In the Battle for School Choice, Families Get Stuck in the Middle
Homeschooling has been growing rapidly over the past several years- averaging 5 percent per year since COVID, with no signs of slowing down.
Families are leaving the public school system in favor of other education options that they perceive to be safer or more reliable, and legislatures are scrambling to influence policy in response.
Currently, 34 states offer some form of school choice funding. These benefits range from a basic homeschool scholarship to tax credits to ESA/EFA accounts and more.
Other states offer a form of homeschool funding that requires enrollment in their school district. The school then forwards a portion of the funding they receive to the homeschool families who enroll.
These funding options are a welcome change for a lot of homeschool families. For many, it is the factor that makes homeschooling possible at all, with rising inflation and the cost of living.
A large percentage of homeschool families live on one income, or with one parent working part-time. This leaves little room in the budget for the expenses associated with homeschooling.
However, the introduction of School Choice options has brought with it a new kind of frustration. As parents learn to navigate their states’ homeschool funding options, legislators continue to move the goalposts, often resulting in financial hardship due to funding that was counted on not being available anymore.
For example, Arizona was one of the first states to adopt an ESA program for homeschoolers, but there are elements of the program that are still unclear or changing.
Initially, parents could pay for private schools and other approved activities out-of-pocket to receive reimbursement. Then, in 2024, they were notified that they would no longer be reimbursed for payments made, and all invoices had to be handled through the online Class Wallet portal.
For a while, families were able to receive funds monthly to put toward approved programs and materials, but suddenly, they were notified that money would only be available quarterly. This, again, left parents scrambling to figure out how to cover expenses, and providers to adjust how they bill for services.
In 2026, there is a bill that has been introduced to change the Class Wallet payments back to monthly, which will again mean adjusting how parents pay for homeschool resources.
There has also been an ongoing debate regarding what activities and items should be eligible for ESA funding. Stories about homeschool families taking advantage of the system and buying excessive numbers of Lego sets have become central to debates about the legitimacy of the ESA funding program altogether.
And so, even in the utilization of School Choice options, families are still at the mercy of public policy. This is a big problem for families who are already making sacrifices to provide better education for their children.
“But, why not just send your children to public school? That’s easier, and the best scenario for them anyway.”
Many parents are not convinced that this is true anymore. Between the reports that almost 20 percent of students experience sexual abuse in school, and those of entire schools full of students who can’t read proficiently, many parents have simply given up on public education and are convinced that they can do better — even if “better” is only helping them to read and keeping them safe from predators.
And, why wouldn’t they want better? Especially when the amount of money public schools receive per student is roughly the same as the cost of private school, which has significantly better outcomes. The only difference is that public school students are funded largely through income and property taxes, while the parents of homeschool and private school students are expected to fund public education they aren’t using, as well as whatever alternative school options they choose. This is supposed to be the discrimination that school choice funding helps to account for.
Problems with education quality are not isolated to specific areas. According to Kansas ACT scores, only 17 percent of graduates are college-ready, despite the fact that funding has doubled over the past 10 years. Most of that money has gone to administrative and managerial costs, not to actual education.
This current crisis in the education system and the legislative battle that is underway leaves a lot of families caught in the middle, fighting what seems like an uphill battle to make sure they are able to balance their budgets at the end of each month. Many families choose to forego the homeschool funding altogether — for simplicity, and to avoid government involvement.
If public schools were operated like private entities, there would be consequences for failing to deliver the promised result or product. In practically any other field, not delivering the expected result would mean a lawsuit, paid damages, or the entity being shut down.
However, when it comes to the public school system, more money continues to be spent without any real accountability or expectation that students actually learn the skills they need to know. This is at the heart of many parents’ frustration.
Perhaps it is time to fundamentally change the way education is funded. Rather than being a government-funded program, schools should operate as private businesses that compete for business through exceptional standards and transparency.
Rather than being paid for with tax money, families could opt into deductions to something like a 529 Education Savings Plan through payroll. This would be a simple way to incentivize schools to deliver on the expectations of their customers, while giving families easier and more independent access to funding for education.
Homeschool families already take on a monumental task by committing to teach their children. They shouldn’t also have to navigate the ever-changing whims of public policy.
The views expressed in this opinion article are those of their author and are not necessarily either shared or endorsed by the owners of this website. If you are interested in contributing an Op-Ed to The Western Journal, you can learn about our submission guidelines and process here.
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