Another way to say “tax break” is… I get to keep more of MY money which I earned and the government is compelled by law to STEAL significantly less of my earnings.
I wish people would stop asking for tax breaks for home schooling. The government needs to butt out entirely, not be invited in. I homeschooled my kids starting in middle school. Best decision I ever made aside from choosing motherhood.
We homeschool, and I'd like to register a couple of complaints here, because I like accuracy and honesty.
1) As you pointed out, the article claims to be recent intel, but the newest numbers on there are 2021. I got all excited clicking on that link too, because I'd been hoping for updated numbers. Bait and Switch, and dishonest headline. Booooo.
2) The "cost of homeschooling" is a squidgy number as well. How many of us homeschooling moms would be working, if we weren't homeschooling? To make that number honest, you'd have to factor in the second income a lot of us are forgoing. You'll notice that more than 60% of those households listed are making less than $100k right? Lot of one-income, and one-and-a-fraction income families there. I am not complaining. We are doing the genteel poverty thing because we *want* to raise our own kids. But, you know. Part of that cost is the income I'm not earning. And another part of that cost that isn't being calculated is the resources actually available to us: it's not universal, but in some places homeschoolers have access to things like school band, school sports, that sort of thing. That does cost something, and it is not factored in here. My kid is taking advantage of state-funded virtual math classes, now that he's moved beyond what I can realistically teach at home. I'm not paying for those directly, they're tax-funded and count the same as a public high school class. He'll probably move on pretty soon to do dual-enrolled classes at the local state college. Those are also free for parents, funded by the state. I was homeschooled, myself, for 12th grade, and during that year I went to college full time for free, thanks to the dual enrollment program.
So... $700-$2800 is a reasonable calculation for books, materials, guitar lessons, sewing classes, and archery club. Maybe. But if you're calculating a real cost... that's too low, and in a lot of places the state *does* pay for at least some homeschoolers' homeschooling expenses.
I wonder if there are groups that pool resources as well - say half a dozen kids i ne house, so at least five moms or dads can work.
Giving up an income could run to tens of thousands of dollars of lost income, so your point is well made - so is your point on other activities that schools run like sports, plays/musicals and bands (free meals and "flopping around" time?) . I wonder if home school kids could "gate-crash" these - since they are paying for them anyway (home schooling is not paid by "the State").
Yes, there are people who play 'host' to the kids of working parents, and homeschool them alongside their own kids. I did this for 8th grade (my parents both worked, neighbor lady homeschooled), but depending on where you live, this can be a legally dicey situation. Even in places where it's likely OK, the law is not clear, and it's a very informal on-the-DL arrangement. So for me, technically, my parents were homeschooling me, and neighbor lady was just watching me during the day so I wouldn't be home alone. Most homeschooling parents are not willing to run that kind of risk-- in a hostile jurisdiction (what HSLDA exists for), you might end up with your very own social worker if somebody takes offense. There are also arrangements where 2-4 families will get together and hire a tutor to do most of the teaching. That's for people way above our income bracket, so not something I've seen firsthand.
I’m in favor of deducting $5,000 per homeschooled child from every homeschooling family’s property taxes. The money is better spent on the children being educated at home.
Their public schools have FAILED their communities. The teachers are corrupt, depraved and incompetent.
Why should these families have to subsidize a wasteful, disgraced public school system when they’re forced by dystopian circumstances imposed upon them to educate their kids at home???
It's been proposed. I'm with the HSLDA on this one, and I'm against it. Any money that gets routed to citizens through the state, comes with strings attached. We have just started a program like that here in FL-- homeschooling families can claim a $7k education credit. We have not availed ourselves even though it'd be a huge help, because then instead of the perfectly fine end-of-year mandated education evaluation (we put together a portfolio of each child's work, and a licensed evaluator looks it over and gives us a check-mark to say 'yes, this kid has made progress this year and is not being educationally neglected'-- evaluator can be any licensed teacher, and every area has multiple homeschooler friendly teachers who do this as a paid sideline to make money in the summer months). But if you take the money, then you have, basically, a state-appointed caseworker assigned to you. You don't get to pick, they offer 'guidance' (i.e. pressure from your school board) on what you should teach, and now you have to report to someone on how the education money was spent. Which is reasonable since the funds are coming from the taxpayer pot, and not the parents' income. But also... we're not cool with that level of restriction/ state supervision of our kids' education.
