Michael FarrisEdit
Michael Farris is an American constitutional lawyer, author, and activist who has been a central figure in the modern push for parental rights and school choice in the United States. Best known for co-founding the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and for founding Patrick Henry College, he has shaped both legal strategy and educational philosophy around the idea that families should have primary control over children’s education and that religious liberty should shield parental decisions from overbearing government intrusion. His work has expanded educational freedom for many families, while drawing fire from critics who argue that his projects emphasize a particular religious and cultural vision for schooling and public life.
Farris’s career centers on the conviction that the family is the foundational unit of a free society and that government should defer to parents in matters of education and conscience. Through HSLDA, which he helped establish in the early 1980s, he mobilized a nationwide network of families to defend homeschooling rights in courts, legislatures, and public policy debates. The organization has been influential in clarifying and advancing legal protections for home education, and its work is widely cited by policymakers and courts as part of the broader movement toward greater educational choice. In addition to his legal activism, Farris has stressed the importance of civic and moral formation, arguing that liberty includes the right to shape one’s children’s upbringing in accordance with family beliefs. These themes are reflected in his later creation of Patrick Henry College, a private Christian institution intended to cultivate leaders in law, government, and public life who share a commitment to constitutional governance and religious liberty.
Early life and education
Michael Farris’s career is rooted in a long-standing engagement with constitutional issues and religious liberty. He built a professional foothold as a lawyer focused on the interplay between individual rights and government authority, especially as those questions touch education, family life, and faith. His work is frequently situated within the broader tradition of originalist or textualist approaches to the Constitution, which emphasize limits on government power and a defense of individual and family autonomy.
Career
Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA)
In the 1980s, Farris co-founded the Home School Legal Defense Association as a vehicle to defend the rights of parents to educate their children at home and to advocate for legal protections across state laws. The organization provides legal representation, policy advocacy, and public education about homeschooling. Through HSLDA, Farris helped bring homeschooling into the mainstream of American public life, contributing to a nationwide shift in how families approach education. The movement’s success in expanding parental rights and school choice has influenced debates about curriculum, assessment, and the role of state oversight in education. Home School Legal Defense Association
Patrick Henry College
Farris founded Patrick Henry College (PHC) in the late 1990s and early 2000s as a private Christian college aimed at preparing students for public service, law, and leadership in alignment with a distinctly religious and constitutional perspective. Located in Purcellville, Virginia, PHC is known for its emphasis on classical liberal arts training, rigorous programs intended to produce graduates who pursue careers in government, law, and policy. Farris served as a key leader and guide for the institution, whose mission centers on training graduates who can contribute to a conservative interpretation of American civic life. The college’s model drew on the homeschooling network’s values, offering a pathway from home education to higher education and public service. PHC has been discussed within debates about the balance between religious education and broader public life, as well as the role of Christian institutions in shaping policy and leadership. Patrick Henry College
Public policy and political activity
Beyond legal advocacy and education, Farris has been active in the policy sphere, promoting school choice, parental rights, and religious liberty as pillars of a free society. He has participated in state-level policy conversations in Virginia and in the broader national discussion about how best to structure education to respect families while ensuring accountability and opportunity. His work has connected legal theory with practical policy proposals, arguing that a robust system of educational freedom—grounded in constitutional protections—benefits both families and the country as a whole. Parental rights School choice
Controversies and debates
Farris’s projects have sparked robust debate. Supporters argue that his emphasis on parental authority and religious liberty provides a necessary counterbalance to what they view as excessive government control over education and cultural life. They contend that families should have the freedom to pursue educational paths that align with their convictions, and that a pluralistic society benefits from a variety of approaches to schooling and character formation.
Critics have raised concerns that a strong emphasis on homeschooling and religious-based schooling can lead to insufficient oversight, uneven educational outcomes, or the accommodation of sectarian norms at the expense of broad civic literacy. Some view PHC’s mission as promoting a particular religious vision for public life, which supporters describe as a legitimate expression of constitutional rights, while critics worry about the potential for civil life to become too closely tied to a single religious framework. Proponents respond by arguing that the state’s primary obligation is to protect parental rights and religious liberty, while guiding public institutions to respect diverse beliefs within the bounds of the Constitution. When discussions turn to public schooling versus private or home-based education, the debate often centers on trade-offs between parental autonomy, accountability, and the goals of universal public education. Critics have also challenged the political moves of activists within the homeschooling movement, suggesting that their efforts amount to social or cultural advocacy as much as educational policy.
From a right-of-center perspective, supporters argue that the critiques miss the core principle that government should not micromanage family life or dictate moral formation, and that parental choice fosters innovation and accountability in education. They often contend that calls for "overhaul" or increased regulation of homeschooling would not necessarily improve outcomes, and that empowering families to direct education is a legitimate and fruitful expansion of liberty. The defense of traditional religious and civic education is framed as a defense of constitutional rights, not a rejection of pluralism, and critics’ objections to these views are portrayed as part of a broader cultural push that seeks to insulate public life from religious and moral perspectives that many families see as core to their identity. In discussing these controversies, it is common to compare parental rights with public school ideals, arguing that both spheres can exist within a healthy, constitutional republic, provided there is respect for civil rights and due process. Religious liberty Public education Constitutional law
Writings and public commentary
Farris has written and spoken extensively on themes of parental sovereignty, religious liberty, and constitutional governance. His commentary commonly emphasizes the protection of faith-based education and the constitutional grounds for limiting state intervention in family life. These arguments are frequently cited in debates over curriculum standards, parental notification and consent laws, and the proper scope of government in education. His work helps anchor discussions about how a diverse society can balance freedom with accountability, and how institutions can maintain fidelity to founding principles while adapting to contemporary needs. First Amendment Constitutional law
Legacy and impact
Farris’s influence on the homeschooling movement and on the creation of Christian-focused higher education institutions is widely recognized. By building organizational and institutional structures to defend homeschooling rights and to train future leaders, he helped shift the national conversation about education policy, religious liberty, and the role of family life in public life. The HSLDA remains a major voice in legal advocacy for home education, while PHC continues to produce graduates who pursue careers in law, government, and public service. The broader effect of his work is a more visible and durable argument for educational pluralism in American society—the idea that families should have meaningful choices beyond the traditional public school system, and that those choices can be pursued within a framework that honors constitutional protections and religious liberty. Homeschooling in the United States Parental rights Education policy