Tarrant County residents Audrey Davis and Matt Kuhlmann have never met, but they homeschooled their children for the same reasons.
They like the freedom of homeschooling. They feel it鈥檚 more effective than public school education, keeps their families close and allows them to fold religious beliefs into their children鈥檚 curricula.
But they鈥檙e at odds over Texas lawmakers鈥� push for vouchers, which would expand private school choice by giving parents taxpayer dollars to spend on their children鈥檚 education.
Davis sees vouchers as a threat to homeschool freedom, while Kuhlmann wants his school taxes back in his pocket.
The two parents represent the division over vouchers in the Tarrant County homeschooling community. Many families are skeptical of vouchers and the idea of taking money from the government, fearing the funds could come with regulation that chips away at homeschooling鈥檚 autonomy 鈥� the central appeal for many.
Gov. Greg Abbott has pushed for a voucher-like initiative , which would provide money to families for educational expenses like private school tuition and homeschooling resources.
In 2023, he called four special sessions to pass voucher legislation, touting the benefits at private schools across the state .
The governor plans to continue pushing the proposal when the Texas Legislature returns in January, and he in the House to pass a bill.
Even if a voucher program for homeschoolers passes with 鈥渘o strings attached,鈥� Davis, who has homeschooled her children for more than 12 years, fears the programs could lead to a state crackdown on homeschooling down the road.
鈥淚 am not in agreement with taking money from the government, no matter how it鈥檚 dressed up,鈥� Davis said.
Rachel Opper shares Davis鈥� sentiment. Opper grew up a homeschooler in Pennsylvania, and she now leads , a homeschooling community in east Tarrant County that tutors 447 students.
鈥淰ouchers are a slippery slope,鈥� Opper said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just another little loophole, another way for the government to take control of the homeschooling population.鈥�
Seventeen states have programs that use taxpayer dollars to expand school choice, according to , a voucher-supporting nonprofit. traditional vouchers; education savings accounts; and tax credits.
Homeschool trends in Tarrant County
For nearly three decades, Tarrant County has seen the third-highest rate of students leaving public schools for homeschooling, according to from the Texas Education Agency and compiled by the Fort Worth-based
Between 2020 and 2023, the county saw 8,886 students in seventh grade and up switch to homeschooling.
The numbers, while limited, provide the only data on Texas homeschooling trends. The state does not track homeschooling student totals, instead reporting how many students in seventh through 12th grades leave public schools.
Statewide, the Texas Home School Coalition estimates around 10% of Texas students are homeschooled, putting the community鈥檚 numbers between 500,000 and 620,000 鈥� approximately the same number as charter school and private school populations.
Skepticism not new
In Opper鈥檚 conversations with homeschooling parents about vouchers, she鈥檚 heard a central message.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not a good idea, stay out of our education system, and let us continue doing what we鈥檝e been doing for years,鈥� she said.
The concern conflicts with the stance of the , a core voice in the community in contact with about 100,000 homeschooling households. The Fort Worth-based organization argues vouchers would make homeschooling more accessible, said Jeremy Newman, the coalition鈥檚 director of public policy.
Since the coalition formed in the late 1980s, it鈥檚 built a presence in Austin to lobby lawmakers to protect and expand homeschooling rights.
In recent legislative sessions, the Texas Home School Coalition has influenced most drafts of voucher legislation, said Newman, whose faith drives his decision to homeschool his children. The coalition will support voucher proposals unless the policy significantly threatens homeschool freedom, which Newman doesn鈥檛 think is likely.
Still, he isn鈥檛 surprised by the broader homeschool community鈥檚 skepticism of government.
The feeling in the late 1980s, Newman said 鈥� a time when Texas school districts across the state were winning lawsuits against parents attempting to homeschool and, in some cases, involving Child Protective Services.
Homeschoolers tried to stay under the radar to avoid legal headaches. Some parents opposed efforts to protect homeschooling through law, fearing that if homeschooling was legal, legislators might try to regulate and limit the practice, Newman said.
鈥淏ut the fact 鈥榯hey鈥� might pass a 鈥榖ad鈥� bill someday is not a justification for killing a 鈥榞ood鈥� bill,鈥� Newman tells skeptical homeschoolers.
