Where are the missing students?

Can I homeschool?, Homeschool, Schools / By Linnea

Originally published on TheOrganicPrepper.com

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Where are the Students?

Public schools have had a chance to evaluate student attendance data and have found “missing students” between Spring and Fall of this school year. You might ask why they are concerned about this fact. Is it because they are concerned about students who are not getting an education? Is it because they feel the need to “protect” those students? Or, is it because they will lose money without students in attendance. It may be some of each, but the last question is the primary motivation for state public education departments to do a canvas of attendance over the Fall semester.

Why do Public Education Departments Care so Much?

Public schools receive their funding from a number of sources, including from the federal government, and some of that is designated to serve disadvantaged populations, including families in poverty, students who have special needs, a student population of English as a 2nd language, and the need to improve teacher quality. Most of the funding comes from state and local property taxes, with a remaining amount coming from grants. (Source)

How do States Allocate Money Designated for Education?

Each state has its own funding formula, but in my state, the money is allocated by the legislature and based upon a number of factors, the largest of which is student enrollment. Well, as you can imagine, COVID-19 has had an unprecedented effect on student enrollment and attendance. Many of the school districts in my state elected to do school entirely online. As a result, some parents have decided to homeschool, others don’t have reliable internet and their children cannot consistently attend online classes, and others may have left the state as their jobs evaporated with the lockdowns. The bottom line is that in the state of NM, over 12,000 students have “gone missing”, and with them the funding they generated.

What Drives Getting Students Back Into the System?

The NM Public Education Department (PED) wants to know where they’ve gone and wants to woo them back with a program called Engage NM. Now, this program sounds quite altruistic and is funded through a partnership with NM PED and Graduation Alliance. It looks like the Graduation Alliance operates primarily in New Mexico, South Carolina, Arkansas, Kansas, Washington, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, and some school districts in Texas. It’s aim is to enroll students who have dropped out of school into their accredited online program. That’s an interesting twist. Why would a public education department promote enrolling its students in an out-of-state program that is free of charge?

How are Your Tax Dollars Being Spent?

This begs the question, where does Graduation Alliance get its funding? Is there a split of federal and state education dollars between your state public education department and Graduation Alliance? Does your state share your property tax dollars with a private online education entity? Why is Graduation Alliance the approved and free “online education” source? If Graduation Alliance can be free, why can’t an online curriculum you choose as a homeschooler be free, too? I don’t have the answers to these questions, but perhaps some of you do.

What do you Think?

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