Some school choice critics argue that allowing taxpayer dollars to follow students to private schools or homeschooling will inevitably lead to more state control over independent education. They claim that “with government shekels come government shackles.”
But such fearmongering ignores reality—there are states where families get the shekels without the shackles, and others where families get the shackles without the shekels.
State governments nationwide are now ramping up regulations on private and homeschool education in places that lack any school choice programs. Far from inviting more oversight, school choice builds a bulwark against authoritarian overreach by creating a larger coalition to fight back.
In states hostile to educational freedom, school choice opponents are introducing proposals to clamp down on homeschooling families without a dime of taxpayer funding involved. Take Senate Bill 6261 in Washington state. The proposal would force parents to notify the state that they’re homeschooling as soon as their child turns 6—two full years before compulsory education laws even apply.
Families failing to comply could face criminal penalties. The bill is a way to track and control families who just want to raise their own kids at home without government interference.
Over in New Jersey, state Rep. Sterley Stanley, a Democrat, introduced Assembly Bill 5825 in 2025, which would mandate that homeschool curricula align with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards. Those standards have been infused with divisive DEI requirements across subjects from history to health class.
Under the bill, homeschoolers would be compelled to teach state-approved content, stripping away the very essence of independent education.
The attacks don’t stop there. New Jersey Assembly Bill 5796 would mandate that all homeschool families meet with a government school official each year for a “general health and wellness check.”
Illinois isn’t far behind. House Bill 2827, also from 2025, requires families to file annual “homeschool declaration forms,” submit portfolios of their children’s work, and endure fines or even jail time for noncompliance. The crackdown comes on the heels of left-leaning lawmakers’ successful efforts to kill the state’s modest school choice program in 2023.
It’s no coincidence. The same forces dismantling school choice are now targeting homeschoolers to eliminate competition.
In California, the State Assembly passed AB 84 along strict party lines before the bill stalled in the Senate. But it could be revived at any moment. The legislation would impose burdensome reporting and oversight on homeschool families—all without any school choice mechanism in place.
The politicians and special interests fighting tooth and nail against school choice are the same ones pushing to erode homeschool freedoms. They’re not waiting for “shekels” to impose shackles. They’re forging them now in states devoid of private school choice.
According to the new ALEC Education Freedom Index released this month, these states targeting homeschoolers rank abysmally low.
Illinois clocks in at 44th, New Jersey at 42nd, Washington at 39th, and California at 31st. New York, just about dead last at 49th, has no private school choice and arguably the nation’s most oppressive homeschool laws, requiring detailed quarterly reports and standardized testing. None of these states have meaningful private school choice programs, yet they’re leading the charge against family autonomy.
On the flip side, states embracing school choice are enhancing homeschool freedoms, not curtailing them.
Wyoming passed universal school choice recently and, in the same legislative session, rolled back unnecessary homeschool reporting requirements. Ohio enacted universal school choice in 2023 and expanded homeschool freedoms in the same bill, reducing bureaucratic hurdles. In Missouri, lawmakers meaningfully expanded school choice in 2024 while slashing homeschool regulations—ending the practice where school districts could weaponize local sheriffs against their homeschooling competitors.
In 1923, Oregon outlawed private education entirely. The bigoted law was aimed at Catholic schools, pushed by authoritarians desperate to monopolize children’s minds. The U.S. Supreme Court rightly struck it down in the landmark decision Pierce v. Society of Sisters, which affirmed that “the child is not the mere creature of the State.” That ruling protected educational pluralism without any taxpayer funding involved.
Those fearmongering about school choice are making the perfect the enemy of the good. We don’t live in a libertarian utopia where government stays out of education entirely.
In our imperfect world, we must seize incremental victories. School choice isn’t flawless, but it’s a vital step toward liberty. It’s always voluntary. Families and schools weigh the costs and benefits annually, and no one is forced to participate.
Moreover, school choice diminishes the risk of future regulations by forging a broader alliance of freedom fighters. When more families escape government schools, they join the ranks pushing back against socialist overreach.
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty—there will always be politicians scheming to strip our rights. But we’re stronger, with a bigger team.
School choice provides an escape valve from indoctrinating district schools that breed support for big government. Without it, more kids remain trapped in systems that churn out voters eager to regulate private and home education.
Look at New York City, where a socialist won the mayor’s race. That’s no accident. Generations of brainwashing at district schools have normalized expansive government control. School choice breaks that cycle, fostering independent thinkers who value freedom.
In the end, the status quo of monopoly education poses the real threat. By expanding school choice, we empower families, weaken authoritarians, and safeguard liberties for the long haul.
Let’s not let baseless fears derail real progress.
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