When you see the words “parental rights” used in support of education legislation, you know you are about to hear a proposal to dismantle public education and take the public’s tax money off into some corner for individual benefit.  The voucher program is a good example, as is just about anything proposed by Rep. JR Hoell (R, Dunbarton).

The House Education Committee held the required public hearing yesterday (every bill must get a hearing) on Rep. Hoell’s HB 479, a bill that would allow any 10 families to opt out of their existing school districts and set up their own district.  They could take their property tax money with them but would not be obligated to follow any state rules for school districts.  Read that again.  Or, better yet, read the bill itself, here.  You won’t quite believe what you are reading.

Rep. Hoell’s bills are usually a sentence or two long.  This one is more involved and he couldn’t answer the questions about it, so someone must have written it for him.  Questions from the committee were respectful but you got the impression that they could not quite believe they were having to spend time on this.

Do the people of Dunbarton know how they are being represented in Concord?