Christian Mom Fights Homeschool Battle: 'Government Cannot Exclude Religious People'

A parent in Oregon has filed a federal lawsuit against the Hillsboro School District after the district's homeschool partnership program declined to reimburse her for religious curriculum. The parent, Tessa Bulzan, a Marine veteran, says she left a six-figure job to homeschool two of her five children using Christian-based materials from Abeka and Classical Conversations. She says she chose them for reasons of faith and academic rigor.

According to the article, Bulzan enrolled in July 2025 in the district's Homeschool Partnership Program, which reimburses qualifying curriculum, supplies and educational activities. She says the program denied her request because the materials contained incidental scripture and references to God. She also says she bought two other books with different worldviews to test the process, and that the district approved both. She argues the denial rested only on the materials being Christian.

Her attorney, Kate Anderson of Alliance Defending Freedom, says the district had earlier found the curriculum met state standards and that its academic quality was not questioned on appeal. Anderson argues that excluding religious content from a public benefit program violates the Free Exercise Clause, and she cites recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings. She expects the district to argue public funds cannot support religious education. The outlet says it contacted the district for comment and got no reply. The article does not say when the court will act.