Parental Education Choice is sweeping the country!
Last year Arizona became the first state to adopt a “universal” Education Savings Account. That action expanded its previous program that was available only to special needs children.
This program allows any family in the state to opt into the program and use the funds that had previously only gone to institutions to be used by families for the education of their children.
This year Utah, Iowa, and West Virginia have signed such programs empowering parents into law. Currently, there are almost a dozen states with such programs, and many states, including Texas, are considering legislation to adopt programs that would give parents more choices in the education of their children.
Governor Abbott is barnstorming the state, speaking at rallies of hundreds supporting the concept of parental education choice.
Governor Abbott is “all in” on the concept that all parents should be empowered to make decisions for the education of their children.
Governor Abbott said, “Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school, charter school, or private school with state funding following the student.”
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is also “all in” on Parental Education Choice and has prioritized the issue, as has Governor Abbott.
There are numerous bills that have been filed, and according to our friends at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the legislators who have filed legislation to develop more and better educational options for every child this session include Chairman Brandon Creighton, Chairman James Frank, Senators Angela Paxton, Mayes Middleton, Paul Bettencourt, Donna Campbell, and Tan Parker, Chairman Briscoe Cain, and Representatives Jacey Jetton, Brian Harrison, Matt Shaheen, Lynn Stucky, Steve Toth, Carrie Isaac, and Terri Leo-Wilson.
We at THSC believe that parents have a God-given right to raise their children as they see fit. Therefore, we support any effort that will empower parents and give them more options in the education of their children, provided it does not negatively impact homeschooling.
In fact, the modern homeschool movement was the beginning of parental choice in education as the state of Texas and the public school strongly opposed parents having the right to teach their children at home.
While polling shows that the vast majority of Texas homeschoolers support programs such as ESAs, some in the homeschool community raise concerns that such programs could lead to the regulation of all homeschoolers.
The evidence, however, does not support such fears.
Of the 30 states who have enacted such legislation going back almost three decades, none have increased regulation on homeschoolers as a result, and some of those states have actually decreased regulations of homeschooling families.
There are no guarantees of continued freedom for homeschooling, and that is the reason that the THSC team is on the ground in Austin and closely monitoring bills, discussing them with bill authors to make changes and giving testimony at hearings, and when necessary sounding the alarm for calls to oppose legislation that would limit our freedom.
In the same way, we are always working to pass legislation to protect families and give more options to families.
That is why THSC is laser-focused on the passage of a constitutional amendment protecting homeschools and private schools from state regulation.
Refusing to pass good legislation giving parents more freedom is not the way to protect homeschooling. s someone once said: “No man’s freedom or property is safe when the Texas Legislature is in session.”
That’s why we should defend freedom with boldness.
Check out this page to see a list of the bills prioritized by THSC and our sister organization, the Family Freedom Project.
THSC will continue to focus on protecting and expanding the freedom for parents to raise their children as they see fit, just as we have done for almost 40 years.
Thank you for standing with us in that critical mission.
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
Parental Education Choice is sweeping the country!
Last year Arizona became the first state to adopt a “universal” Education Savings Account. That action expanded its previous program that was available only to special needs children.
This program allows any family in the state to opt into the program and use the funds that had previously only gone to institutions to be used by families for the education of their children.
This year Utah, Iowa, and West Virginia have signed such programs empowering parents into law. Currently, there are almost a dozen states with such programs, and many states, including Texas, are considering legislation to adopt programs that would give parents more choices in the education of their children.
Governor Abbott is barnstorming the state, speaking at rallies of hundreds supporting the concept of parental education choice.
Governor Abbott is “all in” on the concept that all parents should be empowered to make decisions for the education of their children.
Governor Abbott said, “Empowering parents means giving them the choice to send their children to any public school, charter school, or private school with state funding following the student.”
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick is also “all in” on Parental Education Choice and has prioritized the issue, as has Governor Abbott.
There are numerous bills that have been filed, and according to our friends at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, the legislators who have filed legislation to develop more and better educational options for every child this session include Chairman Brandon Creighton, Chairman James Frank, Senators Angela Paxton, Mayes Middleton, Paul Bettencourt, Donna Campbell, and Tan Parker, Chairman Briscoe Cain, and Representatives Jacey Jetton, Brian Harrison, Matt Shaheen, Lynn Stucky, Steve Toth, Carrie Isaac, and Terri Leo-Wilson.
We at THSC believe that parents have a God-given right to raise their children as they see fit. Therefore, we support any effort that will empower parents and give them more options in the education of their children, provided it does not negatively impact homeschooling.
In fact, the modern homeschool movement was the beginning of parental choice in education as the state of Texas and the public school strongly opposed parents having the right to teach their children at home.
While polling shows that the vast majority of Texas homeschoolers support programs such as ESAs, some in the homeschool community raise concerns that such programs could lead to the regulation of all homeschoolers.
The evidence, however, does not support such fears.
Of the 30 states who have enacted such legislation going back almost three decades, none have increased regulation on homeschoolers as a result, and some of those states have actually decreased regulations of homeschooling families.
There are no guarantees of continued freedom for homeschooling, and that is the reason that the THSC team is on the ground in Austin and closely monitoring bills, discussing them with bill authors to make changes and giving testimony at hearings, and when necessary sounding the alarm for calls to oppose legislation that would limit our freedom.
In the same way, we are always working to pass legislation to protect families and give more options to families.
That is why THSC is laser-focused on the passage of a constitutional amendment protecting homeschools and private schools from state regulation.
Refusing to pass good legislation giving parents more freedom is not the way to protect homeschooling. s someone once said: “No man’s freedom or property is safe when the Texas Legislature is in session.”
That’s why we should defend freedom with boldness.
Check out this page to see a list of the bills prioritized by THSC and our sister organization, the Family Freedom Project.
THSC will continue to focus on protecting and expanding the freedom for parents to raise their children as they see fit, just as we have done for almost 40 years.
Thank you for standing with us in that critical mission.
Tim Lambert, THSC President
Tim Lambert, has been the president of the Texas Home School Coalition since 1990 and involved in homeschool leadership since 1984. He and his wife Lyndsay taught their four now-grown children at home for 16 years, graduating the last two in 2000. As the head of the organization for the leading home school state in the country, he is recognized as an authority on home education issues.
Tim has testified before numerous Texas legislative committees on issues related to homeschooling and often deals with state government agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He has also addressed such conferences as the Texas Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers on the topic. He holds a B.A. in political science from Texas Tech University and is active in the political arena, serving eight years as Republican National Committeeman for Texas. Tim is committed to serving the homeschooling community and to protecting parents’ right to choose the method of education of their children.
