January
29, 2014
Dear
TEA Families,
A
lot of families have contacted me for my thoughts on SB271, a bill
being
introduced in the Maryland Assembly that would allow state tax
credits
for homeschool expenses.
From
my perspective of advocating on behalf of homeschooling for
almost
30 years, it is very unlikely that this bill will pass, even if a
majority
of homeschool families support it. However, families should
still
make their position on the bill known to the bill’s sponsors.
Personally,
I strongly oppose this bill. Sen. Jacobs and Del. Schuh’s
intentions
are good, but a tax credit opens the door for added
regulation
of homeschooling. Families who view it only from a
financial
viewpoint miss the wider consequence of putting
homeschool
families under greater state regulation and control,
now
or in the future.
How
would a tax credit create an environment of greater regulation?
In
the minds of politicians and regulators, giving a group any kind of
financial
entitlement also allows the government to further regulate,
monitor
and assess those groups to make sure the State’s money
is
being spent in a way that the State approves of, even when it is
your
own money it is giving you. This bill could open the door to all
sorts
of mischief on the part of those who are either unfamiliar with
homeschooling/education
rights or those who are actually antagonistic
to
homeschooling and education rights.
For
example, it would seem reasonable to politicians that students
whose
families receive the tax credit should demonstrate certain
outcomes
defined by the State. And, eventually those outcomes
could
be seen as beneficial for all Maryland homeschool students
to
demonstrate, not just those whose families receive the tax credit.
Accepting
subsidies from the government will weaken and potentially
eliminate
the buffer we now enjoy between us and the State education
and
taxation agencies, and is not worth the risk of losing the ground
we
have gained over the past decades.
Many
thanks to those who are leading the effort to stop this bill from
being
passed. Feel free to pass this opinion on to your homeschool
friends
and groups.
Wendy
Bush, Executive Director
The
Excelsior Academy
P.O.
Box 300
Odenton,
MD 21113
410-695-1101
