There’s a lot we take for granted when it comes to homeschooling—especially our freedoms. In today’s conversation, you’ll hear how homeschool freedom is under threat in places you might not expect... and how one nonprofit is working to protect it.

From museum tours to national advocacy, Steven Policastro shares how God is using their work to equip homeschool leaders in 130+ nations. You’ll be inspired to pray, take action, and help families around the globe.

The surprising truth about where homeschool is illegal

✅Why parental rights and Christian education go hand-in-hand

✅How global leaders are uniting to defend freedom

✅2 creative ways your family can support the mission

✅How to turn this into a meaningful homeschool project

🎯 Grab the free resource mentioned in the episode to get started!

Homeschool Super Heroes Week FREE Pass - includes Prayer - Letter Writing Book

Steven Policastro is the founder and director of the International Association for Creation, a global Christian 501(c)3 ministry dedicated to bringing quality Christ-centered education to the nations. He leads a team from around the world that is dedicated to amplifying learning from a biblical worldview, increasing access to homeschooling, and protecting parental rights throughout Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. In 2020, in partnership with the national Christian homeschool leadership and the Ministry of Sports & Culture, the team initiated and drafted public policy that legalized homeschooling in Bolivia.

Today, he leads his team in:

1. Scaling success by equipping experienced community leaders across Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific with the tools necessary to provide sustainable, local solutions for students, parents, and teachers.

2. Facilitating high-level government discussions regarding the formation of education freedom zones in Mongolia.

3. Establishing a national education framework for the Ministry of Education in South Sudan.

4. Brokering refugee resettlement talks between national homeschool leaders in France and their European Union counterparts who are engaged in the current conflict over parental rights.

Steven has presented to and engaged in dialogue with top world leaders, including government officials and Ph.Ds. in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific, leading his team in facilitating ground-breaking diplomatic discussion on education reform that is qualitatively and quantitatively transforming nations. His efforts have opened access to critical infrastructure and opportunities for millions of individuals to continue to benefit from strategies that are amplifying learning, increasing access, and protecting rights in over one-hundred nations. He is a media spokesman in various areas of expertise, from education reform to transformative peace processes.

Want to make a difference for homeschool families around the world?

Visit associationforcreation.org to learn how you can:

Discover the real challenges families face homeschooling across the globe

Encourage a homeschool family overseas with a personal note

Pray intentionally for those facing opposition

Show Notes:

Fighting for Homeschool Freedom Around the World with Steven Policastro

Kerry: Hey, everyone, Kerry Beck here with homeschool superheroes and homeschool coffee break. We're sort of doing a little joint thing. And this is going to be a podcast on my homeschool coffee break where we help you stop the overwhelm. So you can have a nice little coffee break. And today we are meeting and visiting with Steven Policastro, who is our title partner, and we are partnering with him and his nonprofit and making a donation to his organization. So welcome, Steven, so glad that you're here.

Steven: Thank you so much for having me, Kerry. It's good to be with you again.

Kerry: Very good. We've been partnering. I don't know 4 or 5 years, but I love partnering because I learned so much about what's going on around the world the way that God's working with Christian education and homeschooling. And we're going to talk about that. But Stephen runs a nonprofit that helps homeschoolers. Homeschooling be legal, or, you know, works in governments and that kind of thing, but also Christian education. Can you tell people just a little bit about how this all came to be, and what y'all do.

Steven: Yeah. So I'm the founder and director of International Association for Creation, and our mission is to make Christian education possible everywhere. And we do that through several different means, primarily through training Christians to give Biblical worldview tours of secular museums and then also training national Christian homeschool leaders to be able to advocate for parental rights and the autonomy of Christian education in their nations from their context.

