House Bill 1540: A Scam to Defund Public Schools and Fund Indoctrination

Introduction

North Dakota’s Latest Grift: Giving Public School Money to Private Religious Institutions

Published on: 2-27-2025

Tags: Public Education, School Choice, Government Waste, North Dakota Politics

It is happening again.

HB 1540 is the latest attempt to funnel public tax dollars into private, unaccountable, ideologically-driven schools while starving public education.

This isn’t about “school choice.” It’s about robbing public schools blind and handing the cash to private interests with zero accountability.

North Dakota Republicans love to scream about fiscal responsibility—until they’re writing blank checks to their friends running fundamentalist Christian schools.

Let’s break down this scam for what it is.

How This Works: The Legalized Robbery of Public Schools

HB 1540 creates "Education Savings Accounts" (ESAs)—a fancy way of saying your tax dollars go straight into private schools, religious institutions, and alternative education programs with no real oversight.

Here’s what it does:

• Cuts funding from public schools—50% of state per-student funding is redirected into ESAs instead.
• Gives parents taxpayer money to pay for private school tuition, online programs, tutoring, even religious education.
• No curriculum requirements, no testing standards—just a giant pot of state money ready to be exploited.
• Allows unused funds to roll over, meaning a chunk of tax money could sit in these accounts for years instead of going to public education where it’s needed now.

It’s free money for private institutions, paid for by gutting public education.

No Real Oversight, Just a Conservative Free-For-All

The worst part? There’s no real accountability in this bill.

HB 1540 explicitly states:

• Private schools taking ESA money don’t have to follow state education standards.
• Religious schools can take taxpayer dollars while openly discriminating against students.
• The oversight board is the same group pushing this bill.

This is a blank check for unregulated, ideological education. It’s a public-to-private pipeline of cash with no strings attached.

Meanwhile, public schools have to justify every penny they spend—but these private institutions? They get a free pass.

Religious Indoctrination Funded by Taxpayers

Let’s be real: this is a handout to fundamentalist Christian schools.

• In North Dakota, the vast majority of private schools are Christian—many with hard-right, evangelical, or dominionist leanings.
• These schools aren’t required to accept all students—they can reject LGBTQ+ kids, refuse to accommodate disabilities, and impose religious tests for admission.
• They don’t have to teach real science, history, or even basic civic education—instead, they can push creationism, anti-LGBTQ+ ideology, and whitewashed history while getting taxpayer funding.

So let’s get this straight:

• They don’t want the government involved in their schools.
• They don’t want to follow public school standards.
• They don’t want to accept every student.
• But they want public money.

If these schools are so great, why do they need public subsidies? If their education is superior, why aren’t they funding themselves?

This isn’t “school choice.” It’s a state-sponsored ideological project using your tax dollars.

If you can't afford children, then you shoudn't have had them.../s

HB 1540 is exactly the kind of government overreach and wealth redistribution Republicans claim to hate—except when it benefits their own interests.

• Public funds are being stolen from a system that serves everyone and given to private entities that serve a select few.
• This is government picking winners and losers—they’ve decided that private schools (especially religious ones) deserve public money more than public education does.
• Parents are getting taxpayer-funded vouchers with no real oversight, while public schools are left scrambling with less money to educate kids who can’t afford private alternatives.

If a parent wants private education, that’s their choice—but they should pay for it themselves. This is not a government function.

Conclusion

HB 1540 isn’t about education—it’s about killing public schools and handing taxpayer money to ideological interests.

North Dakotans deserve a public education system that works for everyone—not a scam that rewards a select few while the rest are left behind.

Here’s What You Can Do:

• Call your legislators and demand they vote NO on HB 1540.
• Expose this scam—share this article, post about it, and make noise.
• Support candidates who believe in real education funding, not backdoor privatization.

References

• North Dakota Legis: HB 1540
• Op-Ed: Arizona School Voucher Frauds
• AZ AG Mayes opens new investigation of private school vouchers