A Book, an Idea and a Goat.

From ‘A Book, an Idea and a Goat,’ Andru Volinsky’s weekly newsletter on Substack is primarily devoted to writing about the national movement for fair school funding and other means of effecting social change. Here’s the link:  https://substack.com/@andruvolinsky?utm_source=profile-page

By ANDRU VOLINSKY

Head Start Exclusions

Trump signed another one of his illegal executive orders that became effective last week. This order bans children he does not like from participating in Head Start programs. Head Start is the federally funded preschool program for three-and-four-year-olds who live in poverty. Early Head Start provides services for newborns through age three. “’This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children,’ Yasmina Vinci, the executive director of the National Head Start Association, a nonprofit that represents Head Start staff and families, said in a written statement. ‘Head Start programs strive to make every child feel welcome, safe, and supported, and reject the characterization of any child as ‘illegal.’”

Head Start is funded through the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) which is run by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. According to HHS, “Head Start programs support children’s growth from birth to age 5 through services centered around early learning and development, health, and family well-being. Head Start staff actively engage parents, recognizing family participation throughout the program as key to strong child outcomes.”

Secretary Kennedy said in support of the exclusion that “For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.” Kennedy, the creep, has taken MAGA dog whistles to straightforward race baiting. It’s a wonder folks still fall for this tripe. Claims of “those people” taking your resources or infringing on “your freedoms” remind me of economist Joseph Stiglitz’s comment that the wolf’s freedom is often the sheep’s death. If we don’t recognize that we are all in this together in intricate and inter-dependent relationships, it makes it easier for people like Trump and Kennedy to single out groups for abuse.

$6.2 Billion in Appropriated Public Ed Funds Withheld

In addition to limiting access to Head Start, Trump is withholding $6.2 billion in public education funding that was due last year. This isn’t a cut in funding, it’s worse. The move is intentionally designed to wreak havoc with school budgets. These funds were appropriated by Congress and school districts have relied on them in many instances to provide programs during the last school year that ended June 30, 2025 with expectations of being reimbursed. School districts are often required to front money for the state and the feds. The programs affected include those that support immigrant children (see the theme?) but also professional development for teachers and other programs designed to help children living in poverty (e.g., before and after school programs). NH’s loss is more than $22 million. Manchester is losing more than $4 million.

Better be prepared to see your property taxes increase and to see important programs cut in the future. There will be no help coming from NH’s Department of Education. For a detailed list of the funds withheld in NH, by school district, go here for a spreadsheet compiled by Christina Pretorius at Reaching Higher NH.

NH AG John Formella

Many state attorneys general have sued Trump for unilaterally withholding the education funds that were appropriated by Congress and signed into law by Trump in March. NH is not among them. NH Attorney General John Formella joined a number of suits against the Biden administration challenging COVID regulations, tax rules and access to medical care for immigrants. Formella, however, is sitting out this suit just as he sat out the suit that challenged unilateral cuts by Trump to funding for cancer and other scientific research at state universities.

The Question of Child Abuse

Trump’s MAGA world is aflame with complaints about US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s claim that there is nothing to be gained by the release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files. Is Trump one of the child abusers named in the files? Heather Cox Richardson’s Substack post of July 13, 2025 provides a good resource. Go here.

My question about child abuse relates to homeschooling in NH.

NH funds homeschooling through its voucher program and that program is now set to expand by removing all income caps so that every homeschooled child will be eligible for state funds. The number of homeschooled children may explode.

Does NH have a responsibility to ensure that homeschooled children are not subjected to child abuse?

While working on the Claremont case, I encountered principals and superintendents who told me about concerns for children who became homeschooled right after a child abuse or neglect investigation began as the result of a report by a school official. NH’s Child Protection Act makes educators and many others, including healthcare personnel, “mandatory reporters.” This means they must report suspicions of child abuse or neglect immediately by phone to NH’s Department of Health and Human Services followed by written documentation within 48 hours. NH DHHS then begins an investigation.

Educators are among the most frequent reporters of child neglect or abuse. It makes sense because they are most often in contact with children. Withdrawing a child from school breaks this point of contact and NH does very little to maintain access to children who are homeschooled and who do not voluntarily participate in some school program. The nationwide decrease in reporting of abuse and neglect when schools were closed during the COVID pandemic backs up this common sense understanding of the important role of educators in reporting suspicions of abuse and neglect.

Is Abuse More Likely in Homeschooling?

This is a very controversial topic, one that is fraught with mischaracterizations on all sides. The home education lobby has funded research that indicates that homeschooled children do not have a higher incidence of neglect and abuse than children who attend a public or private school. Brian D. Ray is a frequent researcher on this subject. His work is often funded or promoted by the National Home Education Research Institute. Josh Cowen, in his book, The Privateers, has taught us to be very careful when assessing the objectivity of research funded by an individual or group with a dog in the fight.

On the other hand, Harvard’s Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, has sounded the alarm about non-existent or minimal abuse and neglect reporting standards in the homeschool environment. She also raises concerns about the lack of oversight of educational programming. Professor Bartholet, a child welfare expert, points out that there is effectively a right to abuse or neglect your child if you are homeschooling. She notes that the US stands alone as a country in terms of how little oversight is provided to homeschooling.

Are NH children at risk?

You would think that before NH expanded its voucher program, sending more and more state funding to homeschoolers, it would first be confident that abuse and neglect of homeschooled children is not a problem. This leads to the question, under Commissioner Frank Edelblut for the last eight years, has NH’s DOE made a rigorous and concerted effort to evaluate the dangers posed by homeschooling? I’ve submitted a formal request to NH’s DOE to obtain documentation of NH’s efforts in this regard. We’ll see how the NH DOE responds.