It’s Time
Missouri public schools are failing. Everyone knows it. Even the public schools know it.
But now, the state of Missouri wants to impose its failed model on homeschools too.
Legislation approved on March 12 in the Missouri Senate is attempting — under the guise of “school choice“ — to bring homeschoolers to heel, shoehorning them into submission to the state.
There’s a lot to learn about this legislation. The short version is: any law that mentions or defines homeschooling — even with supposedly good intentions — ends up being shortly followed by LOTS of regulations and rules for homeschoolers. Rules about curriculum, reporting, hours, etc.
You can read more about it further down this page.
Homeschool organizations across the state and country are standing up in opposition to these bills, but it is we men, we fathers, upon whom the authority is laid for our households. And we are needed, to help turn the tide of government.
Missouri politics is a strange leviathan: it runs mostly unnoticed and unattended. But it’s small. So even a small group of bold, assertive men with a clear message can affect the entire state.
So I am inviting you to stand beside me for our “Hands Off Homeschool” day of action on Wednesday, April 3rd.
This isn’t a march. We’re not wearing matching buttons or T-shirts or hats. We’re not holding signs or bullhorns. No songs or chants.
We’re going to Jefferson City as men who must be reckoned with. Men who know how to do business, coming to take care of business.
We will meet with representatives and senators (we’ll schedule these beforehand), and we will make it clear that the state bureaucratic apparatus hellbent on destroying public school children may not have our homeschool children.
(We’ll have an outline and some talking points, no worries.)
We will not cede our homes to the state. So we will tell legislators loud and clear: Hands Off Homeschool.
It is on us to defend our castles, to defend our families, to defend our freedoms. We will do this on Wednesday, April 3rd.
Please share this with other trustworthy men who will stand for their homes and homeschooling.
You can learn more about the legislation and the reasons to oppose it, on this page. And the signup form will help keep you in the loop about April 3rd. (The reason we ask for your zip code is to help identify your state rep, if you’re up for meeting with him/her. All your contact info is private; we’re just using it to help communicate about this event and other info or events related to this issue.)
I hope to see you there.
Nathan Bechtold
Husband & homeschooling dad of five
Lake of the Ozarks, MO
**After signing up, you’ll get a few emails between now and April 3rd, letting you know the plan: when/where we’ll meet, who we’ll be meeting with, and opportunities to meet one-on-one with legislators, if you’re interested.
Point is, we’ll be in touch.
Hands Off Homeschool
Day Of Action
When
Wednesday, April 3 (times TBA)
Where
Missouri Capitol Building
What
Meeting with Missouri lawmakers, to make it clear: we want their hands off our homeschools.
What Else
We’ll handle coordinating the meetings, and will be working to get men meeting with the Senator or Representative who represents them — it’ll make the biggest impact! You’ll be hearing from us.
Questions & Answers
What's wrong with "School Choice"? I thought we wanted choices.
Never judge a bill by its title. On its face, the idea of school choice sounds nice: letting families choose how they want to educate their children. But the nice-sounding “School Choice” label is being used to craft legislation about the different kinds of choices families might make. So many of the pieces of legislation that would fall under the “school choice” umbrella (there are at least 8 bills in Missouri, in the 2024 legislative session) are related to funding: giving families who opt-out of public school the chance to get funding for the alternatives they choose, or giving more state funding to programs that offer scholarships to kids to attend private or charter schools.
Some of these lawmakers might be well-intentioned and just misinformed. But the result is, they’re trying to pass laws that apply to homeschool (and private school). And when that happens — whenever a law is passed that even mentions or defines (not to mention states specific regulations for) homeschool — it opens the door for the state to regulate.
This is already happening in other states. “School Choice” bills have allocated tons of money for families who want to leave the public schools. But the result has been those families find themselves under requirements about what kinds of curriculum they can use and even standardized tests their children must take.
So this is like the "vouchers" everyone's always talked about. So we're turning down money?
Yes and yes. We’re saying we don’t want any program that offers families money to homeschool. Because, as the saying goes, “With the shekels come the shackles.”
What's so bad about this bill?
We haven’t even identified all of the dangerous stuff in this massive bill that just passed the Senate (the House still has to pass their own version). We’re working on a clear infographic laying out the biggest issues.
