When North Carolina became the 31st state to opt into a federal school choice program, the debate sounded all too familiar. School choice advocates on one side, and public school defenders on the other. But both sides were arguing the same question: where should government money go? This article invites families to consider a third option, one that does not begin with a public program that blurs the lines between public and private sectors.
The Debate Always Looks Like This
Every few months, in a statehouse somewhere, the same debate plays out: on one side, advocates argue that families deserve school choice to decide where their children are educated. When North Carolina recently voted to opt into a federal school choice program, Senator Phil Berger celebrated the decision, saying that the program “gives parents another opportunity to obtain an education that best fits their child’s needs.”
On the other side, advocates argue that public schools deserve more investment and support. North Carolina’s governor, Josh Stein, opposed the legislation, saying, “We need to put more public dollars into our public schools, and I will continue to do everything I can to provide more support for public school kids.”
Both sides are passionate. Both sides believe they are fighting for children.
Maybe you have followed it closely, hoping the outcome would mean something good for your family and your children. But what if both sides are only telling part of the story?
What If They Are Arguing the Same Thing?
Here is what both sides have in common: they are both debating how the government can fund or support the funding of education.
The school choice position says public dollars should follow the child into charter schools, private academies, or homeschool programs. This federal program, in particular, incentivizes money to move through nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to families, creating a public-private-partnership policy that is nested under the government domain.
In North Carolina, neither side of this argument is asking whether the government should be the starting point of the conversation at all.
What Government Dollars Always Bring with Them
Even though there are often strings that come with government support or direct funding, that is not the central issue with school choice. The central issue is a question of ownership.
Who owns education?
School choice and public school advocates, if asked this question, will likely give the answer “parents.” However, when you consider their policies and language, it becomes clear that, practically, they believe the government is the answer to our education needs. If the government is responsible for the successes, problems, and funding of education, it has taken ownership of it. By supporting policies such as school choice and institutions like public schools, they are functionally transferring ownership from the family to the public.
At Education Independence, we believe that Independent Parents have been given the right and responsibility by God to own and steward the education of their children.
Does School Choice Give Parents Choice Over Their Children’s Education?—Read about the important truth that parents have been given authority over their children’s education by God. Such authority cannot be granted or expanded by a government program.
The Practical Consequences of School Choice
As far as the strings of school choice programs go, parents and legislators should still be aware of the consequences these programs have had on multiple countries and states.
Sweden’s Alarming Tale on School Choice—Learn about how Sweden passed a school choice program that began as a genuine promise of family freedom but gradually gave the government the foothold it needed to eliminate private and home education options.
Confiscated: The Formerly Free State of Florida—Read about how Florida’s universal school choice legislation, celebrated as an “education freedom” victory, is quietly confiscating the very freedoms it promised—saddling the state with unsustainable debt, and inviting regulatory oversight into private education.
Public Education Expansionism: The Result of School Choice—See how public funding, in any educational space, quietly reshapes the accountability mechanisms of education from the inside out.
There Is a Third Option
There is a third option that doesn’t start with government ownership or funding.
What if the choice before families is not simply between this government program and that government program, but something better? What if it is possible to step outside that debate entirely and build something that no legislative session can take away?
That is the vision behind Education Independence, and it is built around four pillars that we believe offer families a better way: Independent Parents, Independent Funding, Independent Ideas, and Independent Pursuit.
| Pillar | Pillar Explanation |
|---|---|
| Independent Parents | Parents already hold authority over their children’s education. That authority is not granted by a scholarship program, and it does not require government validation to be real. |
| Independent Funding | Privately funded education is independent education in the fullest sense. Every public dollar that enters the private educational sphere carries the architecture of the public system with it. Families who fund their own children’s education, or who receive private, voluntarily given gifts, retain something that cannot be regulated away. |
| Independent Pursuit | Education cultivates the souls of children by instilling values and beliefs in them. This sacred process must remain free and independent. |
| Independent Ideas | The ideas and curriculum your children encounter should be shaped by your convictions and your community—not by the priorities of government agencies or the incentive structures attached to public funding. |
The Debate Worth Having
The school choice debate is real, and we understand why families follow it closely. When legislators are making decisions that affect your children, paying attention is exactly the right response.
But there is a bigger debate happening. One that starts not with government programs, dollars, or ownership, but with the question of what genuine educational freedom looks like for your family. So, whether you live in North Carolina or another state that is joining the federal school choice program, be sure to consider these fundamental questions of ownership and independence.
Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, made this case directly in a formal debate at VELA Con 2025. If you are curious to learn more about how the school choice argument so often misses the bigger picture of educational freedom, we encourage you to watch the debate.
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