It’s National School Choice Week, when advocates spotlight education options outside the public system, like private, charter and homeschooling. Government support for those options will be hotly contested in the state Legislature this year.
In 2023, the Republican-controlled Legislature passed major school choice policies that allowed parents to enroll their students in any district statewide, or in a new system of publicly run charter schools. This year, supporters are advocating for an even more relaxed government approach to education.
Christine Agin is a Stevensville mom who says homeschooling allowed her to tailor an education for her kids in a way public and private school couldn’t. The Legislature this year is considering a bill she helped write that would give an income tax credit to homeschool parents.
“There should be something to help support homeschool families, and also to give people more school choice,” Agin said.
Supporters of Agin’s bill say the tax credit would help them afford expensive homeschool curriculum. But public school advocates largely oppose the idea, citing concerns about the cost to the state and language in the bill they say is too broad.
It’s the first big school choice proposal the Legislature has heard this year — but it likely won’t be the last. Republican lawmakers have requested a bill to divert taxpayer dollars into “education savings accounts” parents could use to help pay for private school expenses. Another bill request proposes amending the state Constitution to strike out a section prohibiting state funding for religious schools.
Democratic lawmakers and public education advocacy groups have indicated they’ll oppose such measures this year. They say routing the state’s limited money to private schools is unconstitutional and risks hurting an already cash-strapped public school system.
School choice advocates are set to rally for the cause on the Capitol steps this Friday.
