Entice parents with the cheese and, once they take the bait, close the trap. That is the best description I can think of when describing school choice programs across the nation. Of course, that isn’t how they have been marketed to the public.

How often have you heard that school choice programs empower parents and put them in charge of their children’s education? It is true educational freedom, supporters say. Let’s take a closer look at what is really happening with these bills across the U.S.

In South Carolina, school choice legislation SB 62 has raised a red flag for home-school families as they are realizing that if they utilize online curriculum they will be signing up for wellness checks at their local public school. There their child will be separated from the parents and screened for abuse or neglect by a social worker, school nurse, teacher or principal.

In Missouri, a state with no required home-school registration—their “school choice” bills, when passed, added certification, copious amounts of accountability, standardized testing, curriculum from approved vendors, and, once again, background checks on anyone 18 or older in the home. Yes, that would also include your great-grandma, if she resides in the home.

“Oklahoma is a great example of how ‘school choice’ expands the government’s education monopoly by making every education option government funded, then steadily adding regulations for ‘accountability,’” according to Schoolhouse Rocked. HB 4130 was introduced within months of Oklahoma’s school choice bill being signed; Sections 1-1-105 and 1-4-205 relate to “deprived children; defining terms; requiring parents to submit letter of intent when requesting a change in educational instruction; requiring certain information in letter of intent; requiring submission of letter of intent when changing school districts; directing the Department of Human Services to perform background check; directing the Department to maintain system; directing the Department to conduct biannual checks; prohibiting instruction in the home if there is abuse, neglect, or violence; directing the Department to explain reason for denial; and providing an effective date.

“This is a massive step backward for educational freedom—in a state that had previously been completely free!”

As I have said many times before, school choice is incrementalism. All that is needed for them to implement their agenda is parents willing to sacrifice their freedom and their children on the altar of the almighty dollar. Nothing is free, and unfortunately this government entitlement program will cost families far more than they ever bargained for.

Arizona is often heralded as a state that has “no strings attached” to its school choice program. What you may not know is that in Arizona, if you opt in to their ESA program, by state law, your child will no longer be considered a home-school student. In New Hampshire, Florida and Utah families are also required to opt out of their home-school status if they enroll in school choice programs, according to myschoolchoice.com.

In West Virginia, home-schooling families are required to enroll their children in public school for a minimum of 45 consecutive calendar days to be eligible for their ESA program.

The overreach just keeps coming.

“New Hampshire, for the third time, has put forward a background check bill that entangles independent, 193-A home education families in legislative attempts to put restrictions on the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program. This year it is HB 738 (2025) sponsored by Rep David Luneau. It is the identical language previously used in HB 1664 (2022) and HB 628 (2024),” according to Granite State Home Educators. “The bill states that education providers who accept taxpayer-sourced funds would be required to perform background checks on teachers and volunteers.”

What happens if a group of home-school families are gathered together for a co-op, field trip or club and a home-school family is present that has made the unfortunate decision to participate in the state’s EFA program? According to this bill, it would be likely that every adult present would be required to have a background check. So when someone tells you “just don’t take the money and you will be left alone,” you can refer them to this example.

In Idaho, HB 93, the Parent Choice Tax Credit, which introduces tracking, registration, and government approval of private education, including home schools, just passed.

Texas home-school families are currently fighting school choice legislation SB92 in their state. According to Alice Linahan, legislators are threatening that if school choice legislation does not pass, they will push for increased state oversight of home-school families. The irony of that threat is not lost. If school choice passes in Texas, increased regulation of home schooling will follow. That is the ultimate goal of school choice.

Do you see a pattern yet? Does this look like parental empowerment and freedom to you? This is not just a battle for home-school liberties. It is a battle in which parental and constitutional rights are at stake. The government wants control and they will stop at nothing to get it.

Being proactive is paramount. There is no time for complacency. When big brother is at your doorstep it is too late. No matter the state in which you live, get engaged. Show up at your Capitol, get involved in the political process and hold your elected officials accountable. Do your research and don’t discount the primaries. We need to understand that our civil duty does not begin and end at the voting booth. The cost of freedom is great but the cost of no freedom is greater.

“We, too, born to freedom, and believing in freedom, are willing to fight to maintain freedom. We, and all others who believe as deeply as we do, would rather die on our feet than live on our knees.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt