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No, Ted Cruz Doesn’t Want Federal Regulation of Home Schooling
The Resurgent ^ | February 11, 2016 | Brian Sikma

Posted on 02/11/2016 9:27:07 AM PST by SoConPubbie

Contrary to what some bloggers (many of whom support Donald Trump’s presidential campaign) and the Internet rumor mill have been saying, Sen. Ted Cruz does not support federal regulation of home schooling.

The source of the myth is Cruz’s co-sponsorship of S.306, a bill introduced during this session of Congress by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). Some form of the bill has been introduced since 2000, but the measure has never been controversial until presidential campaign politics intervened. What the measure does is expand who can use Coverdell education savings accounts by clarifying that for the purpose of Coverdell expenses only, the term “private school” includes home schools that operate under a state’s home school law.

Coverdell education savings accounts were established as a means of helping families pay for college and other qualified education expenses without incurring tax penalties. Money deposited into the account – no more than $2,000 annually per account – can grow tax free and be paid out without a tax penalty for qualified education expenses. For years, private and parochial school tuition has been a qualified expense, but the ability of home schoolers to use the accounts has been murky at best.

According to Will Estrada, director of federal relations for Home School Legal Defense Association, a pro-home education group, 14 states currently define home schooling as a private school, which means home schoolers in those states can use Coverdell accounts. But for the remaining 36 states, there is no guidance for the use of Coverdells by home educators. S.306 simply says that home schools are private schools for the purpose of Coverdell savings accounts.

Contrary to some rumors, S.306 does not create a federal definition for home schooling. That’s something that would spark opposition from HSLDA, and the organization supports S.306 in its current form.

Opponents of Cruz and S.306 argue that giving home schoolers access to education savings accounts creates federal regulations for home education and, they insist, results in federal aid to home education that invariable comes with strings.

That is just not true.

Coverdell accounts operate just like an IRA or a health savings account. Just like a savings account or checking account, the money in a Coverdell, IRA or HSA comes from deposits made by the account holder. The advantage of a Coverdell over a regular bank account is that, just like an IRA or HSA, after the money is deposited it can grow with interest and not encounter a tax penalty as long as the money is withdrawn to pay education expenses. In the case of IRAs and HSAs the money is withdrawn to pay for retirement or health care expenses.

As a provision of the tax code, Coverdells have a similar function as tax credits or tax deductions. Families frequently take advantage of the child tax credit, standard deductions or itemized deductions to reduce their tax liability. Coverdell accounts function as a means of controlling tax liability.

“In some ways [a Coverdell account] is actually even better than a tax credit or tax deduction, because those require you to show documentation to the IRS. The Coverdell has your own money in it; it isn’t something the IRS needs documentation for,” Estrada explained. “It is even more safe, if you will, from government regulation, than a tax credit.”

Estrada optimistically thinks that part of the confusion over Cruz’s stance on home education comes from the nature of S.306. The bill has several unrelated sections, some of which deal exclusively with a federal program that home schooling families are not eligible for, and that could be where casual readers of the legislation might conflate the Coverdell education savings account portion with the federal program portion of the bill.


TOPICS: Education; Government; Politics
KEYWORDS: comedy; cruz; goofball; homeschooling; humor; strawman; tedcruz
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"If we must have an enemy at the head of Government, let it be one whom we can oppose, and for whom we are not responsible, who will not involve our party in the disgrace of his foolish and bad measures." - Alexander Hamilton

 

"We don't intend to turn the Republican Party over to the traitors in the battle just ended. We will have no more of those candidates who are pledged to the same goals as our opposition and who seek our support. Turning the Party over to the so-called moderates wouldn’t make any sense at all." -- President Ronald Reagan

 

"A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice." - Thomas Paine 1792

 

"It does not take a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men." - Samuel Adams

 

"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen." - Samuel Adams

 

" Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost." - John Quincy Adams

 


1 posted on 02/11/2016 9:27:07 AM PST by SoConPubbie
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To: SoConPubbie

Bkmrk.


2 posted on 02/11/2016 9:30:26 AM PST by RushIsMyTeddyBear (I'm fed up.)
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To: SoConPubbie

Always the big lie.

The exact opposite of fact.

This is why Trump lost me.

No honesty.


3 posted on 02/11/2016 9:32:24 AM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: SoConPubbie

“That is just not true.”

