About

Changing learning for the better

Currently, Alabama families enjoy a numerous number of school choices for K-12 students. Under existing law, families can choose between free public schools, home school, or select from wide variety of private school options. Home school students in Alabama are not presently regulated by the state department of education, the state board of education nor the superintendent of education. Private schools are likewise exempt from all rules, regulations, and other requirements that public schools must adhere to.

Purpose

Presently, there is underway across the country a push to bring nonpublic schools under the control of state government. The proposals sound attractive at first glance. The claim is that money, set aside for education, should 'follow the child'. Under such programs, funds would flow to vendors approved by the state thereby creating a 'public/private partnership' (PPP). These efforts are promoted under the deceptive guise of 'school choice’. While, in fact, these initiatives serve to limit choices.

All the government-funded 'school choice' initiatives require new regulatory schemes for their operation. There has never been a government regulation that increased freedom or liberty! Regulations are designed to constrain and limit choices. Black’s Law Dictionary, defines "regulation" as "the act or process of controlling by rule or restriction." Any new law that deals with nonpublic education threatens to compromise the current status and replace it with one that operates under government regulation and control.

In Alabama, families currently enjoy an unlimited number of school choices for K-12 students. Under existing law, families can choose between free public schools, home school, or select from wide variety of private school options. Presently, nonpublic schools are not subjected to government oversight, and the state has no control over the choices parents make for curricula or teaching methodology. This is true 'school choice' and every effort should be made to protect this fundamental right.

Any effort to change existing law should be viewed with skepticism. The purpose of this web site is to highlight specific concerns and to focus on the need for caution whenever changes are proposed to laws affecting nonpublic school choices.