Families are opting to homeschool or use private school choices, but there is no mandate for accountability. On January 29, 2025, the White House directed the Department of Education to provide guidance on how families can use federal funding formulas to support K-12 scholarship programs, support school choice and educational alternatives, and how military families can use Department of Defense (now Department of War) funds to send their children to their school of choice. Shortly, later in March 2025, another executive order was launched to begin the dismantling of the Department of Education, which requires congressional approval. Since then, significant layoffs, cancellation of grant program funding, and transference of other programs (such as student loans) to federal agencies have caused confusion and uncertainty.
In the Memorandum for Senior Pentagon Leadership following Executive Order 14191, Homeschooling Support for Military-Connected Families, it called for a review of current support to homeschooling military families and options to expand resources and access. The Executive order cited low National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores in reading and math, with 70 percent of 8th graders below proficient in reading and 72 percent below proficient in math. In Section 6. ‘Helping Military Families’ added:
Sec. 6. Helping Military Families. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense shall review any available mechanisms under which military-connected families may use funds from the Department of Defense to attend schools of their choice, including private, faith-based, or public charter schools, and submit a plan to the President describing such mechanisms and the steps that would be necessary to implement them beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
This order mandated a plan, and while a review is underway, it is unclear what progress has been made. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness to determine the support for military-connected families with homeschooling needs.
School Choice Momentum
The School Choice Now Act was introduced by the Senate on July 22, 2020, to “establish an emergency education freedom grant program to assist families with education expenses and prevent closures of private schools.” It also included tax credits for organizational scholarship contributions to pay for assistance with private school tuition and home-schooling expenses. While it did not pass then, the Trump Administration enacted its provisions as part of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” signed into law on July 4, 2025. The Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025, introduced by the House of Representatives on January 31, 2025, was not signed into law. However, its federal tax credit provisions were also included in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act that expanded access to school choice.
Part of the mechanism for school choice involved amending the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a tax credit for charitable donations to nonprofit organizations providing education scholarships. The Educational Choice for Children Act of 2025 was originally written with qualifying elementary or secondary education expenses and educational therapies at public or private schools, and expenses connected to home schools. Additionally, it addressed a volume cap in which the Secretary would make publicly available the dollar amount annually and real-time information to track the amount of qualified contributions. Organizational and parental autonomy included maximum freedom for scholarship-granting organizations providing participant needs and the prohibition of control over non-public schools, such as private or religious institutions.
Accountability and Transparency on Funding Resources
Public school funds are essentially generated through various means such as federal, state, and local revenues. School choice funding typically comes from donations, vouchers, tax credit scholarships, or Education Savings Accounts. States that use the universal voucher have public tax dollars redirected to private or homeschool expenses. For example, Florida’s universal vouchers have cost the state approximately $4 billion dollars since 2023 – that is a $3 billion sharp increase in the past few years compared to the $1 billion or less since 2007. The school funding formula per pupil is calculated to be nearly $9 thousand dollars per the Education Law Center. Based on state calculations in each locale, which includes property tax in Florida, each student basically receives an allocation in their county. In 2024, property taxes that went to PK-12 education per household were $664.37. The ‘per student’ amount in Pinellas County, FL was $9,130.41.
So what does this mean?
This allocated public tax money can be used for tuition, educational fees, and resources for private or homeschooling needs. Keeping with the same example in Florida, the Florida Policy Institute researched and found that some “educational expenditures” included game consoles or passes to Disney World. Arizona was the first state to enact the universal voucher, and their findings also showed televisions, recreational lessons, and home gym equipment.
Without mandates or conditions to require academic oversight, accreditation, financial reporting, certified teaching professionals, or exceptional education services, there is a greater risk for inequity, misuse of funds, and inconsistent standards. Currently, there are approximately 18 states that use the universal voucher. School choice advocates and public school families should have transparency to better see what the return on investment has been and will be in the future.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 90% of all US students attend public K-12 schools, and private schools are not required to conform to mandates that public schools do, which has led to students who used vouchers to perform poorly on standardized tests.
Safeguarding Military Family Schooling Options
Parents choosing alternatives to public school education deserve to have transparent data tracking and quality education for their children. There is no consistent mechanism for public taxpayers to understand how private schools will be regulated or measured for either their benefits or improvement opportunities. There is no centralized database or mandate for assessing how private schools are accredited for quality assurance. These valid concerns are further complicated by homeschooling. As the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness evaluates the current private and homeschool options for military-connected students, will there be a plan that includes accountability and transparency? School choice is expanding and may provide real benefits and options for military families.
It is important that there is clear oversight to manage the diverse schooling options to ensure that the freedom to choose comes with a strong commitment to responsibility and positive, measurable student outcomes. This demonstrates a lasting impact stemming from educational reforms that carefully weigh accountability with flexible options. While systems are evolving and developing, policymakers must establish a model that addresses these challenges without eroding public trust and further straining our communities.
