The Unesco Connection

FULL FEATURE:

School Choice has become the clarion call of education reform on the right side of the political aisle. A quick look at headlines, statistics, and the dismal outcomes that plague our public schools is pretty solid proof that something needs to change.

Like the political left, the school choice movement has latched onto the idea that the solution is money. Both sides agree that funding should come from the government, but they differ over how the money should be allocated. They both know that he who controls the money, controls the agenda. But who really controls the money? And equally important, what does the money control?

It’s easy to assume that this money/agenda debate over education in the United States is a self-contained U.S. issue and that the outcome of that debate is only our business. 

Unfortunately, in an ever-shrinking world this just isn’t so. Global elites and organizations like the UN have a vested interest in the education debate in the United States – because they also have an agenda. It is easy to see the connection between the U.S.’s liberal education agenda and the goals put forth by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Tragically, conservatives who back the school choice movement, with its push for public funding for private education and homeschools, play right into that same global education agenda.

UNESCO is transparent about its vision for global education. In fact, they publish regular reports covering a variety of global education issues such as Accountability in Education and Inclusion in Education. These 500+ page documents lay out the current status of these goals throughout the world, as well as action points for countries moving forward.

UNESCO’s Report on Non-state Actors in Education brings to light that school choice funding of private and homeschools is in lock-step with the UN’s global agenda to, “see all institutions, students and teachers as part of a single system” (page v).

Read that report title again. Who are the “non-state actors” the report refers to? It is a broad term that describes individuals and organizations involved in education provision, to include private schools, homeschools and even organizations that influence education (page 8, box 1.1). Needless to say, their goal is to encompass every facet of education, no matter who provides it or how it is implemented.

It is painfully clear that public funding of all forms of education is the key that unlocks the door to UNESCO’s global education agenda. It should be equally clear that by pushing school choice funding of private and homeschools in the United States, the school choice movement plays right into that agenda. They are speeding on parallel tracks towards increased regulatory control of all forms of education. 

Further, if public funding of private education is the method of control chosen by UNESCO on a global scale, it stands to reason that that same tool can be exploited by federal and state governments, and their agencies, to gain control of all forms of education in the U.S.

You don’t have to read very far in UNESCO’s Report to get an idea of what kind of regulation they hope to usher in through funding: quality standards that apply to all state and non-state education institutions; quality assurance mechanisms to monitor and enforce standards on all state and non-state education institutions; and government communication of its vision of education through regulation, to name a few. Worse, “education providers should always be regulated as education entities by education authorities” (page 26). 

Not surprisingly, the school choice movement/UNESCO connection is more problematic than just being “accidental” allies. The parallels outlined above should be enough to sound the alarm in the brains of every homeschooler. Even worse, the ties between the darling of the school choice movement and UNESCO should make everyone stop dead in their tracks and question everything they are being told about school choice. 

We have to go down the rabbit hole a bit further to begin to pull back the curtain on the connections. Betsy DeVos has been involved in education in the U.S. for years. During her time as U.S. Secretary of Education, she championed a federal school choice program. Ultimately the plan was killed over concerns that such a program would have opened the door to federal control of private, religious, and homeschools (ironic). Even organizations like CATO and the Heritage Foundation, who typically support school choice at the state level, came out against DeVos’s proposed vouchers over concerns that, “Future administrations could use a federal tax-credit scholarship to…further dictate testing, reporting, academic content, and even bathroom policies for all schools involved.” It is startling that these organizations ignore the same, proven, risk at the state level. Betsy DeVos also served as the Chairman of American Federation for Children from 2009-2016, which has become the loudest advocate for school choice programs at the state level.

And here is where the connection between UNESCO and the school choice movement comes into full view. Corey DeAngelis, the face of the school choice movement, serves as a Senior Fellow at the American Federation for Children and has admitted that his lobbying efforts are funded by them. He is also an expert for UNESCO’s Inclusive Policy Lab, whose purpose is to, “help design and deliver more inclusive, equity-weighted, and SDG-oriented policies.” The Inclusive Policy Lab produced the research document Regulating Public-Private Partnerships governing non-state schools: An equity perspective, which was the guiding document for UNESCO’s Report on Non-state Actors in Education as outlined above. In the research, the Inclusive Policy Lab laid out how public funding of private schools (and the regulation that comes with it) can be utilized, “as the main policy option to tackle education inequalities resulting from private actors’ involvement in the provision of education.” Remember, private actors include homeschool parents educating their children at home.

The connection between The American Federation for Children’s push for School Choice and UNESCO is a common bond, not an accidental alliance. In fact, The American Federation for Children is so closely aligned with UNESCO’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals, they created a DEI handbook targeted to private schools – those same private schools that The American Federation for Children is trying to get publicly funded. 

Do not be fooled into believing that the school choice movement has grassroots origins. It hides a dangerous global agenda that threatens the autonomy of all private and home education. It plans to gather all forms of education under global control through government funding. 

Noteworthy: The American Federation for Children was a huge lobbying force in Idaho during the 2024 primary election season. Their contributions unseated at least three legislators who voted against “school choice” bills. This article  and this article highlight the money spent to affect outcomes of Idaho’s primaries. This article also draws the connection between AFC and local lobbying groups. Please see the Who Is Pushing It section for more details on this. 

SAY NO TO PUBLIC FUNDING OF PRIVATE AND HOMESCHOOLS!

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