Welcome Back, Leave Us Alone
January 7th was the first day of the 2026 Legislative Session. We, along with our youngest daughter and several homeschool friends, went to say “hi” to the legislators, welcome them back, and ask them politely to leave homeschoolers alone.
Before we dive into the details of our latest trip to Jefferson City, we want to clarify that we are not lawyers, lobbyists, or politicians. We do not get paid to go to the Capitol or email legislators or give testimony on homeschool legislation. We are simply homeschool parents that enjoy homeschool freedom in Missouri and want to preserve those freedoms for generations to come.
That being said, we’re going to tell you what bills we’re watching so you can be aware of what’s happening. Of course we are also sharing our personal opinions on the bills. We need your help though, as Heidi St. John likes to say, to “get off the bench” and help us keep homeschooling in Missouri parent-directed and privately funded.
The first piece of legislation is sponsored by Representative Scott Miller. HB1744 “Establishes a quality control committee for oversight and enacts education reforms”.
This is the bill summary (click on underlined text to go to the links).
Here is the bill text.
Several things about this bill are hugely problematic for homeschoolers in MO, as we explained to Representative Miller when we spoke with him at the Capitol. We had a great dialogue with him about this bill and he was very receptive to our objections.
We’ll touch on a few main things:
Homeschoolers in MO purposely opt out of DESE’s (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) oversight and involvement in their child’s education by not enrolling their child in public school. Thus, creating a government committee that attempts to oversee private sectors of education that operate outside of said government is highly intrusive and conflicts with current law. Government’s role is to protect and secure our God-given rights, including parents’ rights to choose how to educate their children - this bill is government overreach and a very slippery slope.
The state statute (provided below) says the government cannot tell us what curriculum we must use in our homeschools. This bill would require us to hit certain benchmarks and report back based on whatever standards this committee decides, creating a need for a one-size-fits-all curriculum to meet and measure those standards.
“RSMO 167.031 2. Nothing in this section shall require a private, parochial, parish, home school, or FPE school to include in its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice in conflict with the school's religious doctrines or to exclude from its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice consistent with the school's religious doctrines. Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, all departments or agencies of the state of Missouri shall be prohibited from dictating through rule, regulation, or other device any statewide curriculum for private, parochial, parish, home schools, or FPE schools.”
MO is a no registration state. Homeschoolers do not have to register with DESE or ask permission to homeschool. This legislation would make registration an administrative necessity for tracking purposes.
Homeschoolers in MO don’t want or need to be tracked for the outcomes of concern in this bill - we are generally doing better than public schoolers. We pointed Representative Miller to Dr. Brian Ray’s work with NHERI as evidence.
There is troubling language on the “accountability” aspect of what this bill proposes even five years post graduation. What are the consequences for failing to meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?
“Hold the department accountable for graduates who fail to meet the KPIs during high school and within five years after graduation;
(b) Hold the department and school districts or entities accountable for individuals who fail to graduate on schedule or who fail to meet the KPIs; and
(c) Hold parents accountable for students who are a repeated disruption to the learning environment.”
As we pointed out to Representative Miller, even if you’re the best parent in the world teaching biblical principles to your children on how to love God and others, at the end of the day, our children each have free will to decide if they want to: “Show up on time; b. Be respectful and kind; c. Follow instructions; d. Work hard; e. Demonstrate initiative; and f. Demonstrate discernment.” These main objectives being measured and held accountable in this piece of legislation are not educational in nature, they are character based goals.
There are 3 tax credit bills we are following as well. Each have the name “Missouri Parental Choice Tax Credit Act”
Our biggest opposition to tax credit bills for education expenses is that it creates backdoor registration for homeschoolers in Missouri. Registration becomes an administrative necessity and an “unintended consequence”. No amount of money is worth giving up freedom from registering with the state. Our “permission” to educate our children comes from God - we aren’t asking for approval from the state on what educational expenses they deem as “creditable”.
These tax credit bills create an administrative system of tracking and approving that costs taxpayers more money to implement, i.e. administrative bloat. Instead, we would love to see government simply not tax our income and property in the first place! Then we could use that money to spend on whatever educational resources we desire without asking permission for our money back on “approved” expenditures.
What we hear frequently from legislators on these optional tax credits is “then just don’t take the money”. Well, that would be great advice if those optional tax credits didn’t inflate the markets for EVERYONE in home and private education. Across the nation we are seeing the cost of private education go up, and the cost of homeschool materials and classes goes up once these private markets become subsidized with taxpayer money. What the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) did to healthcare, and what government grants and loans did to the university system, such tax credits and other “school choice”/ESA vouchers will do to the private education sector.
Some tax credit bills also allow for parents to get back more money than they actually owe in taxes. The big argument for tax credits is that people want THEIR money back, but some of these tax credit bills allow for people to get OTHER people’s money back as well.
Tax credits create inflation and dependency. We believe independent, private education and home education are free-will choices, that at their foundation, are free from government dependence.
When tax credits pass, it becomes harder to get legislation eliminating income and property taxes because of the dependency on such programs.
Another bill we are opposed to and watching is HB2447 from Representative Mark Boyko. This bill lowers the compulsory age from 7 down to 5 years old. When we spoke with him, he said this bill was drafted in response to some problems within the St. Louis school district, specifically with children being “behind” in school; to this we say the St. Louis district needs to deal with their issues locally, not via statewide legislation. He was open to removing homeschoolers from this bill and stated that this bill wasn’t a priority for him at this time.
Lastly, we are watching a bill from Representative Mark Boyko, HB2130 that is not homeschool specific, but a reminder of why we fight to keep homeschooling privately funded. The purpose of this bill is that it “Changes the definition of a ‘qualified school’ for purposes of the Missouri empowerment scholarship accounts program” (MO Scholars).
Two years ago, another school option was created via legislation in Missouri called Family Paced Education or “FPE” school. This FPE school definition is basically a copy and paste of our homeschool law with the addition of these FPE schools being granted the ability to participate in the MO Scholars Program as a “qualifying school” meaning, they can apply for government funding. This bill would require FPE schools to comply with several laws and regulations that public schools are required to abide by.
We (and MANY other homeschoolers in MO) have been sounding the alarm about tax credits, ESA’s, and the strings and accountability that will inevitably be attached to those choosing to enroll in these programs - specifically the MO Scholars program. This bill basically says that these FPE students need to abide by what the public school requirements are. Shocker! We tried to tell everyone that public money always comes with public accountability - calls for more regulation, rules, and oversight. If you are a homeschool parent in MO, we strongly urge you to avoid the MO Scholars program and becoming an FPE school - please consider not only the FREEDOM you are giving up for a few dollars, but the effect public dollars entering a once private market will have on you and everyone else.
We will continue to monitor these bills and any other legislation that could affect homeschoolers, and send future legislative updates as we can. If you haven’t already, please consider subscribing to our MO Homeschoolers Email List so you can stay up-to-date on not only legislation, but other opportunities for MO homeschoolers!