But for now, here are the notes that the legislative watchdogs we’ve been in touch with passed along to us:
✦135.714 pg 7 line 109-114 – Implements a state testing requirement for participating students
✦135.714 pg 7-8 line 121 – requires test results to be distributed to treasurer, DESE, and an unelected board
✦135.714 sections 13, 14, 15 lines 125-150 – data collection
✦135.714 pg 9 lines 178-181 – specific data collection
✦135.714 pg 10 – data mining
✦135.715 pg 12-13 lines 33-44 original board under treasure
✦135.715 pg 13 lines 45-49 adds a seat for a member of an EAO (removing Commissioner of OA)
✦135.715 pg 13 lines 54-59 – adds collaboration with DESE and the board in promulgation of rules
✦160.011 pg 14 lines 15-19 – under definition of family literacy programs – “training of parents regarding how to be the primary teacher of their children…”
✦161.239 pg 37-39 (lines 36-47) entire section creates an “elementary literacy fund” costing $5million. Children have books sent to their house chosen by them, WIDE OPEN to lgbtq, DEIB, SJW, etc – lines 57-63 data mining the program. In addition, we believe this is unconstitutional because it requires the administering company to send all communication in multiple languages.
✦163.172 pg 81 – beginning line 30 teachers minimum salary increase, will be hard on small school districts
✦167.012/167.013 – concerns about distinction causing issues with equal protection clause in constitution
✦167.013 pg 87 line 14 – MAY enroll children who participate in the program, needs to be changed to DOES, or it could cause homeschoolers to register especially when taking in to 167.031 p88 line 5 adding homeschool enrollment
✦167.031pg 88 line 5 – REMOVE HOMESCHOOL
✦167.031 p 92-93 lines 130-131 don’t like the addition of home school with regard to credits for graduation
✦167.031pg 93 lines 136-137 concerns about the removal of ‘review only by PA’ here
✦168.021 pg 101 lines 28-47, expands DESE and their reach over private ed, if not now, with the change of just a couple of words. Under the public school teacher cert section
✦171.028 pg 127 lines 14-41 establishes requirement of vote of the people for district to go to a 4 day week
Who all has opposed this bill?
Here are a couple of articles about the opposition:
Missouri Independent — Expansion of tax-credit scholarships faces criticism of Missouri homeschoolers
Lake Expo — UNPOPULAR: Homeschoolers & Public Schools Align Against Missouri’s ‘School Choice’ Bills
Regional and statewide groups like Missouri Freedom Initiative, Missouri Freedom Foundation, St. Charles County Parents Association, Informed Health Choice Missouri, and Burnt District Republicans oppose it.
Maybe most significantly, Classical Conversations — a homeschooling organization/curriculum used by around 125,000 students — has opposed it. You can watch a video explaining why, by Classical Conversations CEO Robert Bortins, below:
Dragon-slaying.
It’s a tale as old as time — one that began in the Garden of Eden and has found countless retellings since.
The story of St. George, depicted above in a manuscript of Legenda Aurea in 1382, tells of a village that was terrorized by a dragon. The dragon required sacrifices of appeasement, and while it began with livestock and other gifts, eventually the dragon demanded the daily sacrifice of a child.
The villagers bore this horrific burden until the day when a princess was selected as a sacrifice. St. George rode in valiantly to fight the dragon. He slayed it, converted the pagan town to Christianity and married the princess.
You don’t need me to explain the parallel, but I will.
As the leviathan of the state demands the sacrifice of our children by threatening to overtake our freedom to homeschool, we are the only thing that stands between it and our families. Gird your loins.
A couple of disclaimers & clarifications (whether they’re needed or not.)
1. We likely all have many beloved friends and family who are teachers and administrators in the public school system. This is not a commentary on their efforts, their sense of calling, or their skill. I think very many of our public school teachers and leaders are actually very passionate about helping children and very skilled at their job.
But I’ve spoken with many of them who, when they’re honest, will admit that the ship feels like it’s sinking.
I would say to them what I say to others who work for the government: I think you’re great at your job! I just think you need a different boss.
2. We likely all have many beloved friends and family whose children are in the public schools.
Even many homeschool families end up (uncomfortably) straddling the line between public school and homeschool, for a variety of reasons. We’re all parents trying to do the very best for our children in a highly imperfect system and a rather chaotic time. So our characterization of public schools is not intended to presume an authoritative role in the decisions of other people’s families, where we have no authority (nor do we want it!) It’s meant to stir us all to action, with the aim of a better future.
That said, we do believe the public schools are spiraling.
Can they saved? Maybe.
But maybe that’s the wrong question. Maybe we should already be asking, “What should the future of education look like in my home, church, and community?” It’s time we lead our homes and communities in answering that question.
Let’s go.
-NB
Upcoming Events
April 3 - HANDS OFF DAY OF ACTION
All Day Visit your rep and tell them to vote no on SB727