Red states are fueling a public school exodus
A new spirit of secession is fracturing our country. Republicans are carving out a red-state confederacy where they can impose their own laws and social mores in defiance of national majorities.
To take the most obvious example, Americans strongly oppose abortion bans. That hasn’t stopped 21 Republican-controlled states from passing laws outlawing or severely restricting abortion.
Now red states are applying this twist on John Calhoun’s doctrine of states’ rights and concurrent majorities to education.
“The school choice movement continues to rack up dramatic wins in states nationwide, with particular strength this year in the Old Confederacy,” exults Michael Petrilli of the conservative-leaning Fordham Institute.
Eleven states recently have passed laws making public subsidies for private schools — usually in the form of vouchers, education savings accounts and tuition tax credits — universal or near-universal.
That’s a radical move for Republicans, who formerly justified their voucher proposals as expanding school options for disadvantaged families whose kids are trapped in low-quality public schools.
GOP state leaders now proclaim their goal is “educational freedom” for all families, a cagey euphemism for what many have suspected to be their goal all along — privatizing education.
Conservatives contend that school vouchers or “scholarships” that give parents a financial incentive to move their kids to private schools save money when the per-pupil cost is less than what public schools spend.
Perhaps, but the new laws will make hundreds of thousands of parents with kids already in private schools eligible for generous subsidies — in Alabama, $7,000 a year. A sweet deal for them, but not for working families who’ll pay higher taxes to finance the GOP’s new windfall for families affluent enough to afford private schools.
Petrilli notes that some states seek to avoid a taxpayer backlash by targeting low-income families (Georgia) or using a sliding scale to reduce benefits for the wealthy (Ohio).
U.S. voters, however, seem leery of government support for private schools in principle. A poll last fall by my organization, the Progressive Policy Institute, found that only 34 percent of working-class voters without college degrees favor public funding for private school vouchers, while 60 percent want their tax dollars to go only to public schools.
A battleground state survey by Democrats for Education Reform showed similar results: 68 percent of voters chose “creating more options within the public school system for families” over vouchers.
Why do Republicans now feel emboldened to use taxpayer dollars to finance a general exodus from public schools? A major reason is lingering public anger over lengthy pandemic school shutdowns, often at the behest of teachers’ unions, that put children way behind in their learning.
Many U.S. parents also feel voiceless when it comes to how their schools are run and what their kids are taught in school. Conservative parents are particularly incensed by what they see as progressive attempts to indoctrinate their children in “woke” orthodoxies around race and gender.
The right also is filling a political vacuum left by Democrats’ unwise abandonment of public school reform and modernization. Under Clinton and Obama, the party led the fight to expand public school choice and raise academic standards.
According to Bellwether co-founder Andy Rotherham, from 1992 to around 2016, U.S. students made steady gains in reading and math proficiency and achievement gaps narrowed.
That progress plateaued in the Trump years before dipping precipitously during the pandemic. Around the same time, Democrats moved left under pressure from young progressives eager to remake the world and impatient with the prosaic work of fixing failing schools.
Social justice activists found “structural racism” a better explanation for persistent achievement gaps than the poor quality of public schools in poor neighborhoods. In the prevailing climate of progressive virtue-signaling, renaming schools took precedence over improving them.
Unfortunately, the Biden administration has taken its cue on education policy from the teachers’ unions, which myopically defend the K-12 status quo. The unions fear competition from public charter schools, the best of which outperform district-operated schools in educating low-income students and closing achievement gaps.
The Democrats’ backsliding on public school choice and accountability has not gone unnoticed by voters, a majority of whom believe public education is headed in the wrong direction.
The party has lost its historically large advantage in handling education, falling behind the Republicans in some polls. But they could regain it, by speeding up today’s glacial pace of evolution in K-12 schools.
America is inching toward a post-bureaucratic model for public education better suited to the digital age. Democrats can hit the accelerator by lifting state caps on public charter schools to expand parental choice; shifting decisions from central districts to autonomous school leaders; adopting rigorous, world-class standards for core competencies; exposing high school students to the world of work and closing schools that routinely fail their students.
Republicans no longer disguise their intent to privatize education. This is exactly the wrong prescription for bridging America’s deep political and cultural divisions. The GOP’s marketplace for primary and secondary education will surely stratify as rich families top off their vouchers to send their kids to the most exclusive private schools.
