Homeschoolers: Will Your Charter School Pay for Music Lessons?

2023 Update: The info below may be different now, be sure and check with charters to see the latest on enrollment.

It is 2020, and the phrase “business as usual” has become an icon of the past. Nowadays we all expect the unusual. At least, that is certainly the case for us. For the last five years we have been offering music lessons to homeschooled charter school students in California. But a rapid fire of series events spanning from employment laws to COVID to the barrage of state bills passed against charter schools has caused the future of government-funded music lessons to come into question. So where do things stand now?

COVID and employment laws are mere bumps in the road compared to the new legislation aimed at curtailing charters. So let’s focus on that issue. Before I go any further, let me start by saying yes, charter schools are still alive, and they are still funding things like music lessons, dance, art, etc. But the catch is that charter schools are not taking on new students. This is due to Senate Bill 98, passed in late June. According to Channel 3 News (Palm Spring, CA), “SB 98 caps per-student state funding for public schools and charter schools this year to last year's funding levels, effectively putting a moratorium on new charter school enrollments.”

The takeaway? Students already enrolled in charters still get funding. Students not already enrolled are put on a waiting list. Channel 3: “Local Republican State Senator Melissa Melendez, who voted against SB 98 says there are now lists totaling about 13,000 students waiting to enroll in the state's charter schools.” Unless the state agrees to provide more funding to accommodate new students, the charters have no incentive to enroll new students. They have every incentive to keep them out of the school. Which is exactly what the new legislation was intended to do.

So what exactly is going on here? Just remember that most of the time, legislation around education revolves around money. State and federal governments provide money for each student who enrolls in a public school. And it’s a lot of money. I’ve heard numbers between $16,000 to $18,000 thrown around, but I don’t have a clear number. (If you are reading this and you know the correct amount, please list in the comments below). Teachers unions are against public charters because money is siphoned away from their pockets into charters every time a student leaves a traditional school and enrolls in a charter.

Both charter and traditional schools use this money to fund operating expenses of the school. But in the case of charter schools that have homeschool programs, some of that money—about $2,500 per student per year—is set aside for students in a special vendor account. Choosing from a state-approved vendor list, students can use the money to buy things like textbooks, enroll in online classes, and take practicum classes like art, music, and dance. The logic is that since those are available in a traditional public school, a public charter should offer them, too.

The teachers unions in California have been the main impetus behind bills like SB 98, AB 2990, AB 1505 and 1507, among others. Notably, the unions have now given an ultimatum of sorts declaring that the state ban the police presence within public schools, and that charters be abolished. The money freed up from paying school police could then be available to teacher unions.

~Adam Bendorf

Allemande Music Academy currently offers virtual music lessons for a variety of instruments. Learn more