Classical Christian schools expand with taxpayer scholarships, report says

A recent Associated Press report highlighted the rapid growth of classical Christian schools funded by taxpayer scholarships, according to WTOP and Sitka Sentinel. These scholarships have expanded across the U.S., making half of school-age children eligible to receive state money to attend private schools.

The Association of Classical Christian Schools (ACCS), the oldest network of such schools, has partnered with conservative groups like Turning Point Education and the Heritage Foundation. Their goal is to create or convert 5,000 new classical Christian schools over the next decade, serving 1.5 million students nationwide.

ACCS President David Goodwin described this as a historic opportunity to use public funding to educate Christian leaders. The coalition's campaign is called the “Battle for the American School,” inspired by a book co-written by Goodwin and former Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who supported classical education and criticized current public school models.

Critics express concerns that this movement could harm public schools and raise church-state separation issues. The reporting included interviews conducted in Washington, D.C., as well as in Texas and at ACCS’s conference in Atlanta.

The Pentagon has recently introduced classical education methods into schools on military bases, reflecting continued support from figures like Hegseth. ACCS membership has grown by nearly 200 schools since 2019, fueled in part by mistrust of public education during the pandemic, according to Goodwin.