Homeschooling and school vouchers have been in the news a lot lately. There are tons of debates over the pros and cons of school vouchers among homeschoolers. I started homeschooling in 1993 when it wasn’t technically legal in Texas, so there was no expectation of receiving funds from the government. We just wanted the right to choose to homeschooling as a valid educational choice and that was all.
Here we are in 2025 where homeschoolers feeling the pinch of inflation are looking at how much school vouchers could help them to defray some of the costs of their children’s education. I understand this sentiment very well. Prices of everything have risen and are taking a bigger bite out of our incomes. We homeschoolers pay property taxes to support schools that we don’t use and property taxes have risen steeply in recent years. My own property taxes have more than doubled since 2022-ouch! While I sometimes think it would be nice if someone else funded my son’s school lunch program, I prefer to see the public school monies stay with the public schools, where 90% of all students are educated according to the National Educational Association. Homeschoolers should want their public schools to be excellent, both in case they ever have to use them and because as a society we should support education. Diverting public funds to private education and homeschooling will weaken our public schools.
The siren song of getting some of that money back in the form of a school voucher is very appealing, but it could ultimately subject homeschooling families to the requirements and regulations that caused them to leave public school. If you aren’t familiar with the Sirens of The Odyssey, they’re beautiful women of the sea, who sing songs that hypnotize or lure and trick men into shipwrecking their boats on rocky shores because they follow their irresistible songs. The ‘free” money that we could receive in the form of a school voucher could wreck homeschooling as we know it. I much prefer homeschooling on a budget and keeping my hard-fought homeschooling rights.
Currently there are a plethora of states that offer school vouchers that can potentially benefit homeschoolers. California and Arkansas both have such programs. Bridgeway Academy, a charter school in California, states on their website, “In order to qualify for homeschool funding in California, your child must be enrolled in an approved California homeschool charter school. Many charter schools have limited capacity, and enrollment is not guaranteed. You must apply for enrollment and be accepted into the school in order to qualify for a homeschool stipend.” In short, you can get the money if you adhere to the requirements. In some states you are not able to use your voucher for religious curriculum. If your reason for homeschooling is religious you may find that the voucher limits what you can purchase for your homeschool. I don’t know about you, but I like the autonomy that I have to choose the curriculum that I feel best suits my child, without having to seek approval for it so that I can buy it.
Under some homeschooling and school voucher programs, homeschoolers will have to meet certain standards that can eventually weaken homeschooling freedoms for all homeschoolers, as mentioned in HSLDA’s post, How ESA Funding Could Undermine Homeschool Freedom. Some states offer a tax credit instead of a school voucher, which HSLDA does support.
The beauty of homeschooling is the ability to tailor our children’s education to their particular needs. Currently each state’s homeschool regulations allow us to do that in one form or another. It’s my concern that as ESAs proliferate the regulations placed on homeschooling will become more stringent and onerous.
As we’ve all heard, “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” The “free” voucher money will have strings attached. Do your research if vouchers are being proposed in your state so that you know what the strings are. Contact your state representatives to make your voice heard. Educate yourself and your fellow homeschoolers and protect your freedoms.
In my opinion, homeschooling and school vouchers do not go together and are a slippery slope to more governmental oversight and interference.