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“I openly admit I do not believe our government or their media lapdogs when it comes to what really happened involving TWA 800, the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11, Waco, the shootings in Aurora or Sandy Hook, the bombing in Boston or the bombing at the fertilizer plant in Waco, the attempted Trump assassination attempts and many other of their False Flag operations,” wrote Michael Gaddy in a Sept. 23,2024 blog post to his substack page.
That paragraph is one of many in which Gaddy, who also runs the “Rebel Madman Radio Show,” takes an alternative view of history both recent and long-past. Gaddy is currently developing a homeschool curriculum “for those who would like to teach children the truths of history rather than the 10th Plank of the Communist Manifesto public school indoctrination centers approved versions,” according to his public Facebook page.
The Southern Cultural Center, who recently hosted its third annual conference in Wetumpka calling for a modern-day secession, promoted Gaddy’s curriculum and suggested that the CHOOSE Act recently passed by Alabama lawmakers could funnel taxpayer money to parents who participate in the curriculum.
“MIKE IS DEVELOPING A FULL ACADEMIC CURRICULUM FOR HOME SCHOOLING AVAILABLE TO OUR SOUTHERN SUPPORTERS,” the SCC posted to its Facebook page on Sept. 19. “ALABAMA HAS NOW PASSED INTO LAW THE ‘SCHOOL CHOICE’ THAT INCLUDES FUNDING TO PARENTS WHO CHOOSE HOME SCHOOLING FOR THEIR CHILDREN. THIS WILL BE A GREAT GIFT TO MANY ALABAMA FAMILIES.”
Under the CHOOSE Act, homeschooling parents can receive up to $2,000 in reimbursements per child and up to $4,000 per household. The bill does allow curriculum expenses incurred by homeschooling parents to be reimbursed by the Alabama Department of Revenue, and there appear to be no criteria on which to judge acceptable curriculum.
House Education Chairman Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, said the rules surrounding CHOOSE Act funding could become clearer as soon as next week as the Alabama Department of Revenue is expected to publish proposed rules for the program.
“There are some guardrails in there to not change the status quo for the current homeschooling environment,” Garrett said. “It’s designed to support the current homeschool environment and provide reimbursement for legitimate expenses.”
Garrett acknowledged that “under current law, there is very little oversight, really no oversight from the state for homeschooling.” Some homeschooling parents have told Garrett they want to ensure there are “no strings attached” to their homeschool program and therefore will not be seeking reimbursements from the state.
The law states that “participating students not enrolled in a participating school” are eligible for up to $2,000 in the tax credit, with the household limit of $4,000. The definition of “participating student” states that the eligible student must be approved by the Alabama Department of Revenue and “receive services from an education service provider.”
That language could limit what curriculums are available to be reimbursed by the state if interpreted to mean that the curriculum itself must come from an “education service provider.”
The law defines an “education service provider” as “a school … organization, vendor, or individual … approved by the department to provide educational goods and services, including goods and services designed for use by homeschool students, to eligible students.”
If a curriculum is required to come from an education service provider to qualify for reimbursement, Gaddy would have to be approved by the Department of Revenue first.
The definition of “qualifying educational expenses” lists “curricula or instructional materials” with no criteria defining qualifying curricula or designating that it must come from an education service provider.
APR contacted the Alabama Department of Revenue for further information but a spokesperson for the department did not return a call before the publication of this article.