Davis doesn鈥檛 buy Newman鈥檚 argument. She鈥檚 a regional manager for , a large homeschool conglomeration that hosts educational events and tutoring centered on classical education and Christianity. In Tarrant County, a Classical Conversations membership costs up to $2,000 annually per student, depending on grade level and degree of involvement.
The organization has disavowed vouchers, 鈥渁re stepping stones to increased government control of home and private education.鈥�
鈥淚f the government has some sort of tag into my homeschool, then they have this opportunity that could come down the road that says, 鈥榃ell, if you want to keep the money, you need to do this,鈥欌�� Davis said.
Vouchers could fuel the rise of homeschooling
Newman thinks vouchers will fuel a rise in homeschooling, ultimately helping to 鈥渄iversify education鈥� beyond traditional public schools, he said.
The sentiment fits into the broader narrative of school choice advocates, who say that more schooling options, and the competitiveness that follows, will improve education overall.
鈥淲e want a system that can deliver a somewhat tailored product to 5 million different students, and a centralized education system is incapable of that,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not to say the centralized education system isn鈥檛 useful. It just means it鈥檚 adequate.鈥�
Kuhlmann thinks competitive school choices will help public schools and teachers, both in districts where campuses are thriving and struggling.
鈥淢ansfield has good schools, so everybody wants to move there. 鈥淏ut then that isn鈥檛 feasible, and it hurts another area so (that area鈥檚) schools are empty.鈥�
Opponents of a voucher-like program from already strapped-for-funds public school districts, hurting students who rely on the public school system.
Questions of accountability measures
Newman of the Texas Home School Coalition doesn鈥檛 feel it鈥檚 necessary to have accountability measures that track how voucher recipients are educating their children, he said. However, in case lawmakers include them in legislation, families should be the ones who decide whether or not to participate in the program.
Accountability measures could require voucher recipients to take standardized tests or submit their curricula to the state.
In states like Florida and Arizona 鈥� that have recently rolled out voucher programs 鈥� opponents have criticized the programs for lack of accountability for how parents spend funds.
In Florida, approved voucher purchases have included theme park passes, 55-inch TVs and stand-up paddleboards for remaining funds after paying tuition and fees, according to the .
Opper, who opposes vouchers, said that if any voucher programs are established, she鈥檇 favor an accountability system to keep tabs on how parents receiving the funds are using them.
鈥淪ome families I鈥檝e seen just don鈥檛 homeschool their kids at all; they鈥檙e very lackadaisical when it comes to educating,鈥� Opper said. 鈥淚f there are opportunities for funds to help people in this economic environment, I think it would be good to know, 鈥楬ey, you鈥檙e actually doing what you鈥檙e supposed to do.鈥欌��
Kuhlmann, a Mansfield resident, pays $600 a month for three of his children to take tutoring classes at CHEAR, the co-op led by Opper.
If school vouchers were offered, Kuhlmann would take them. To him, vouchers feel like a fair way to use the public school taxes he pays but doesn鈥檛 directly benefit from, he said.
Kuhlmann said he wouldn鈥檛 mind if his children had to take a state-mandated test to receive vouchers. They鈥檝e taken standardized tests before. His oldest daughter, a high school senior, takes dual credit classes at Tarrant County College and had to pass a state exam to qualify.
What have voucher proposals looked like in the past?
Homeschoolers would receive vouchers in most floated education savings account proposals, and in a majority of cases they would receive less money than students in private schools, said Jeremy Newman of the Texas Home School Coalition.
, a bill at the center of the Legislature鈥檚 third special session in 2023, proposed giving $1,000 annually per child to homeschooling parents and $8,000 for private schoolers.
Wendy Johnson, a former private school teacher, homeschooled her two children because she liked the freedom of adapting their education to their individual learning styles.
If vouchers, which Johnson called a 鈥渇ree money鈥� scheme, introduced accountability measures, they would threaten that adaptability.
鈥淲e all know that free is never free,鈥� Johnson said.
Johnson now serves as the president and athletic director of , a homeschool co-op of about 250 families from Tarrant and Ellis counties. Johnson said she鈥檚 found most other homeschooling parents in the community share her caution.
鈥淎nytime you get involved with the government, whether it be state or federal, whenever you let them into your personal freedoms, it just changes it,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淎s homeschoolers, we鈥檙e very protective of that. As Texans, we鈥檙e very protective of that. It鈥檚 in our DNA.鈥�
Drew Shaw is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org or .
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