So far this is an opt-in program, and that makes it OK I guess? We have opted out. But I can see that being used as a bit and bridle to control homeschoolers, in any county where the local school admin is less homeschool-friendly. It's complicated, and there's no such thing as free money.
In addition, you have a perverse incentives problem, any time you create a situation where homeschooling = financial gain. Right now, there's a significant financial sacrifice involved for most homeschooling families. Yeah, that sucks. But also: it self-sorts for highly motivated parents. Which is one reason homeschoolers do so well compared to school students. School is the default. It's where kids go if their parents have never thought about it, if education is not a big priority for them, and if they blindly trust the government to do an OK job or just don't care. Throw in a substantial tax credit or cash payment, and now suddenly you're gonna have opportunists: people who don't give sh*t about their kids, but who think an extra $5k-$7k would be super nice. Throw that in the mix, and in a few years, you can take the 'homeschooling' stats and 'prove' that homeschooling is just a synonym for child neglect. And that'll be bad for all of us.
Home school 'student directed learning' parents here. I conclude it was beyond successful.
However if you home school at least one parent needs to be there and the way things are set up that will be the loss of earning incurred to take such a path.
It was the one thing our children commented on "How come we are so poor."
They have been coming for your children for a long time ASSIST the RESIST!
Our kids haven't quite realized how poor we are yet.
But we are having to choose right now between badly needed orthodontics, and our chances of ever owning our own home. We were really hoping and praying for a real estate crash to happen before we had to start the dental work.... nope.
Still, looking at the prospect of putting them in the local school system to boost our income... yeah, no. I guess we can just live in an RV park when we're old. It'll be fine. Go to college, our parents told us. You can get a good job. It worked for them, right? We are telling our kids to go into the trades. And *then* if they want to pay their way through college while making a good living as an electrician or an airplane mechanic, they can do that.
Another way to say “tax break” is… I get to keep more of MY money which I earned and the government is compelled by law to STEAL significantly less of my earnings.
It’s OUR money. NOT the government’s.
I wish people would stop asking for tax breaks for home schooling. The government needs to butt out entirely, not be invited in. I homeschooled my kids starting in middle school. Best decision I ever made aside from choosing motherhood.
It makes no sense to pay for someone ELSE to raise your children. There is NOTHING more important than their own parents raising them, NOTHING.
We homeschool, and I'd like to register a couple of complaints here, because I like accuracy and honesty.
1) As you pointed out, the article claims to be recent intel, but the newest numbers on there are 2021. I got all excited clicking on that link too, because I'd been hoping for updated numbers. Bait and Switch, and dishonest headline. Booooo.
2) The "cost of homeschooling" is a squidgy number as well. How many of us homeschooling moms would be working, if we weren't homeschooling? To make that number honest, you'd have to factor in the second income a lot of us are forgoing. You'll notice that more than 60% of those households listed are making less than $100k right? Lot of one-income, and one-and-a-fraction income families there. I am not complaining. We are doing the genteel poverty thing because we *want* to raise our own kids. But, you know. Part of that cost is the income I'm not earning. And another part of that cost that isn't being calculated is the resources actually available to us: it's not universal, but in some places homeschoolers have access to things like school band, school sports, that sort of thing. That does cost something, and it is not factored in here. My kid is taking advantage of state-funded virtual math classes, now that he's moved beyond what I can realistically teach at home. I'm not paying for those directly, they're tax-funded and count the same as a public high school class. He'll probably move on pretty soon to do dual-enrolled classes at the local state college. Those are also free for parents, funded by the state. I was homeschooled, myself, for 12th grade, and during that year I went to college full time for free, thanks to the dual enrollment program.
So... $700-$2800 is a reasonable calculation for books, materials, guitar lessons, sewing classes, and archery club. Maybe. But if you're calculating a real cost... that's too low, and in a lot of places the state *does* pay for at least some homeschoolers' homeschooling expenses.
Excellent comment, thank you.
I wonder if there are groups that pool resources as well - say half a dozen kids i ne house, so at least five moms or dads can work.
Giving up an income could run to tens of thousands of dollars of lost income, so your point is well made - so is your point on other activities that schools run like sports, plays/musicals and bands (free meals and "flopping around" time?) . I wonder if home school kids could "gate-crash" these - since they are paying for them anyway (home schooling is not paid by "the State").
Thanks again.
