Following the Obama administration’s recent threat that school districts that prevent gender-confused students from using whichever sex bathroom they prefer could have their federal funding withdrawn, some homeschoolers are pointing to the value of having independence from government control.
Tina Hollenbeck, a homeschooling parent in Wisconsin, tells Breitbart News, “If homeschoolers take vouchers or any other form of government funding ‘help’ – even an ‘educational expenses credit’ on their taxes – they are enslaving themselves to government mandates.”
“And by choosing to entangle themselves, they jeopardize homeschooling freedom for all,” she adds. “That’s because of the very simple economic principle that ‘he who pays gets the say.’”
Hollenbeck – the developer of the Homeschool Resource Roadmap –explains that if homeschooling families accept any taxpayer funding from government entities at any level, the government then has the right to demand “accountability” from them.
“And it doesn’t matter if it’s merely a credit on their own taxes because the minute money makes its way into government coffers, the bureaucrats consider it to belong to the government and act accordingly with their rules and (unconstitutional) laws,” she asserts.
Karen Braun, an activist homeschooling parent who is the lead content writer for the Stop Common Core in Michigan website, observes the costs of accepting federal funding with an administration that “shreds local and state control.”
She asserts that even for those who accept “this idea of gender identity, parents and elected officials in states should be making the decisions – not the president.”
“With the advance of public/private partnerships and vouchers in many states, even homeschoolers will be affected,” Braun warns. “The loss of funding is the bribe that will force compliance. I hope states, school officials, and parents stand up to the federal bullies.”
Wisconsin homeschooling parent Sara Lehman tells Breitbart News she finds the entire concept of “gender identity” the Obama administration is coercing schools into accepting “mind-boggling” and “illogical.”
“We’ve seriously gone mad,” she asserts. “We will be looked at as the laughing stock in History.”
Lehman explains:
They believe gender is “fluid” which is just scientifically false. They murder babies because “how dare you feel you can regulate my ‘female’ parts.” They push for tolerance of a religion that murders people for their lifestyles yet persecute those who preach morality, human rights and acceptance. It’s absolutely nuts! This is the lack of thinking critically. Their arguments are so obviously ridiculous. These decisions are being made based on emotion, not logic, without even the most basic of thought processes – common sense.
Lehman says the Obama administration is attempting to “mandate a way of thinking.”
“Homeschooling for me is as much about what I teach my kids as it is how I teach my kids,” she continues. “To use the information they are given and figure out what it means to them. My job is to give them the parameters and a safe and logical place to learn. That includes Christian principles, caring hearts, moral character, respect for all mankind and an open mind.”
Hollenbeck, however, asserts that parents’ right to provide that safe place to learn at home is compromised in our current political environment.
“Once bureaucrats get a foothold into controlling some homeschoolers, they’ll find ways to extend that to all,” she warns. “Thus, the only way to maintain all homeschoolers’ independence from government overreach into our homes is by everyone refusing any and all offers of government-sponsored financial ‘help.’ When we pay, we get the say – as it should be.”
Breitbart News reached out to Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) to ask how the organization believes the Obama administration’s gender identity “decree” will affect homeschooling in the United States.
“We expect that this will drive up the numbers in homeschooling the same way that Common Core did,” responded Michael Farris, Jr. of HSLDA Media Relations. “Parents want to have the final say in their children’s education, not have the federal government do it for them.”