OKLAHOMA CITY
In the wake of the advancement of SB 1647 (Senator Treat’s “school choice” bill) to the floor of the Senate for discussion and vote, a group of statewide conservative grassroots organizations have formed a coalition to what they see as a imminent threat to private schools and parent-led homeschooling…namely the encroachment of state influence via public funding.
The group consists of ROPE 2.0 (Reclaim Oklahoma Parental Empowerment), the Constitutional Home Educators Alliance (CHEA), the Muskogee Politico, the Liberty Ladies, Nathan Teague (a Norman-area homeschool dad and author), and Ignite Liberty.
The group issued a formal statement, published below:
CHEA and ROPE have been actively lobbying at the Capitol against the passage of SB 1647, and for the passage of SB 1471. That bill would create a tax credit of up to $2500 per student for parent’s out-of-pocket expenses related to their child’s education.
While SB 1647 would involved state funds being handed out – which always comes with strings attached – SB 1471 (which is listed on Ignite Liberty’s Legislative Tracker) would simply involve parents being able to write those expenses off of their taxable income for the previous year. As a result, no state education dollars would ever change hands, preventing the strings of state oversight from being involved.
The Coalition appears to be having an effect, as passage of SB 1647 appears now to be less than a sure thing. House Speaker Charles McCall has repeated said that he has, “no plans to hear [SB 1647] this session.”
Ignite Liberty has joined this coalition support of defending private and homeschool education in order to preserve the maximum amount of parental control over their child’s education.