The sheer number of homeschoolers represent a distinct threat to the hegemony of the government school monopoly. Qualitatively, the academic success of homeschoolers, measured by standardized test scores and recruitment scienceexperiments by colleges [1], debunk the myth that parents need to hire credentialed experts to force children to learn. Homeschooling also refutes the “more money equals better education” mantra of teacher unions. The average homeschooling family spends approximately 10% of the per pupil costs associated with government schools [2] in achieving these academic results. Multiplied by the number of homeschoolers, even scienceexperiments these modest amounts add up to a sizeable market attracting numerous educational entrepreneurs. Besides challenging the legitimacy of government schools, homeschoolers also pose a more direct economic threat. Funding for government schools is based on attendance,

with a national average of almost $6,000 per student [3]. Homeschooled children represent over seven billion dollars out of scienceexperiments reach of local government schools and, at its current growth rate, each year more than another billion dollars slips away. Politically, homeschoolers are a force to be reckoned with when their rights are endangered. The most highly publicized and effective example of their growing political clout occurred in 1994 when the House of Representatives inserted language into an educational appropriations bill that would have required all teachers to be credentialed. Homeschoolers perceived this provision as a threat to their autonomy and overwhelmed phone and fax lines to their representatives until the credentialing language scienceexperiments was removed by a 424-1 vote. Homeschooling’s economic and political impact is keenly felt by teacher unions,

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