Former Rep. Ron Paul, Texas Republican, devoted his weekly column to “National School Choice week” from Jan. 26-Feb. 1, arguing that private tax credits and homeschooling — not federal programs — are two ways to give parents true control over a child’s education.
Mr. Paul says increased parental control would ideally come from eliminating all federal taxes, as well as the U.S. Department of Education.
“However, if the political support for outright abolition of federal taxes is not available, education tax credits can also serve as an effective way of getting control over education back into the hands of the people,” he writes. “Since ’he who pays the piper calls the tune,’ federal funding of education — whether in the form of federal grants or taxpayer-funded vouchers — inevitably means schools will spend more time trying to please federal bureaucrats than parents.”
Mr. Paul goes on to tout his own homeschooling program, the Ron Paul Curriculum — “a rigorous program of study in history, economics, mathematics, and the physical and natural sciences.”
“[Given] my strong belief in liberty, the history and economics curriculum will provide a good grounding in liberty, including the principles of Austrian economics,” he says. “However, the drafters of the curriculum took great care to never sacrifice intellectual rigor and accuracy.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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