The Universal School Choice Debate: Are We Missing the Point?

You’ve probably heard about universal school choice, right? It’s a hot topic, especially in South Carolina. The idea is to let the money follow the child to save kids from public school indoctrination. Sounds good in the headlines, but is it really the golden ticket they claim? Let’s dive in and find out.

Universal school choice provides public funds to eligible parents to be used for various educational options. Instead of sending funds directly to public schools, the money is directed to private schools, charter schools, or even homeschooling. There are several types of school choice government approaches, but school choice vouchers seem to be the favorite.

The Battle for Homeschooling Rights

First off, remember Ronald Reagan’s famous words, “The nine scariest words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.’” Back in the 80s, parents fought tooth and nail for homeschooling rights. They battled the National Education Association (NEA), truant officers, and even faced arrests. Why? Because they wanted the freedom to educate their children without government interference.

Did you know that the modern homeschool movement was started through a miraculous moving of the Holy Spirit around 1983? Before that, homeschooling was legal in only a handful of states, and in most others, it was treated as a crime. Parents who homeschooled frequently faced jail terms and the loss of their children to foster care.

Fast forward to today, and it’s discouraging to see the school choice movement, largely driven by Republicans, pushing for these vouchers. Republicans are offering universal school choice vouchers like candy. "Take this money and flee public schools," they say. Do we really believe this money won't come with strings attached?

Here’s the thing about school choice. It already exists. You can choose to homeschool, send your kid to a private school, or even a charter school. The moment you accept government money, you’re inviting oversight. And if history’s taught us anything, it’s that government oversight is never hands-off. Reagan knew it. We know it.

The Illusion of Legal Protections

Some folks argue, “Let’s just write laws that prevent the government from controlling the curriculum, oversight, testing, tracking, and requirements.” Nice thought, but laws are like sandcastles – they wash away with the next wave. Legislators come and go, and so do the rules. Do we really think Republicans will always be in power? Especially in places like South Carolina where Democrats can waltz into Republican primaries?

Here’s a crucial point. Every policy requires three things – a mandate, oversight, and funding. Without these, it’s not a policy; it’s a suggestion. And suggestions are easy to ignore. If the government funds education, they’ll have oversight. More money means more oversight. And the truth is, if they’re taking your tax dollars, don’t you want to make sure they’re spending it right?

How about instead, we support, “Keep your money and stay out of our education”?

Education should be under the purview of the family, self-governance, and the church, but definitely not the civil government. Whether local, state, or federal, government should stay out of it. Period.

The Free Market Solution

Let’s dive into the free market system for education. Exciting stuff, right? In a free market, the cream really does rise to the top. Here’s how it works. Prices for goods and services are set by open competition between businesses, with minimal government meddling. Now, are we talking about zero tax dollars for education? Absolutely. That would be the ultimate win.

Back in the 80s, homeschoolers fought for this. They didn’t want tax credits or government money. They just wanted to be left alone. They valued their children’s education and freedom more than any government aid. People don’t think that way anymore. They advocated, "Don't give us tax credits, don't give us any money, leave us alone. There's not a dollar that's worth our child's soul or the risk of losing them." Fast forward to today, and the situation has shifted dramatically.

This push for universal education vouchers is like the Republican version of universal basic income. Think about it. They’re already funding highways, libraries, food subsidies, and shelters. Now they want to publicize private education too. They’re saying, “Here’s $6,000 for your kid. Have three kids? Here’s $18,000.” How is that different from universal basic income? Especially when homeschooling can cost less than $3,000 per child.

Another argument for school choice is that it’s an incremental fight. How can we ever completely get government overreach out of our education system if kids continue to be indoctrinated into that system? If we offer up this voucher system, then we’ll have more kids out of the public school system. That’s an interesting question, implying that pulling kids out takes time. What happened during March 2020 when schools shut down? A lot of parents didn’t hesitate to pull their kids out and homeschool. For nearly two years, we saw that we could make this work.

Another argument is “the money follows the child.” But it’s not the parents’ money; it’s taxpayer money. Parents have responsibilities. Responsibilities mean sacrifice, suffering, and paying for it. If someone else pays for your responsibilities, are you still responsible? Nope. Take away parental responsibility, and you take away their say too.

Lastly, school choice creates dependency and irresponsibility. If you’re relying on government money for education, you’re giving up control. Worse, you’ll give up the freedom to do without this government handout. And that’s a dangerous road to go down.

Call to Action

So, what do we do? First, contact your legislator (both House and Senate) and let them know you don't support these entitlement programs. Universal school choice approaches, in all their forms, are entitlement programs. An entitlement program guarantees public fund handouts to a specific group of people who meet certain criteria, regardless of whether they pay taxes.

Make it clear to your legislator that this initiative will turn all private educational options into a public school system. This shift will eliminate educational freedom, strip parents of their responsibility to educate their children, and create an inescapable dependency on the government.

Advocate for a free market in education. Push for the freedom to educate our children without government interference. Remember the fight in the 80s. Let's not revert to relying on the government. Let's take ownership of our family's education and live our lives the way we choose.

Breaking This article was recently published by World, titled "Unlikely Allies." School choice measures are dividing Republicans and finding favor with Democrats. Please read it to find out why the Democrats are loving the school choice initiatives. Oh, dear.

“We will be increasingly seeing, as we knew, the Democrats jump on the supposedly Republican legislation that really benefits most the Demoncratic constituency.  While I think this was the plan all along, apparently it has been not been communicated much to the many of Demons until somewhat recently.  The long game of patience while the Republicans do the dirty work for the Left.” ~ Meg Johnson

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