JEFFERSON CITY — A Republican-backed plan to take a school voucher program statewide caught criticism from the political right on Thursday during a Missouri House committee hearing.
A key criticism of the voucher plan, from traditional public school advocates, is that the program reduces public funds to the benefit of private and parochial schools.
But lawmakers are also hearing concerns about government involvement in religious and home schools, which proponents of the expanded vouchers will need to overcome by the end of the legislative session on May 17.
The proposal, which was discussed Thursday during a hearing of the House Special Committee on Education Reform, cleared the Senate earlier this month after Democrats and Republicans included new funding for traditional public schools in the plan.
The legislation would remove geographic limits on a 2021 education voucher program that provides funds to families, which can go toward private education or home-schooling expenses. This year’s bill would also raise income limits in place under the current program.
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But Charlene Moore, who said she home-schools in Camden County, said there was no faith-based curriculum available for home-school families using vouchers, and that parents had to get background checks to participate.
“To ask a parent to be background-checked to parent their child sets a dangerous (precedent),†she said.
Another opponent, James Holderman, said “government-funded, government-regulated school choice creates a coercive force within the K-12 education sphere, which will likely ... erode and maybe ultimately eliminate the separation between government public school regulation and the regulation of private schools.â€
Holderman then claimed the legislation is “likely part of a United Nations agenda.â€
A representative who said she was with ArmorVine, which on its website school choice “is the carrot on the end of a stick that ends with woke government regulation & control,†also voiced opposition to the plan.
But the plan also had support.
Shannon Miller, one of the directors of Summit Christian Academy in Lee’s Summit, said the legislation would allow “more student access to an education that better serves their educational needs†and aligns “with their core values.â€
“For far too long, we have avoided utilizing state tax dollars for schools based on their association with religious institutions,†he said. “Secular educational systems have become a post-modernist temple of worship. They continue counter-cultural themes such as humanism, neo-Marxism and post-modernist dogma.â€
He said the program doesn’t provide “funds for Christian schools†but “funds for citizens to make that decision for their own kids.â€
Summit Christian Academy this school year accepted 36 vouchers this year at $229,500, according to the state treasurer’s office.
Rep. Phil Christofanelli, R-St. Peters, who sponsored the original legislation asked Miller if he has had to abandon, modify or change any of its teaching practices or faith principles because they currently participate in the program.
“No,†Miller said, adding “not to my knowledge,†when Christofanelli asked whether the state has made any faith-related inquiries as a result of the school accepting scholarships.
The 2021 legislation created Educational Assistance Organizations that accept tax credit-eligible donations and then provide scholarships for students. The vast majority of program participants have attended private religious schools.
“There’s no intrusion into the private school,†said Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, the sponsor of this year’s legislation.
The legislation is Sena