Rumble Link Were you invited to the propaganda meal tonight at the VFW, put on by the Americans for Prosperity? They want to convince you that SB727 is a good bill, despite the fact that they refuse to allow journalists to come and record or ask questions. What does that say to you about their propaganda meal? If they are afraid of the press, then are they really confident about this bill? Or do they hope the gravy will make the lies easier to swallow? Gretchen Garrity from Right to Win Ozarks and I discuss the problems in SB727, though we don’t provide a meal because we are afraid you might choke on your food when you hear about this bad bill. This bill is unconstitutional. It violates our agreement with elected officials to protect us against an overreaching government. They should act in an interposition between the government and us, in this case, DESE and its collusion with wealthy businesses, to gain access to our children for its nefarious purposes. This bill also strips away the Safe Harbor language, which previously protected homeschooling families by providing a daily log and an activist prosecuting attorney. Now, despite having to do even more work, families no longer have Safe Harbor language, which would have protected them from accusations of educational neglect. Last, they have created a Fascist agreement with businesses that will make money off of the donated amounts by taking up to 10% for administrative and marketing costs by transferring the wealth to those who “deserve” it, according to this bill. So, if you don’t go to the VFW to get your propaganda with your meal, then listen to us discuss this bill and the problems with it. Below are my notes on SB727 Here is the SB727 Text to review. SB 727 New Tax Costs: * Increases the tax credit cap for the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program from $50 million to $75 million annually. * This diverts more public funds to private/religious schools through voucher-style scholarships. * The bill increases the tax credit cap for the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program from $50 million to $75 million annually (lines 4-5). * If there is extra money, it will be spent and not returned to the taxpayer. * This allows more public funds to potentially be diverted to private/religious schools through the voucher-style scholarship program. This proposed legislation creates a system of educational assistance organizations (EAOs) to administer scholarship accounts for certain qualified K-12 students in the state. The funding comes from taxpayers who can claim tax credits worth 50% of their state tax liability for contributions made to approved EAOs, up to an annual $75 million cap that increases with state education funding levels. While the intent seems to be providing more school choice, an analysis identified some significant potential drawbacks and unintended consequences: * It unnecessarily inserts EAO middlemen that can extract up to 10% of administrative fees from donations intended for student scholarships. This diverts funds away from directly benefiting families. * The tiered administrative fee structure incentivizes EAOs to strategically award numerous smaller scholarships to maximize the highest 10% fee tier. * No clear mechanism is outlined for these scholarships to support homeschooling families despite promoting school choice. * The convoluted tax credit -> EAO contribution -> scholarship process adds complexity and overhead compared to direct tax-deductible donations to families. * EAOs have an incentive to lobby to increase the $75M cap over time as their administrative fees rise proportionally. An honest critique suggests a more efficient, transparent system would be to allow tax-deductible donations directly from individuals to qualifying families for approved educational expenses, eliminating the EAO middlemen entirely. Overall, this EAO model opens up significant potential for profiteering and administrative bloat that undermines the core purpose of supporting families' educational choices in a cost-effective manner. This system was designed to enrich certain organizations. Their donor-advised funds were created to redistribute wealth from the rich to the poor and minorities in the state. It’s Marxist. Expansion of Government: The legislative text expands DESE's (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education) role and authority in a couple of key ways related to the Educational Assistance Organization (EAO) scholarship system: * Membership on the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Board The text states that the Commissioner of Education will be a member of this board overseeing major aspects of the EAO program. Specifically, it gives the board "all powers and duties assigned to the state treasurer under sections 135.712 to 135.719 and sections 166.700 to 166.720 that are delegated to the board by the state treasurer." So, having the DESE Commissioner on this board gives the department influence over any of the treasurer's duties and oversight of the EAOs that are delegated to the board. * Role in data collection, collaboration, and rulemaking The text states the board "shall assist the state treasurer with data collection, collaboration with the department of elementary and secondary education, making recommendations to the state treasurer regarding the promulgation of rules concerning the program." Based on the powers granted to the board and DESE's role, there are indeed ways the department could potentially abuse its authority if it had certain motivations or agendas: * Directing funds to preferred schools Through its influence on the board and rulemaking, DESE could potentially establish criteria or regulations that make it easier for scholarship funds to flow to private schools that align with the department's preferences while making it more difficult for other schools. * Favoring certain EAOs over others Similarly, the rulemaking authority could allow DESE to create compliance requirements or processes that provide advantages to EAOs that have a favorable relationship with the department over others, which is seen as competition. * Controlling data collection and reporting With DESE involved in the data collection process, there is a risk of selecting which data gets collected or how it is reported in ways that inflate certain metrics or shape narratives to benefit the department's goals. * General regulatory capture More broadly, DESE's seats on the governing board could lead to a form of regulatory capture, where the department essentially co-opts oversight of this system intended to provide alternatives to public education that DESE traditionally oversaw. Why are we ceding power to DESE, which has been historically hostile to non-public education? They have been jealous of homeschooling and private schooling for decades, trying to interfere. This bill does not curtail their powers over these institutions but gives them regulatory power. It places them on boards, which will impact how money is spent. DESE could theoretically pass regulations within its own system, which would impact how money is collected and distributed through the EAOs. This entire bill is a governmental overreach of power. It doesn’t protect homeschooling families from the Middleman EAOs who will be looking to distribute money based on their own agendas. It doesn’t protect the state’s interests. And it doesn’t limit DESE from interfering and creating regulations that will impact how the money is spent. In fact, placing them on these boards encourages DESE to interfere and tell homeschooling families that they must meet certain guidelines to qualify for the scholarships. We act like DESE doesn’t regulate our schools by Fiat. Do you really see a solution where DESE has access to this EAO money, and they don’t create regulations without consulting with our 7th Congressional District legislators? They will gladly accept the $75M Budget and even champion its increases over the next decade. They will want every home school family dependent on this money. They are able to play the long game. Our Reps will be out of term limits while the bureaucrats at DESE are still not even at mid-career. I would rather have a hundred former postmodern Marxists who are now legislators than people who think they have been conservatives their entire lives and don’t recognize a Marxist shell game when something as important as homeschooling is on the line. It’s one of the most important lines of defense against tyranny. I don’t even homeschool, and I recognize its value. Sometimes, the people who need a win are the most easily fooled. * Creates a new Elementary Literacy Fund grant program for DESE to administer. * Directs DESE to develop an 18-credit online teacher preparation program. * Expands DESE's role in the virtual schools program and attendance tracking. * Potentially creates unfunded liabilities for DESE to take on new oversight duties. * The bill creates a new Elementary Literacy Fund grant program for DESE to administer (based on lines 576-577). * It directs DESE to develop an 18-credit online teacher preparation program (lines 578-579). * It expands DESE's role in the virtual schools program and attendance tracking (lines 580-581). * There are no explicit provisions reducing DESE's current roles or returning control to local districts (based on lines 600-602). Expansion of DESE: * Gives DESE oversight of newly defined Family Paced Education (FPE) schools. * Increases DESE's data collection requirements from educational organizations. * Involves DESE in collaborating with the State Treasurer on scholarship program rules. * No provisions reduce DESE's current roles or return control to local districts. * The bill creates a new Elementary Literacy Fund grant program for DESE to administer ( based on lines 576-577). * It directs DESE to develop an 18-credit online teacher preparation program (lines 578-5
