Homeschool dad: Public funding of private education is harmful to freedom

[For more articles and perspectives on SB 1647 and school choice
this legislative session, click here]

One of the big legislative issues this year is SB 1647, a landmark school choice bill filed by Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat and heavily promoted by several state and national free-market and school choice organizations (including OCPA, who is currently advertising here on my blog).

Seemingly unexpectedly by Treat and allies, the Oklahoma homeschool community is heavily against the measure, arguing that it will lead to future infringements on the unparalled freedom to home educate that we enjoy here in the state of Oklahoma. This opposition could easily have been foreseen, as the homeschool community in Oklahoma has more often had to fight "friendly" legislation aiming to help them than they have had to defend against unfriendly bills.

Here is another op-ed by a homeschool parent giving the homeschool perspective on SB 1647 and similar efforts:

Preserving privately funded education in Oklahoma is vital to education freedom

by Nathan Teague (originally published in The Oklahoma)

We Okies have a strong heritage of working hard, providing for ourselves and minding our own affairs. Freedom, which emanates from doing so, is at risk with the advancement of public funding into the remaining remnants of privately funded education in Oklahoma. Senate Bill (SB) 1647, SB 1509, House Bill 3482, SB 1583, SB 1420, and SB 1135 (current bills I am aware of which advance such) are harmful to all Oklahomans. 

Prominent Oklahoma homeschool organizations oppose Treat's school choice bill

[UPDATE: for more articles and perspectives on SB 1647, click here]

Homeschool Oklahoma (formerly the Oklahoma Christian Home Educators Consociation, or OCHEC) is the largest homeschool organization in the state, and one of the oldest, having been founded in 1982. Many local homeschool groups, such as Christian Home Educators Fellowship (CHEF) in Tulsa, Lawton Christian Home Educators, and Norman Area Home Educators, to name a few, are affiliated with HSOK.

Constitutional Home Educators Alliance is an organization 'comprised of veteran Oklahoma home educating families' whose 'primary mission is to educate legislators on issues concerning parental rights and constitutional home education'. 

Both HSOK and CHEA have issued statements of concern and opposition to State Sen. Greg Treat's Oklahoma Empowerment Accounts bill (SB 1647) that would give parents who choose to not utilize the public school system a portion of their childrens' education dollars (around $3,600 per child) toward educating them by other private means, be that private, parochial, or home schools.

Here is the legislative alert from HSOK regarding SB 1647: