In a jaw-dropping power play during their recent historic strike—the first in nearly 50 years—San Francisco’s teachers union didn’t just walk off the job. They emailed parents, urging them to avoid homeschooling their kids or providing any at-home learning.
Why? Because any educational progress families made independently would weaken the union’s negotiating position. This move spotlights the raw clash between powerful public school unions and fundamental parental rights.
In an interview with CBN News, Erika Donalds, Chair of Education Opportunity at the America First Policy Institute, didn’t mince words: the United Educators of San Francisco feared families and students might actually benefit without them—something that “takes away the power” of their walkout.
Donalds calls it how she sees it—a monopoly on education that only survives because too many parents feel trapped with no real alternatives. But change is accelerating.
The number of homeschooled children has nearly doubled in the past six years to at least four million nationwide. And overall, public schools lost as many as three million students from fall 2019 to fall 2025.
Donalds argues that number could double overnight if parents had genuine freedom to educate at home without fear or penalty. She suggests the message is clear: When unions treat children’s learning as a bargaining chip, families deserve real options, not ultimatums.
Meanwhile, last July, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill, launching America’s first federal tax-credit scholarship program—funded by private donations. It empowers states to fund scholarships, tutoring, curricula, and online courses.
Democratic governors in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Oregon are among those opting out of the new federal tax-credit scholarship program for charter schools, homeschooling, and private education.
