The Center for Christian Virtue says its Christian Education Network is expanding with eight state affiliates. The group also says the network grew out of the Ohio Christian Education Network, launched in 2018.
The affiliates include Ohio, Alaska, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The announcement says they will organize and equip Christian schools to engage policymakers, defend their ability to operate according to their beliefs, and advocate for policies that give parents greater control over where and how their children are educated.
Aaron Baer, president of the Center for Christian Virtue, called the expansion a 'full circle moment' because Heritage Foundation grant money helped support the effort. In 2024, Heritage awarded the center $100,000 to support its Education Restoration Initiative and expand the Ohio model nationwide.
Baer said the Ohio network has been 'so successful.' He said that when it launched in 2018, about 14% of Ohio students were out of public schools. Now, he said, it is about 22%.
He also said the Massachusetts affiliate matters because families there can still give to the tax credit, even though the state has not officially opted into a school choice tax credit.
Why it matters: this is a clean example of education policy moving through private networks, not just public systems. For supporters of school choice, that means more options and more leverage for families. For the public school establishment, it means more competition for students and funding.
The bottom line: the fight over education is no longer just about school buildings and school boards. It is about who gets to control the dollars, the rules, and the values that shape a child's classroom.