Yes, there are people who play 'host' to the kids of working parents, and homeschool them alongside their own kids. I did this for 8th grade (my parents both worked, neighbor lady homeschooled), but depending on where you live, this can be a legally dicey situation. Even in places where it's likely OK, the law is not clear, and it's a very informal on-the-DL arrangement. So for me, technically, my parents were homeschooling me, and neighbor lady was just watching me during the day so I wouldn't be home alone. Most homeschooling parents are not willing to run that kind of risk-- in a hostile jurisdiction (what HSLDA exists for), you might end up with your very own social worker if somebody takes offense. There are also arrangements where 2-4 families will get together and hire a tutor to do most of the teaching. That's for people way above our income bracket, so not something I've seen firsthand.
Would $5,000 per homeschooled child be a more accurate amount?
Maybe on average? But the variability is huge.
I’m in favor of deducting $5,000 per homeschooled child from every homeschooling family’s property taxes. The money is better spent on the children being educated at home.
Their public schools have FAILED their communities. The teachers are corrupt, depraved and incompetent.
Why should these families have to subsidize a wasteful, disgraced public school system when they’re forced by dystopian circumstances imposed upon them to educate their kids at home???
Who gets the deduction, for those of us homeschooling families who, having forgone a second income, cannot afford a house? The landlord?
Inquiring minds want to know how this deduction would not arbitrarily benefit wealthy families.
Of course, there would have to be provisions included for families who are renters as well.
Maybe the option of receiving a property tax discount OR a State and Local income tax rebate.
The point is to put $$$$ into the hands of homeschooling families by re-directing funds AWAY FROM failing public schools.
The public school system/teachers’ unions cabals will not change a thing unless and until the money spigot is TURNED OFF.
In their present state, these institutions are UNREFORMABLE, and, if anything, growing worse each year…entirely by design.
It's been proposed. I'm with the HSLDA on this one, and I'm against it. Any money that gets routed to citizens through the state, comes with strings attached. We have just started a program like that here in FL-- homeschooling families can claim a $7k education credit. We have not availed ourselves even though it'd be a huge help, because then instead of the perfectly fine end-of-year mandated education evaluation (we put together a portfolio of each child's work, and a licensed evaluator looks it over and gives us a check-mark to say 'yes, this kid has made progress this year and is not being educationally neglected'-- evaluator can be any licensed teacher, and every area has multiple homeschooler friendly teachers who do this as a paid sideline to make money in the summer months). But if you take the money, then you have, basically, a state-appointed caseworker assigned to you. You don't get to pick, they offer 'guidance' (i.e. pressure from your school board) on what you should teach, and now you have to report to someone on how the education money was spent. Which is reasonable since the funds are coming from the taxpayer pot, and not the parents' income. But also... we're not cool with that level of restriction/ state supervision of our kids' education.
So far this is an opt-in program, and that makes it OK I guess? We have opted out. But I can see that being used as a bit and bridle to control homeschoolers, in any county where the local school admin is less homeschool-friendly. It's complicated, and there's no such thing as free money.
In addition, you have a perverse incentives problem, any time you create a situation where homeschooling = financial gain. Right now, there's a significant financial sacrifice involved for most homeschooling families. Yeah, that sucks. But also: it self-sorts for highly motivated parents. Which is one reason homeschoolers do so well compared to school students. School is the default. It's where kids go if their parents have never thought about it, if education is not a big priority for them, and if they blindly trust the government to do an OK job or just don't care. Throw in a substantial tax credit or cash payment, and now suddenly you're gonna have opportunists: people who don't give sh*t about their kids, but who think an extra $5k-$7k would be super nice. Throw that in the mix, and in a few years, you can take the 'homeschooling' stats and 'prove' that homeschooling is just a synonym for child neglect. And that'll be bad for all of us.
Home school 'student directed learning' parents here. I conclude it was beyond successful.
However if you home school at least one parent needs to be there and the way things are set up that will be the loss of earning incurred to take such a path.
It was the one thing our children commented on "How come we are so poor."
They have been coming for your children for a long time ASSIST the RESIST!
https://ideapod.com/born-creative-geniuses-education-system-dumbs-us-according-nasa-scientists/
Our kids haven't quite realized how poor we are yet.
But we are having to choose right now between badly needed orthodontics, and our chances of ever owning our own home. We were really hoping and praying for a real estate crash to happen before we had to start the dental work.... nope.
Still, looking at the prospect of putting them in the local school system to boost our income... yeah, no. I guess we can just live in an RV park when we're old. It'll be fine. Go to college, our parents told us. You can get a good job. It worked for them, right? We are telling our kids to go into the trades. And *then* if they want to pay their way through college while making a good living as an electrician or an airplane mechanic, they can do that.