Education holds tremendous power. By shaping our children, it determines the future of our country. With more educational opportunities, children are more likely to thrive by finding an environment that best suits their needs and protects their innocence.

The left has taken over public education and is working to corrupt our children with Critical Race Theory, Social Emotional Learning, and Marxist propaganda. Numerous stories have emerged of activist teaching and inappropriate material in classrooms. The left weaves radical ideas about gender, sexuality, race, and more into literature, social studies, and even math classes.

Further, many educators and administrators have demonstrated that they do not care about parental rights. They’ve even gone so far as to hide information about what goes on in the classroom from parents.

NSCW recently conducted a survey showing that parents are concerned about their children’s education. Over half of parents said they had considered or are considering alternative schooling options for their children.

Families are transitioning to homeschooling at the most rapid rate in US history. This is mostly because parents are concerned about radical indoctrination and because the coronavirus pandemic revealed many of the pitfalls in public education. When children were forced to learn from home, parents got a closer look at their child’s education, and many did not like what they saw.

This is fantastic news for children’s mental health, spiritual health, and safety. Thankfully, South Dakota is an excellent state for families who want to homeschool, as the law imposes few restrictions on homeschooling. However, we need to continue to fight for the expansion of all educational opportunities at the state and federal level so that parents have as much freedom as possible to direct their children’s education.

It is parents’ right and duty to decide where and how their children will be educated. Every child is unique and learns differently. Parents know and care for their children more than anyone and are best equipped to make decisions pertaining to their education. This is why ensuring that ample educational opportunities, including homeschooling, private schooling, charter schooling, and more are widely available to all families across South Dakota.

School choice also allows parents better control over the ideas their children are exposed to.

As President Abraham Lincoln once said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” Parents must be incredibly intentional when deciding how their children will be educated, but in order to do so, they need as many educational opportunities as possible.

Now, more than ever, it’s important to know which candidates will support school choice so we can elect them this fall! Research the candidates at DakotaVoter.com