Homeschoolers, can anyone give me Article and Section of the US Constitution that justifies the existence?

Question

of the public school system?

I do not find it and wish that the public school system would be abolished. I can do a MUCH better job of educating my own children with the same money they confiscate from me in the name of "taxes" to support the government brainwashing system called "school"

I, too, pay an exorbitant amount of money in property taxes to support a useless public school system. We are members of HSLDA.org (Home School Legal Defense Association) and are aware that homeschooling is legal in all fifty states.
HSLDA'S Official position is that they are against vouchers, on the reasoning that government money would soon have government strings attached.
It IS A STATES RIGHT, and NOT IN THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION.
My State Representative USED to be a friend and neighbor (I say used to be because he was defeated out of office, not because our friendship became broken) told me that the public school system is all about the money and can never produce excellence.

MSB...Probably a miniscual percent of your taxes actually goes to a school anyway... NOT.
I OWN my home....meaning that I pay my own insurance and taxes; they are NOT built into my monthly mortgage payment...School taxes are 90%+ of the total amount of the real estate tax bill, which is broken down to show what money goes for what service....We already HAVE generations of functional illiterates in society....they are called public high school graduates. Please realize that homeschooling is NOT the "new and radical idea"----public schooling is. Our country did just fine prior to the existence of Horace Mann.
Thank you for the valid points you have made....some parents probably ARE unfit to homeschool...their children are taught to make change at McDonald's.

NJRoadie...my wallet bleeds for you my friend....I don't pay quite what you pay, but it certainly isn't "miniscule"...I should probably apologise to MSB....it's just that word miniscule is INFURIATING...and I'm sure she didn't mean it like that.

I thank everyone for the thoughtful and thought-provoking answers, even the one I disagree with.....I'm surprised. Pleasantly. I usually hang out in Religion & Spirituality, where issues can get BRUTAL. My wife and I have been homeschooling 10 years and plan to continue thru high school.

Answer 1

Amendment 10 to the US Constitution says that any powers not specifically given to the national government are state issues.
http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am10


Each state sets its own requirements and standards regarding education, including taxes to pay for it. You'll need to check your state constitution to see what is says about education.

I have a foggy memory that the Northwest Ordinance required territories applying for statehood to set aside public lands for schools.

Answer 2

As far as I know there is none; the only thing it says is that you have the right to pursue an education, it does not say where, or how.

No where does it say; as far as I can find; that it should be provided for you by the government, or be paid for with tax dollars.

These items were added to the law by Congress much later, but were never part of the original Constitution.

You would have to look toward the 16th Amendment which gave Congress a unlimited source of income (taxes); this enabled Congress to fund government programs at an increasing rate, including education.

After the establishment of the DOE (Department of Education) they decided to use federal/state tax monies, and so we ended up with the system we have today.

Unfortunately there is no end in site when it comes to schools need of funding.
On the other hand the quality of the education our children receive/received since then has greatly suffered, and has declined steadily over the last few decades; therefore I agree with you that we can provide a much better education, both in quality and price for our own children.

I am not for limiting any form of education, all options should be available to parents to choose from.
I do believe that local schools, public or otherwise should be supported at the local, level, but not even at the state level, and
federal funding should never be part of any school or other educational institutions.

It should be paid for only by those who use/want the services, and the argument of what about the poor?, well there have always been sliding scale fees, private enterprise scholarships, donations, or even school sponsors (businesses) who have done a much better job of funding schools, because they do want to see a return on their investment in the form of an educated work force.

Because of this home schooling, and other forms of alternative education have grown much over the last twenty years.

Conventional schools/NEA are fighting this by trying to get these alternative ways of pursuing an education, limited, regulated; like that has done much for the public school system; or completely abolished, rather than looking in house to see how they can improve the quality of education they themselves are providing, so that parents will actually want to sent their children.

As long as the public schools perceive they have such a monopoly, (compulsery education laws), and people keep voting for school tax increases thinking that more money is the answer we will never see a change that will actually improve education in the schools.

If more money is the answer, than when will enough be enough??

Answer 3

It isn't in the US constitution, it is a state right. Which belies the fact of No Child Left Behind, doesn't it? The states want that federal money though, so they jump thru a million and one hoops.

I pay $12,000 a year in property taxes here in NJ, 90% of that money goes to fund our public schools. It is great that we offer the service to the public, but the cost has become outrageous. The cry of "But it's for the children!" is supposed to shut us up when we complain.

As far as "education is compulsory" - no ATTENDANCE is required, you can't force anyone to learn.

I do agree with the one poster though that not everyone is cut out to be a homeschooler. Those parents that rejoice when the kids are on the bus and away, and moan at breaks and summertime could never be a good homeschooling parent! On the other hand, I've met more than a few parents who are constantly fighting with the schools to get their kids what they need (gifted, special needs whatever) and I wonder why they don't just pull them out and do it themselves .

I would like to see a voucher system implemented, where each child has a "purse" of money, and the family of that child can choose where to go with that money. Would be interesting to see what would happen to education in a free market situation.

Answer 4

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is NO Article in the Constitution regarding school(s).

I believe schools fall under the jurisdiction of Freedom of Speech and Right to Assembly.

My family has had it's own problems with the Educational System, thus the reason we homeschool........I think that is why every homeschooler ultimatly(spelling??) homeschools.
The school system was brought into being so that ALL may learn EQUALLY regardless of Station, Gender or Color. So to abolish it would be a STEP BACK and would be a great disservice to all children. Not everyone is comfortable in teaching things to their children thus the reason not everyone homeschools, plus the fact that not all hold the same beliefs... be glad you don't live in Germany where it is ILLEGAL to homeschool and your child(ren) can be taken from you just for that reason.