Steven: And the way that we got involved in both of these is, I initially began the ministry to support local Biblical worldview professionals. We realized that there were so many people wanting the Biblical worldview that we thought, why not go give Christian tours of secular museums like the field in Chicago, the American in New York and the Smithsonian and DC. Just name a few, and then Covid rolled around and shut that all down. But we were approved to give virtual tours of the Smithsonian and the word got out really fast in the homeschool community. So we ended up giving a lot of tours to homeschool groups overseas. I think there were 400 kids from Kenya, a thousand kids from the Philippines, dozens of kids from all over Europe, Latin America, Namibia, Mongolia, all these wonderful homeschooling families who wanted to go explore the Smithsonian a few years ago, and we got to do that with them virtually, which was really exciting. And then, shortly after the 1st 2 or 3 of those tours I talked to the National homeschool leaders and asked them like, Do you know the person that's leading the homeschool movement in the country next door, and they would know I don't know them. So I was like, Well, you're Christians like you definitely should know each other. And so let's get everyone together. And so now we have leaders from 130 countries who are regularly praying with one another, taking action in their nations, helping one another to protect those parental rights and the autonomy of Christian education. As I mentioned earlier, so it's really going great. And it's exciting to see everything that God is doing all around the world to make homeschooling possible, not only for Christians, but for everyone. And that's important because when Christians lead the way. That leads to human flourishing for all.

Kerry: That is awesome. It is so exciting to see what's going on. And I've learned so much about different countries and countries that I thought would be really safe to homeschooling weren't necessarily. And then other places that you're thinking oh, they're not going to. And yet they make it, you know, somewhat legal. And so, anyway, I know I know you travel around. You go to different places, and you know, lobby or do whatever you do. Can you just tell us a story about. You know something that you've worked with recently, and helping homeschoolers around the world.

Steven: Yeah, so recently, we are working in Europe. And so the Pan, European Christian education and independent schools issues forum that we set up with some of our partners across the pond is to bring together Christian educators, including parents who are homeschooling and those who run independent schools, or maybe in the States what we would just call a private school and bring them together. Talk about what's going on in the realm of parental rights and Christian education. and we have a framework that we go through each year and kind of rate each nation where they're at. And it's interesting to see, because sometimes homeschool freedoms and parental rights are treated differently than when when it comes to Christian school freedoms and the parental rights there. So it's not always a 1-to-one translation, I guess you could say, but what came of that most recently is that we were able to hand deliver a letter to the special rapporteur at the UN. On education. and that was done in Geneva. And so we've been able to get some information into her and her team's hands about, where do we stand as Christians when it comes to parental rights and the ability to educate our children in the home.

Kerry: That is awesome, I know. I was surprised to hear this is back a few years ago, when you were talking about France, and even maybe last year with England, some of the, you know, the struggles they had, because you would think someone like that. That's similar, you think, to the United States would have freedoms. And yet that's not always the case over there. So I mean one. I just want to say, thank you for your work over there and supporting homeschoolers, and and just for helping and being there for them. I also know that we've got homeschool superheroes coming up, and we really try to encourage our families that come to the event to partner with you. That can be financially. But what are some other things that the families could do just to support you.

Steven: Yeah, I know that we often during that week go and look at what countries can we send letters to? So we have a pen pal program. And that allows families, you know, who are watching your program to write personal letters to national Christian homeschool leaders all around the world. And I know that those make real impact, and they truly encourage the leaders and the families that they serve. So that's an exciting opportunity, and then always praying, and I know that we go through like you said different countries throughout the week, talking about what they're facing, how we can be praying for them and knowing that it's not just policy that we're working on. But it's the people that we're helping, and that's so important to remember is that at the end of the day. Yes, we want to see homeschooling legalized. however, more important is that we want to see parents and their sons and daughters be encouraged in the Lord, whether what they're doing is protected by the Government or not. Ultimately, at the end of the day every mother and father has the God given right to educate their son and or daughter. How they see fit, whether or not the Government protects that right is another question, and that's what we're fighting for is for these parents rights that God has given them to be protected by their government, and not used to harm them, as is done in many places around the world, and some of the places that you mentioned just a moment ago, that you would never expect where parents are persecuted simply for keeping their kid at home and teaching them the ABCs and 123s.

