State school voucher programs are not the driving reason, but they are making the start-up process easier. In Florida, Ohio and other states, there is now a greater availability of taxpayer funding to pay for K-12 private school tuition.
The demand for church-affiliated schools, they say, rose out of pandemic-era scrutiny over what children were being taught in public schools about gender and other contentious issues.
Advocates for taxpayer-funded religious schools say their aim is not to hurt public schools. Rather, they say, it’s about giving parents more schooling options that align with their Christian values.
In Christian classrooms, pastors say religious beliefs can inform lessons on morals and character building, teachers are free to incorporate the Bible across subjects, and the immersive environment may give students a better chance of staying believers as adults.
There has been a wave of school voucher laws passed nationwide — including in Arizona, Florida, Ohio and West Virginia — following key Supreme Court rulings in recent years.
Pastor Jimmy Scroggins, whose Family Church in South Florida is launching four classical Christian schools over the next year said, “We’re not trying to burn anything down. We’re trying to build something constructive.”