Attacking the Goverment with it's own Laws,Bills,Amenments and Articles will accomplish nothing. It is sad that while the people of the United States can see what is happening to our country and want to do something about it, our Elected Officials are blind and deaf to the truth that surrounds them.

In time the Goverment will have enough rope to hang themselves with and maybe even a sturdy tree from which to do so, until that time we must continue to fight and raise our children the way WE see fit.
Standing together we have a voice, fragmented we are voiceless.


The Immortal words: WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for our common defense, promote the general Welfare and ensure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity.
*****These are the opening words to the Constitution. While the Atricles in it have been ratified, added to and changed over the years, it is and will always be WE THE PEOPLE.


We have the right to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT of HAPPINESS.....how each goes about obtaining those is individual.


MERRY CHRISTMAS to all

Answer 5

Have a major educational reform, maybe, but don't abolish the whole thing. It sucks, yeah, but there are some parents (usually the ones that seem to think it's impossible to socialize unless you're herded into groups of 30 kids all your age and academic level for seven hours a day) who couldn't possibly homeschool their kids. They themselves are already too well programmed by the public school... And then there are the very poor families who would probably do great as homeschoolers if they could afford it... though I imagine both these issues could be overcome... I don't know. I think the public school has it's ups and downs. A reform could really do a lot to eliminate the downs.

Answer 6

Actually you can thank the Presbyterians and Congregationalists.

They passed the first laws mandating free education and manditory education in 1660 in NE of what is now called New England.

They also established the first institute of higher learning called Harvard School in MA, now Harvard Univ.

Now, don't forget there are 5,000 schools with about 50,000 teachers and administrators nationwide and they'd love to get a law passed making it manditory that home schools by supervised exclusively by credentialled teachers only.

See, they want job security. If they get laid off from their $50K a year job they want a law to force your to pay them or get your own credentials.

And they can do it if they want to. 85% of the country opposes homeschool.

they don't know why, probably because the union and teachers say they have to.

So I wouldn't want to tangle with those odds.

See homeschool survives because of judges and good lawyers who re-write laws.

If the states say you need a BA degree, special ed classes and have to pay for and take the Praxis to get your crediential in specific grades and courses, the judges will have to go along with it.

Californians voted down a law to let anyone make a school in the 1990s. It got trounced on.

If homeschool was ever put on a ballot it would lose.

That is a fact.

The AFL-CIO would fund $1 billion in TV ads to scare the voters to death and they would vote to make homeschools illegal if given a chance.

They will put little 9 year old children on TV who will say that Adam and Eve rode on dinosaurs in the Garden of Eden and that's what they learned in homeschool history and science today.

Now imagine mainstream america voting to make that legal.

Never happen.

So don't push, be happy with what you got.

It doesn't matter what's right or wrong, it's who has the bucks to spend and teachers are unionized and you're not.

They'll lift stones to find those homeschoolers who never opened a book, whose Penn Foster stuff is still sealed and they'll turn them into poster children and run ads every 15 minutes on evey station for three months.

Answer 7

Amendment 10 of the Constitution: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

If universal health care is unconstitutional I'm guessing that our public school system is unconstitutional, as well.

Answer 8

I don't believe the US Constitution says anything about homeschooling, or schooling for that matter... laws regarding education are in the hands of the state.

And you might want to think about this; first of all, taxes are for lots of things, not just schools. Can you imagine how much more complicated our already ridiculously complex tax laws would be if people could "opt out" of paying taxes for things that don't concern them? People without kids or with grown children or kids in private schools could opt out their taxes from the board of ed, people who are not on public asssistance could opt out of their tax money going to PA, people who don't drive could try to opt out of their taxes that go to road repairs, etc.-- I can't imagine the night mare it would be.

Probably a miniscual percent of your taxes actually goes to a school anyway... but consider that the minute you get a portion of your taxes "exempt" for being a homeschooler-- next thing you know, it will give anti-homeschool persons firmer ground to demand stricter regulation.

Besides, is everyone really cut out to homeschool? I shudder to think of what this society would be like if everyone homeschooled-- while lots of school parents do, there are plenty of school parents who just don't want to be as involved or don't value education. You can't even get them to a PTA meeting or to call you back when you send the 5th note home that little Johnny hasn't done 17 homework assignments in a row, I don't have much faith in their homeschooling.

Also since education is compulsory in this country, and since we don't want generations of illiterate, unemployable idiots on our hands, we have to provide free places of learning, and they should be good.

Besides, some kids are doing great in school, their parents are happy and involved; thank god if it isn't working out for someone they have the option of private or home education.

As much as I love homeschooling, public schools are just as necessary.

Answer 9

I really don't know the Constitutional stand on this issue. As the holder of teacher certification I contemplated home schooling. I decided against it based on the fact that I am weak in mathematics and science and that I felt I could not give them the social experience that public school could offer.
Agree with you that much public school is brainwashing.
I have taught my children about God and about values. I have done my best to warn them of worldly concerns in the school and I pray that His protection will always be with them and that what they have been taught by their grandparents, their dad, myself and their church will create a stronghold for Christ within them and help them to weigh issues from a moral standard.
Thus far, at 16 and 12, my children have never given me problems typical of their age groups. Alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex have never been issues. I feel that the values taught by their loved ones have outweighed the pressure of their peers.

Answer 10

the crush to insure that your child goes to a public school is to make it easier to indoctrinate your child, especially in those things that most home schoolers find repugnant. In place of the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, they are then exposed to the social engineering that the NEA and others hope will turn them away from Christian & American ideals.

For a good example of how home schooling can be successful, one need only look at Tim Tebow, the most recent Heisman Trophy winner. He is the product of home schooling.