Kerry: Yeah, it's so true. So praying and and writing letters, and everyone that signs up for homeschool superheroes, you can get a free pass. You'll be getting a little booklet that you can download, and we're going to highlight 5 different countries one each day, Monday through Friday, and in that booklet will be some geography pages, the prayer request, or the praises that you can pray through as a family. And then our letter writing. There'll be some pages sort of to let you outline it. Now, obviously, the easiest thing is to let them do it all on paper, and then maybe you or them get online and actually type it. Because I think, wouldn't you say, that's the quickest way to get it to you, Steven.

Steven: Yes, yeah, it would be great. So yeah, parents will need to go and fill out the online form that then submits the letter. So it would be great. And it's a good opportunity to like. Get all the kids at the table and pray and write and we could even like, turn this into a writing practice, you know. Get some homeschool like hours out of it. You know, you can wrap in geography, language, arts. Maybe some political science in there. So yeah.

Kerry: Definitely. That's what I'm always like. Hey, look, you can tie something that's really important. That's making an impact for parents. And I really do appreciate what you said. It's not just making homeschooling legal, which I know. That's sort of just a phrase that I sort of rattle off, but it's giving parents the freedom to raise their kids the way they feel like God is, or if they're not a Christian, but they should have the rights to be able to raise their kids. The way they feel is the best way, and that's what y'all are helping do. It's it's people. It's not just government. But we can still influence the Government through some of y'all's work as well.

Steven: Yeah. And and that's so important to note is that like, so the reason we started the Association for National Christian Homeschool leaders is because we truly believe, like you said earlier, is that when Christians lead the way it leads to human flourishing for all people, and so we want to equip, encourage, and pray for all the Christian homeschool leaders around the world because they are doing amazing work and honestly, even there are some countries where homeschooling is technically illegal. But then, when you are a Christian and you're teaching from a Biblical worldview, it all of a sudden becomes not so legal.

Kerry: So.

Steven: These are some of the nuances that we have to understand. We can look at a map, and we even have our own map. That shows where homeschooling is legal and where it's not. And we try and build a multifaceted framework to display on that map that not only shows the the letter of the law, but the sphere of the law, as well, because, as I mentioned, there are places where it's legal in writing, but in practicality Christians face persecution.

Kerry: So true. And we'll get a link to this map, a current map that we can share in our community. And then, wherever you're watching this hopefully in the show notes right below. We'll have a link to that map. So, and if I remember correctly, it was sort of color. Coded like green is pretty good. Everything but red is like illegal, no matter whether you're a Christian or not. That type of thing.

Steven: Yes, yeah. So it's like a stock. Why, you can think of it as so green is good. Yellow is, it? May be legal, but it's socially unacceptable. Or maybe in that country Christians are being persecuted. And then red is yeah, it's illegal, and there's not an opportunity to do so.

Kerry: So well, if you're listening to this, and you have not gotten to your your free ticket to homeschool superheroes, I hope you will use the link wherever you're listening to this to go, sign up. I will tell you that we have a vip. Pass that when you pay to get all the benefits, the lifetime and the private podcast and the Vip bundle and all of that percentage of that Vip pass is going to go directly to Steven's organization. And so I donate 5%. And then some of our speakers will donate 5% of their commissions, and then I will match theirs as well. So you might be actually donating 15% of your vip pass to to Steven's organization. So thank you so much for being here. Is there anything you'd like to say in closing.

Steven: Yeah, I just wanna say, don't take for granted the freedom that God is giving you and exercise your freedom. I think that's so important at the end of the day, like God, has given you rights, and the Government can't take your rights away. The only question we have to ask ourselves? Is my government protecting my right or not. because, again, governments don't give rights. God gives rights. God made government, then, to protect those rights that He gave us.

Kerry: Thank you so much. Well said so. Well, thank you all for spending time with me. I am Kerry Beck, with homeschool, coffee break and homeschool superheroes. We'll talk to you next time.

Ready to support homeschool freedom globally? Get your free resource packet with geography pages, prayer requests, and letter-writing templates for 5 different countries. Visit homeschoolsuperheroes.com to learn more about Steven's work and how your family can make a difference.