Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, the Oversight Subcommittee of the Education and Workforce Committee held hearings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, concerning empowering parents in education. Congressman Ron Paul did not attend the hearing but submitted a statement that was placed in the record. He said the most effective means of promoting parental control of education is to return direct control over the education dollar to parents.

Paul said, “The reason school administrators pay more attention to federal bureaucrats than parents is because the federal bureaucrats control education funding. By definition, bureaucratic control of education involves centralized control of schools and a ‘one-size-fits all’ mentality. Under this type of system, it is impossible to provide a child the education that best suits that child’s needs, talents, and interests. The only way to avoid a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach to education is to put control of education back into the hands of local schools, concerned citizens, and, above all, parents.”

Paul went on to detail a piece of his education legislation, the “Family Education Freedom Act” (HR 935). It provides parents with a tax credit of $3,000 annually for every child’s K-12 education expenses. It allows parents to use their tax credit for a wide variety of education expenses including: home schooling, private school tuition, tutoring, providing their children’s public schools with education equipment such as computers, or covering the cost of participating in extra-curricular activities such as music and athletic programs.

“Removing families, especially working-class families, from the tax rolls so they may devote more of their resources to their child’s education is the best way to ensure that all children have a chance of obtaining the American dream,” said Paul. “Who is better suited to lead the education reform effort: parents or DC-based bureaucrats and politicians? I’ll stand with the parents, because placing control of the education dollar in the hands of the American people ensures that it will be spent on education instead of being wasted on layers of bureaucracy.”

Paul concluded, “I hope this hearing is the beginning of Congressional action to put the American people back in control of education through education tax cuts and credits such as those contained in my “Family Education Freedom Act.”

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