Well, Trump supporters have to lie about Cruz, because if they try to attack his actual credentials, they just reveal how thin Trump’s credentials are in comparison.


4 posted on 02/11/2016 9:33:57 AM PST by Boogieman
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To: SoConPubbie

Interesting, thank you for the clarification.


5 posted on 02/11/2016 9:34:09 AM PST by JayGalt
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To: SoConPubbie

I wish anything mattered to trumpees. To them positions and character do not matter at all. A corrupt millionaire used his money and expert Alinksy tactics and the mob to become a billionaire. And because he made a lot of money they think he is all that.


6 posted on 02/11/2016 9:36:19 AM PST by libbylu (Cruz: The truth with a smile.)
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To: ifinnegan

DITTO.


7 posted on 02/11/2016 9:38:59 AM PST by Let's Roll (So much left-wing thought is playing with fire by those who don't even know fire is hot - Orwell)
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To: SoConPubbie

Why WOULD Ted Cruz want federal regulation of home schooling?

He wouldn’t.

Only stupid (to use a fave Trump word) people could believe that.

Trump brags that in essence - minus those exact words - he can get enough media to spread around anything that will be believed by enough people to hurt his victim -no matter what.

It comes down to, no matter what the truth is, if I fool some of the people some of the time, I (DT) win.

A real prince of a guy...NOT.

A real POTUS, too...NOT.


8 posted on 02/11/2016 9:40:53 AM PST by txrangerette (("...hold to the TRUTH; speak without fear". - Glenn Beck))
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To: SoConPubbie

Trump is the one who wants to keep Commie Core


9 posted on 02/11/2016 9:41:24 AM PST by GeronL (I remember when this was a conservative forum)
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To: RushIsMyTeddyBear; All

Read this thread too

Ted Cruz’s Federal Education “CHOICE” Kills the American Dream
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3394431/posts
Anite Hoge wrote:
Interesting that Sen. Ted Cruz voted against the Reauthorization of ESEA in the Senate, (knowing that S 1177 was going to pass in spite of his NO vote), but then submitted his S 306 which will suck homeschools into the Title I agenda of ESEA. He, perhaps inadvertently, tipped his hand. He is betraying homeschool parents. In the end, Sen. Ted Cruz DID NOT VOTE at all in the final passage in December.

Anita Hoge Open Letter to Senator Cruz regarding ‘’About the Child’’.
It address this Act.
https://unmasker4maine.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/hoge-anita-letter-openlettertosenatorcruz.pdf

Charlotte Iserbyt would agree with Anita B. Hoge.

At the 9:30 min mark; there is no way to have tax funded school choice without total control.

These would be un-elected school boards.

One hour 5 minutes
Charlotte Iserbyt; Charter School Trojan Horse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbDClJ7wv70


10 posted on 02/11/2016 9:54:16 AM PST by Whenifhow
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To: SoConPubbie

Nothing speaks as well to the nastiness of some prolific Cruz supporters on Free Republic as this thread. Someone post and excellent article worth reading, digesting, comparing to other information and analysis. That is what this site is about, honest discourse, exposure to various points of view the opportunity to learn and to examine nuances.

What is this thread full of? A bunch of mindless attacks, nastiness disguised as wit, which reveal the shallowness and hatred of the writers and turn off any interest in actually reexamining the candidate’s position. Way to go guys.


11 posted on 02/11/2016 9:55:00 AM PST by JayGalt
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To: GeronL
One mistake during a rally, immediately corrected does not a common core supporter make.

Trump's Position on Common Core - It's a Disaster

12 posted on 02/11/2016 10:01:06 AM PST by JayGalt
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To: Boogieman

“Well, Trump supporters have to lie about Cruz, because if they try to attack his actual credentials,”

Bwahahahahaha. Talk about the kettle calling the pot black. You are a riot.


13 posted on 02/11/2016 10:03:49 AM PST by Parley Baer
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To: JayGalt

And I suppose the comments of prolific Trump supporters are much more civil, reasoned and far less cynical...?

Your comment might be taken more seriously if it were not directed only at prolific Cruz supporters.


14 posted on 02/11/2016 10:12:51 AM PST by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired... Army snipers: Reach out and touch someone)
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To: ManHunter

I’m sorry you feel that way. I responded to the thread not to the forum in general. I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em, when I sees ‘em.

