☆ Legal experts: Excessive, misguided gov't regulations impede education—especially for homeschoolers (2/2)
Image by Todd Berman
State legislators tend to favor more oversight (big surprise), but can they find common ground with local homeschooled families? And what should we expect going forward re: CA education? Part 2 of an Opp Now exclusive Q&A with HSLDA’s Will Estrada, Esq., and Family Protection Ministries’ Nathan Pierce.
Opportunity Now: From your perspective, are there misconceptions about homeschooling legislation?
Will Estrada: The misconception is that legislation is needed! That we need massive unionization, assessments, and other mandated rules to control how homeschooling is done locally. A lot of what Nathan’s and my organizations do and support is bringing all that down to the level of the child.
Nathan Pierce: California’s Legislature tends to lean in the direction of more government. Our state default is to regulate more, to add burdens. It’s their mindset.
With school choice, this manifests in local lawmakers (and teachers unions, parent–teacher associations, school board associations, etc.) constantly pushing for more oversight. After all, thanks to school choice, teachers unions end up losing money and the government loses some control over classroom instruction; plus, there’s this pervasive (false) idea that California private schools are publicly funded, so legislators want to ensure it’s spent properly.
There’s also the misconception that homeschooled students aren’t being exposed to other worldviews. There are many ways for local homeschooled students to engage with the world, which are perhaps more varied than their traditional counterparts. I see that broad range of perspectives when I visit Silicon Valley homeschool debate tournaments.
ON: Are local legislators’ perspectives on homeschooling (and school choice) more static or dynamic, have you found?
NP: When homeschooling families engage with legislators (by visiting a town hall meeting, the state capitol, or even inviting legislators to a homeschool-organized event), it tends to open their minds to school choice. They realize they’ve been believing inaccurate stereotypes about what homeschoolers look like—and are often impressed by the thoughtful, engaged young people in front of them.
My organization hosts a Capitol Day once a year, during which homeschooling families go to Sacramento and visit all 120 legislators’ offices. It really helps break down barriers.
WE: I was there for this year’s Capitol Day; what a great number and diversity of homeschoolers.
NP: Also, legislators’ minds can change when school teachers themselves advocate for choice. Their students may have different needs than other schools’ students, and they need flexibility from the district to meet them.
ON: Looking forward, what are your predictions for California’s school choice movement? What should we expect?
WE: First, the issues with modern and public education (e.g., discipline, low test scores) aren’t going away—and I say this with sorrow; I want public education and its students to thrive.
NP: Yes, there are bigger fish to fry with educational policy in California right now. Public schools are in a world of hurt.
WE: With that, I foresee more and more parents getting fed up with public schools, and perhaps not being able to afford private. So homeschooling will continue to grow, as well as organizations that serve its diverse sub-communities (e.g., special needs students).
NP: Maybe we’ll see the revival of ideas like savings accounts, tax credit initiatives, financing programs—which tend to be dead on arrival in Sacramento. But I’m all for private schooling not being attached to government money because it offers certain freedoms.
And here’s a problem that may well continue: Sacramento’s lack of interest in discussing solutions. If we look back to the early ‘90s, when California first did its charter school program, the purpose was to have a system of local schools more controlled by parents and the local community. Since then, there’s been a big push to regulate those schools, making them more like traditional public schools.
The state should be more tuned in to what local communities want. Yet, right now, they aren’t eager to hear what the communities need. That’s why homeschooling has grown so much and will continue to grow.
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