Why Homeschool Families Should Support (or at Least Not Oppose) ESAs

America stands at a crossroads—a choice between the status quo of governmental monopoly over millions of children’s education on one hand, and the empowerment of every parent and family to promote the flourishing of their own children on the other. Indeed, perhaps no political battle today matters as much as defending and promoting what the Supreme Court described a century ago as: “the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”

As an organization committed to parental rights, educational freedom, and the strict limitation of government power and influence over the lives of a free people, the Goldwater Institute is proud to have pioneered the nation’s first education savings account (ESA) program in Arizona over a decade ago—returning to families a portion of what they already pay each year in taxes to allow them to pursue private and at-home—including values-based—education that’s right for their child.

Now, states around the nation, such as Utah, are poised to unlock the same opportunities for their own families, even as radical, leftwing teachers unions and their allies fight to block them, while conservative, parent-oriented advocates seek to make sense of the claims and questions they’ve heard.

It is amid this backdrop that voices like that of Michael Clark, author of the following essay, provide clarity. Trained in law and theology and a homeschool father himself, Clark has provided an invaluable service to any interested—or wary—of a future with ESAs, particularly as it relates to the rights of parents and allies of the homeschool community.

I warmly encourage and invite you to read his words.

— Matt Beienburg, Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute, and Director of the Institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy.

You can read Michael Clark’s essay by clicking here.