Paul Praises Homeschoolers

From September 27th, 2000
Sponsors Resolution Designating National Home Schooling Week
Washington, D.C.

Representative Ron Paul praised America's home-schoolers this week, acknowledging parents for their sacrifices and achievements in educating their children at home. Paul co-sponsored H.Res. 578, legislation presented on the House floor this week that would designate the first week of October as "National Home Schooling Week." Paul, in a written statement included in the Congressional Record, told his Congressional colleagues that they should recognize the efforts of home-schooling parents, and strive to help them provide a quality education for their children.


"As a Congressman, I have had the opportunity to get to know many of the home-schooling families in my district," Paul stated. "I am very impressed by the outstanding job these parents are doing. Home schooling has produced outstanding results in my district and across the country. For example, a 1997 study indicated the average home-school student scores near the 90th percentile nationally on standardized academic achievement tests in reading, mathematics, social studies, and science! Home schoolers, regardless of race or gender, also consistently score above the national average on both the SAT and ACT exams."


Home schooling has become a popular option for parents across the country. Texas alone has approximately 75,000 home-schooling families, with an average of three children per household. Home-schooling parents have formed numerous organizations to provide their children ample opportunities to interact with other children. Recent data indicate that almost 50% of home-schooled children engage in extracurricular activities like sports and music, while many others are involved in volunteer work in their communities.

"Home-schooling requires tremendous dedication to family and education," Paul continued. "Congress should allow home-schoolers and all parents to devote more of their resources to their children's education. I introduced the 'Family Education Freedom Act' ( H.R. 935) with the goal of allowing education dollars to be spent and controlled locally by parents."

The Act provides all parents, including home-schoolers, with a $3,000 per child tax credit for K-12 educational expenses. Parents choosing to send their children to the local public school may use their credit dollars to help buy educational tools or fund extracurricular programs for the school, while parents with children in private schools may use the credit for tuition.

"The best way to improve education is to return control to the parents who know best what their children need," Paul concluded. "Congress should empower all parents, including home-schoolers, to control their children's education. I urge all of my colleagues to support the 'Family Education Freedom Act.'"