Do Democrats Really Hate Homeschoolers?
By Carole Hornsby Haynes, Ph.D. December 30, 2017
When Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced an amendment to expand 529 college savings plans to include K-12 education, allowing parents to use these tax-advantage plans for private schools, religious schools, or even homeschools, the Democrats had a meltdown.
Senator Cruz responded in an interview with Todd Starnes that “democrats hate homeschoolers.”
The truth is the Democrats opposed the entire amendment, not only the part for home schoolers. That said, while Democrats have traditionally opposed all non-public schools, most have been more opposed to homeschooling than to private schools. Many home schools cite religious reasons as being the purpose for their homeschooling. Democrats are opposed to using public money for religious schools.
The reason that only the homeschooling portion of the amendment was blocked was because Democrats invoked a technicality in Senate rules that allowed them to block that portion, but would not have allowed them to block the other portions.
Democrats are opposed to any school choice that threatens the funding to left wing indoctrination centers known as public education is clear in the statement by Senator Wyden (D-Oregon).
“Mr. President, Senator Cruz's amendment expands tax subsidies for upper income households to aid private or parochial schools by allowing 529 account balances to spend up to $10,000 a year on private or parochial school tuition and supplies.
“Colleagues, this is nothing less than a backdoor assault on the public K-12 education system. The real goal seems to be to take more and more children from the public schools and put them into private schools and shrink the funds that would be available to the public schools that give all of America's children the chance to get ahead.
“Members should oppose the amendment because it undermines America's public education system.”In the final tax reform bill, the provision that allow parents to save for public, private, religious or parochial schools remained, allowing parents of 50 million school kids to use the 529 tax-advantaged account to save for their child’s K-12 expenses. Senator Cruz called it “a big victory for kids across the country.”
It’s also a big victory for creating competition for public education and its radical left wing agenda that focuses on workforce training instead of academic learning.