I have gone from being a strong Cruz supporter to being concerned about his positions and his transparency. I would still support him if he becomes the nominee.

I post links to material of concern which may reflect poorly on Cruz occasionally but am open to seeing things from a different perspective when the facts support it. I am concerned because so many of his advisors and associates are involved with the push to globalize and erode America’s sovereignty.


15 posted on 02/11/2016 10:29:59 AM PST by JayGalt
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To: JayGalt

Fair enough. I, too, have my questions about Cruz, as I do every other candidate; some many more than others, but I keep falling back to the position that, on most issues, he has been the most visible and outspoken opponent of the Obama/uniparty agenda - one of the reasons he’s despised by the leadership of both parties.

Regarding globalization, I did some extensive research on Heidi Cruz’s term appointment to the CFR, which was brought up a few weeks ago. (I had never heard that before.) Heidi Cruz, who is a very experienced investment banker, was on a 5-year term appointment to the Council on Foreign Relations from 2006 to 2011. She was a member of a CFR task force that drafted Task Force Report #53: “Building a North American Community”. Her role was to contribute economic data for drafting the report, which is what she did. She did not author or co-author the report. In fact, according to a guy I know (a Harvard PhD who is not, admittedly, a friend), she authored a pretty critical dissenting opinion of the report, saying it was a threat to US national sovereignty.

In his campaign for the Senate in Texas, Ted Cruz admitted that his wife was a member of the CFR, but called it “a pernicious den of snakes.”

I assure you, I’m no fan of the CFR, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group or any of the other globalist groups that are pushing this open borders, “citizen of the world” nonsense.

I served as a senior counterterrorism advisor in the White House from 2001 to 2003, so I’m very familiar with at least some of these groups, since many members of the National Security Council Staff were or had been members of the CFR, et al. But just so you know, not all of the TERM members of the CFR are globalists. Term appointments are considered a recruiting tool for full CFR membership.

For reference, a very good friend of mine, a retired Army general, was a term member of the CFR and he is every bit as conservative, patriotic and opposed to globalism as I am and probably more critical of the CFR as well. However, a cursory search of his name would associate him with the CFR and the Trilateral Commission and lead one to the conclusion that he’s a globalist, which he most certainly is not.


16 posted on 02/11/2016 11:03:26 AM PST by ManHunter (You can run, but you'll only die tired... Army snipers: Reach out and touch someone)
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To: JayGalt

he flip-flops on everything.

he has no core beliefs (except liberal ones)

I say no to Drumpf!


17 posted on 02/11/2016 11:09:19 AM PST by GeronL (I remember when this was a conservative forum)
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To: SoConPubbie

“As a provision of the tax code, Coverdells have a similar function as tax credits or tax deductions. Families frequently take advantage of the child tax credit, standard deductions or itemized deductions to reduce their tax liability. Coverdell accounts function as a means of controlling tax liability.

“In some ways [a Coverdell account] is actually even better than a tax credit or tax deduction, because those require you to show documentation to the IRS. The Coverdell has your own money in it; it isn’t something the IRS needs documentation for,” Estrada explained. “It is even more safe, if you will, from government regulation, than a tax credit.””

Like HSAs...Until govt decides to ‘change the rules’, ‘simplify the tax code’, ‘make the tax code *fair*’, etc.

Doesn’t seem like too many years ago and HSA could be used for everything H-Care related (all the way down to band-aids, etc.). My current (only mine? now? version?): unless you have an Rx, or appt/ER visit: no worky.


18 posted on 02/11/2016 11:11:59 AM PST by i_robot73 ("A man chooses. A slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan)
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To: SoConPubbie
Christian Homeschoolers Need to Know Where Ted Cruz Stands
19 posted on 02/11/2016 11:29:16 AM PST by DrewsDad (Choose Cruz - The Consistent Constitutional Conservative)
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To: ManHunter

Interesting. I appreciate your insight and experience. It is very difficult to thread your way through the political quagmires. Simple answers are so seductive but life is so seldom simple.

Running for President is a brutal process and its not possible to win by remaining above the fray. To be a purist in election season risks winding up with no one left to support.

If only it didn’t matter so much it would be easier to be philosophical. Obama has taught America how much harm a President can cause so now the stakes seem very high.


20 posted on 02/11/2016 11:31:35 AM PST by JayGalt
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