I am reluctantly writing this to address some questions recently posed to me about homeschooling and various candidates’ positions. My disclaimer is that I haven’t read every single piece of paper, every speech, nor have I reviewed every voting record out there.
Which candidate do you think is most against homeschooling?
Hillary Clinton, hands down is most opposed to homeschooling. She supports school choice, universal preschool and a slew of other legislation that could stand in direct opposition to homeschooling. On a side note, I have actually met her, and she feels strongly that homeschoolers should have more oversight at the district level. In fairness, I haven’t met all the other candidates so I didn’t have the opportunity to ask them the same question.
Which candidate is most for homeschooling?
This is a trickier question. Mitt Romney has said the most in favor of homeschoolers. However, he does support tax credits for homeschoolers, something that I am completely against as are most homeschoolers. Mike Huckabee also has made statements in support of homeschooling and has numerous homeschoolers working on his campaign. He also holds the endorsement from HSLDA. Guiliani has talked about supporting parents who homeschool, as long as they’re responsible. Barack Obama, in his book, Audacity for Hope talks quite a bit about strengthening the family, and mentions briefly supporting the right for people to choose homeschooling for their children. The Edwards are actually homeschooling their children so that they could be on the campaign trail as a family. However, they’ve drawn criticism because they use a tutor and talk lots about having their local public school system involved and how important that is.
What, in your opinion are the issues for homeschoolers to watch?
Here, I’m going to stick only to talking about issues that affect education. There are numerous issues that affect families and I think the most important thing to communicate is that homeschoolers (and anyone else for that matter) should be informed. Each candidate has their own website that will list their positions on various issues. Everyone should read and compare before heading out to vote. Some key issues to look at are:
Universal PK–This could (and in many states would), lower the compulsory age for school attendance which, in my opinion, is not a good thing.
No Child Left Behind–This provides funding to meet the needs of every single student in a school district, in theory. Many homeschoolers can and do receive renumeration for certain services to meet special needs under this act. (Note: This is not the only act under which homeschooling families receive renumeration.)
School Choice/Vouchers–This issue is important for two reasons. First, candidates that support school choice, also tend to view homeschooling as a valid educational option. Secondly, the debate about whether or not vouchers will strengthen the local system or weaken it, should be of everyone’s concern.
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