State legislators have a limited understanding of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) mandates which have been imposed upon our public schools. They deal with many issues and it’s difficult to research each one in detail. Nor is it likely that legislators realize that federal ESSA mandates are already in place and ready to be imposed upon private schools accepting Education Freedom Account (EFA) funding.
EFAs create public-private partnerships with the state. According to Commissioner Frank Edelblut in a recent op-ed, Education Freedom Accounts create “Public education for all”. He did not say: access to private school for all. He said: public education for all.
“… any education program funded with taxpayer dollars is “public,” even if it is a private religious school that accepts students funded with publicly funded vouchers or tax credit programs.” according to former US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos .
Under the banner of equity, private, religious and home schools will eventually be required to comply with federal mandates. State regulated “school choice” will be the access point for these mandates to extend into private and home school education. Once state funding is accepted, private schools and curriculum providers will be required to comply with state-approved standards, assessments, or data-sharing policies. This eventually leads to:
•Mandated digital assessments and AI-driven tracking
•Social-emotional and behavioral data collection
•Alignment with federal/global education frameworks
•Increased government oversight into private and home education
It’s a slow, step-by-step process that many won’t realize until it’s too late. ESSA mandates were slowly imposed upon public schools. Only recently have parents become concerned. The claim that parents can just “opt out” ignores the broader systemic changes that will impact all educational pathways once these policies take root.
There is a simple way for legislators to protect schools from federal mandates. Protect the separation of powers: the legislature, not the executive branch, is authorized to draft education policy. Instruct the state department of education to stop drafting education policy in federal grant applications and instruct the executive council to stop accepting federal grants that impose unconstitutional federal mandates upon public schools.
Federal education funding is currently about $240M / year for NH, according to Commissioner Edelblut’s in recent testimony to the legislature. What’s it worth to end the federal indoctrination of our children and to restore academic instruction? Public education is fixable: just say “no” to federal funding and require academic instruction without federal behavioral therapy and federal data tracking.
Constitutionally, education is reserved to the states. The state department of education “voluntarily” accepts federal grant requirements, making it eligible for federal funds. Then it imposes federal mandates upon our public schools. Our state, like other states, has been bribed to circumvent the Constitution in accepting uniform Common Core standards, Social Emotional Learning behavior modification, Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems used for data tracking of students values, attitudes and beliefs, etc. in exchange for federal dollars.
The dissolution of the US Education Department won’t eliminate federal mandates as these programs will be transferred to the department of Health and Human Service: the Medicaid / Mental Health / Behavioral Interventions / Psychometric Data Collection / and implemented by teachers posing as therapists.
Please listen to this short 9 minute explanation of Social Emotional Learning behavior modification which “minimizes the role of the family in raising the child and how it can be used nefariously to take away the individual capacity of children to make informed, uncoerced decisions.” (Lisa Logan)
It’s disturbing, but do your own research.
The 2015 “Every Student Succeeds Act’’ (ESSA), page 71:
Whichever EFA bill passes this year, it will expand “school choice.” As you can see, these bills are part of a larger framework that aligns directly with the federal mandates under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and the recently submitted federal bill: Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA). The goal is the complete transfer of power over education from local communities with elected school boards to the state. Local control will be eliminated!
The 2025 Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) is a federal bill to provide “school choice” funding which could trigger ESSA mandates. After all, these federal mandates were enacted to be used.
Remember, without the acceptance of federal funds, there are no federal mandates.
