In my recent article about the new Arizona ESA expansion bill HB2853, I focused on two primary questions from outside and within the homeschool community. The two questions I asked were: 1) Will ESA's defund public schools? and 2) Will my family be exposed to government control if we accept ESA funds?
When initially writing, I must admit my thoughts on the topic were not exhaustive; I was learning on the fly as I was researching the topic, and in the process learned more about ESA's than I ever thought I'd know. In that article I did my best to present the facts without sounding too biased to one side or the other when answering those questions; I'm not sure I achieved that, but it is definitely the heart behind the article.
Since then, both my wife and I have fielded numerous questions and private messages on the topic; these came primarily from folks within the homeschool community. So the purpose of writing this article is an attempt to look deeper into some of the underlying sentiments surrounding ESA's as it pertains to homeschoolers and to foster continued discussion.
Given the current fight at the national level for school choice and the relentless attacks on the minds of our children, I don't believe any of us have the luxury of standing idly by in this debate. Whether your family pursues ESA funding or not, this expansion bill is a freedom-of-choice opportunity that will have national ramifications. I won't be diving into those in this article, as I'm still focused on the impact to Arizona homeschoolers. My hope is to be a helpful resource as you think through your own homeschooling journey and how ESA's will impact your family or not.
To that end, here are some of the looming arguments I've been engaged with the most over the last couple of weeks.
If you accept ESA funding, you cannot call yourself a homeschooler
It seems that many within the homeschool community share this sentiment towards those who accept ESA funds, and has been a point of contention in online forums and even private messages. Some of those private messages have been from homeschoolers that do not accept any government assistance.
One of the issues at hand was articulated as a perceived "lack of respect from those who do accept ESA funds, towards those whom the term homeschooler means everything." The insinuation is that the term homeschooler doesn't mean anything to families who choose to accept ESA funding. Who determines the term "homeschooler" means less for family who choose to accept this assistance?
I believe this argument is part of a false dilemma; one that is being presented from trusted organizations like HLSDA and AFHE, though perhaps not intentionally. As I mentioned previously, where these organizations have to draw a hard line on a particular topic, the same doesn't have to be true for families. However, many are choosing to see it that way.
For their part, AFHE does say they support families to make the best decision for their family, but in the same breath they state, "it is critical to understand and maintain the clear distinction between homeschooling and other education options in our state in order to preserve the freedom parents currently enjoy in directing the education of their children." It seems like they are suggesting something that goes beyond law; if you accept government funding you are not a homeschooler.
By definition, homeschool means "to teach (one's children) at home instead of sending them to school; to educate one's children at home." The specifics in HB2853 state that ESA's are "established to provide options for the education of students in this state" and that parents must "use a portion of the...monies...to provide an education for the qualified student." The bill stipulates the appropriate subjects the money can be used for, but how the parent decides to "provide an education" is up to the parent. Meaning, parents can educate their students at home using the curriculum of their choosing while using ESA funds.
While I agree that it is important to understand how the State of Arizona classifies students, I reject the idea that parents cannot call themselves a homeschool family should they decide to accept ESA funds. I reject this idea because homeschooling families all look different. I also reject the idea because if you follow the logic of not accepting government money, then you should never accept the following: stimulus checks, any form of welfare, social security, unemployment, etc. To me, this is an argument over semantics.
Furthermore, as citizens of the United States of America, we live in a country of law and order; one in which compulsory education has been required by law, since 1918. Education in the US is not optional, but freedom of school choice (even choice in how we homeschool) is a freedom we do currently have, although this is under attack and some states have stricter homeschool regulations than others.
Massachusetts, for example, requires mandatory testing, an annual notice of intent to homeschool, mandated subjects, curriculum review, etc. These are requirements of every homeschool family, whether you accept government assistance or not. Should families in Massachusetts refer to themselves as something other than homeschoolers since they live under higher regulation than families in Arizona who choose to accept ESA funding?