It's hard to imagine a better formula for perpetuating class privilege and entrenching unequal opportunity. Or for aggravating our national disunion as red and blue America drift farther apart.
By reinventing America’s public schools, Democrats also can reaffirm their historic role in cultivating civic unity and forging democratic citizens.
The critical mission of public education, according to Al Shanker, legendary chief of the American Federation of Teachers, is to “teach children what it means to be American.”
That’s not a job we can outsource to private schools and markets.
Will Marshall is the founder and president of the Progressive Policy Institute.
Date: |
Filter
-
‘Scary’: public-school textbooks the latest target as US book bans intensify
A school district in Houston has voted to redact chapters on vaccines and climate change, and parents and educators are worried. The wave of book bans sweeping the US, typically reserved for works of fiction deemed controversial, has hit textbooks ...The Guardian - World -
Red state abortion bans headed for clash with blue state shield laws
A clash is looming between anti-abortion red states and the blue state telemedicine shield laws trying to preserve abortion access. More than a dozen states have laws shielding medical providers and others from out-of-state investigations and ...The Hill - Politics - Abortion -
Sunak says infected blood inquiry report marks a ‘day of shame for British state’ and offers ‘unequivocal apology’ – UK politics live
PM gives statement following report that found ‘subtle, pervasive and chilling’ cover-up by NHS and government. GB News has described the Ofcom ruling against it today (see 10.51am and 11.01am) as an “alarming development” that should “terrify” ...The Guardian - World - United Kingdom -
Pitch count rule violation could keep South Carolina high school from competing for state title
Summerville High School may have violated the pitch count rules in a recent gameCBS Sports - Sports -
Fueled by Conley, Wolves roll by 45 to force G7
A "complete team" with veteran point guard Mike Conley back, the Wolves blew out the Nuggets by 45 points Thursday night to force Game 7.ESPN - Sports -
Synagogue Arson Attempt Fuels Antisemitism Fears in France
Police shot and killed an armed suspect who was attempting to set fire to a synagogue in the northwest of the country.The Wall Street Journal - World -
These photos show Palestinians' quick exodus from Rafah after Israel issued evacuation orders
New satellite images analyzed by the Associated Press show that sprawling tent camps in the southern city of Rafah nearly emptied after Israel issued its first evacuation ordersABC News - World - Israel -
Congress must stop Biden from fueling a Saudi nuclear bomb
If Jake Sullivan and team can pull it off, the mega deal will be billed as bringing peace to the Middle East. If it opens the door to Saudi enrichment, however, the accord will only fuel more chaos and instability.The Hill - Politics - Joe Biden -
The public does not share government hostility to international students
These individuals enhance and enrich the economy and the British university experienceFinancial Times - World -
3 Simple Steps to Maintain Relevance in Public Relations
In this rapidly growing field, PR firms will succeed by doing more than staying atop new technologies.Inc. - Business
More from The Hill
-
Colorado tackles discrimination in AI
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter {beacon} Technology Technology The Big Story Colorado governor signs AI law Colorado will require developers of artificial intelligence (AI) to avoid discrimination in high-risk systems as part of a ...The Hill - Politics -
What is the ICC?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) was in the global spotlight Monday after its prosecutor requested arrest warrants for two Hamas leaders, along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, claiming the court has ...The Hill - Politics -
US lashes out after Israeli officials targeted with arrest warrants
U.S. officials went on the offensive Monday after the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed arrest warrants against two top Israeli leaders over the war in Gaza, a move that Congress and the White House slammed for equating Israel's conduct ...The Hill - Politics - Israel -
Evening Report — Prosecution rests after tough day on the stand for Michael Cohen
A quick recap of the day and what to look forward to tomorrow {beacon} Evening Report Monday, May 20 © Angela Weiss/Pool Photo via AP/Andres Kudacki Prosecution rests after a tough day on the stand for Michael Cohen Prosecutors for the ...The Hill - Politics -
FDIC chair says he'll resign once successor is confirmed
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) Chair Martin Gruenberg announced Monday he will resign once his successor is confirmed by the Senate after several reports documented a culture of sexual harassment, misconduct and retaliation at the agency ...The Hill - Politics