement.
A following question was on funding: On average, American taxpayers spend $15,424 per student nationwide on K-12 public education. Would you support or oppose giving parents a portion of those funds to use for home, virtual, or private education if public schools do not reopen full-time for in-person classes?
In this case, the overall support was 65 percent, with responses divided by race all between 60 and 69 percent. The vote by party affiliation was 66 percent Democrat and 67 percent Republican.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE!
What is available vs. what you need
Obviously, the battle against public school teachers unions will not be
easy. Let’s get a head start and prepare out representatives and senators in our states and in Washington for the job they have ahead of them. Defining the school choice legislation is square one in the legislative hopscotch.
Look first to what is now available. Many states have education savings account programs. Others have options where any income tax due the state can be applied to a school or student of your choice. Investigate whether you can take advantage of these while working on a federal program.
Check out the Florida school choice program Gov. DeSantis signed into law in May 2021 at St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Hialeah. They already had three voucher programs, but this new law combines those and adds some benefits. It raises the income threshold to be eligible for the vouchers to $99,375 for a family of four. It expands how the money can be spent for other important education-related items like transportation, fees for national achievement tests, supplementary instructional materials and private tutoring. All told, this expansion of the present laws will cost an additional $200 million. Not all states have the money to provide such a program.
When you approach your congressional representatives, make certain they know that many parents will prefer to choose a religious school over simply a “private” school. Autonomy is high on the list with parochial schools. Some private schools have some of the same concerns about the
long shadow of the government that religious schools do. These schools are deeply afraid of government control, and worry that taking the school choice money will put the camel’s nose under the tent. They absolutely do not want the government at any level telling them what they must and must not teach their students. Not in sexual and gender matters. Not regarding their religious beliefs. Not regarding the social agenda of the day, e.g. critical race theory. Not anything! School choice legislation must absolutely prohibit any government intervention.
The best way I can think of to accomplish that is to have a local, state, and federal government refund returned to the parent(s). (I said “best way” not the easiest way.) The parent provides proof that the child or children were actually enrolled in a private/parochial school for the school year, and based on that proof, the various governmental bodies sends the $XX,000 per child (whatever amount is specified in the law) back to the parent. In the case of low income families, the school of choice school may permit the parents to pay the tuition upon receipt from the government, rather than monthly payments. In this manner, the government has no direct involvement with the school.
Because spending is so divided between local, state and federal, this will not be an easy solution, however. In the United States, K-12 schools spend about $12,624 per pupil. Federal, state, and local governments spend about $734.2 billion annually or $14,484 per pupil. The federal government provides 7.7% of funding, state governments provide 46.7%, and local governments provide 45.6%. You can check out how much your state spends on K-12 education at the U.S. Public Education Spending Statistics website. Separate laws would probably have to be passed at each level to transfer all school money to follow the child.
In 1923 the Supreme Court stated that within the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is the “power of parents to control the education” of their kids. (Emphasis mine.) You have the right to do this.