Why should one group claim superiority over the other? It shouldn't be that way, regardless of where you stand on this issue off government assistance. Our culture is divided enough; we should come together as a community at large and show one another the respect we all deserve as families and individuals and stop the argument over semantics.
The AZ government does not have control over what you teach
Perhaps the most important reason home education is the method of educational choice for many Christian families is because we believe it is the most effective way to follow God's commands in Deuteronomy 6:7, "You shall teach them [God's commands] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." The rate at which our culture is descending even deeper into moral depravity and exchanging "the truth about God for a lie", is breathtaking.
At the time of this writing, Albert Mohler released an opinion piece entitled, "No, I don't think men can get pregnant". Without rewriting the article, let's just say that exchanging "the truth about God for a lie" comes into focus in a way none of us would have thought possible even two years ago. To say our culture is battling for the minds of our youth, is an understatement; is it an assault on parental rights. Many liberal minds do not believe parents should have any influence on what our children think or believe (this is not a new concept, but it is just now something leftists are willing to publicly admit).
How does this specifically relate to ESA and government control? According to the text of HB2853, the government can, and will, audit ESA accounts on an ongoing basis. However, these audits pertain to the usage of funds as it relates to qualified expenses, not the content of coursework. The point is, the State of AZ will not dictate content whether you accept ESA funding or not. Let's pray it remains this way.
You can change the classification status of your child at any time
Let's play the devil's advocate and say that the worst possible scenario happens, and the State of Arizona bans parents from using any ESA funds for material that contains any religious, or more specifically Christian, content. Worse yet, they dictate the only curriculum you can purchase using ESA funds is coursework that includes objectionable content.
At that point I would see at least two options: 1) stop accepting ESA funds completely (and change your classification status to "homeschooling with an affidavit", or 2) choose to use the funds for other curriculum that is not inherently Christian like, say, math?
Remember, per the letter of the bill, parents are only required to use a "portion" of the funds. In fact, parents are not required to use all of funds each calendar year. Any funds remaining in the students account at the end of each year roll over to the following year, and can even be saved to use for tuition fees and textbooks at an "eligible postsecondary institution."
It is wise, however, to recognize that since Genesis 3, we live in a fallen world. Therefore, we should "never say never" when it comes to religious freedom. All we need to do is take a look at our neighbors to the North to see how quickly religious freedoms are being dismantled.
For now, however, I believe these religious freedom battles in the US have been shown favor by our current SCOTUS. Most recently in their ruling of Carson v. Makin, which challenged the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the SCOTUS ruled in favor of two Christian schools in Maine who were denied access to public funds that similar sectarian schools were able to receive. Ultimately, the court ruled that the State of Maine was discriminating specifically against Christian schools.
This is not to say we should pretend attacks on religious freedom stop; they won't. This is to say, that, for now, there is no reason to believe the State of Arizona will come knocking on your door to ask about the content of the science curriculum that was purchased using ESA funds. But if they did, what would prevent you from changing the Arizona classification status of your student from "ESA" to "homeschooling with an affidavit"?
Concluding thoughts
As with any assistance program, there is definitely a danger to accepting government funds: reliance. It is easy to quickly become dependent on government funds, to the point where homeschooling would not be possible without them. If at all possible, I would encourage families to do their best to not fall into this category, though it is not always an option.
One option to prevent reliance on government assistance would be to only use the funds towards purchases that enhance your homeschool curriculum and save the rest. Not every family will have that luxury, and I suspect that for those with strong negative feelings towards ESA, this might be the number one contention. It is a danger, to be sure. But life is full of calculated risks, and we should respect the decisions each family makes to do what is best for their family.
Indeed, it seems the prudent posture would be to assume the best in one another before jumping to unfounded conclusions. Let's put into practice what we all try to teach our children: don't judge a book by it's cover. And in the end, it is okay to "agree to disagree" on issues and still maintain unity in the common cause of educational freedom.
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