In an era of dire teacher shortages in critical subject areas, declining student enrollment, financial shortfalls, and a digital divide between the haves and have-nots, President Donald Trump’s administration is concerning itself with eliminating the U.S. Department of Education. Far-right school board members and self-professed “reform advocates” at all levels of government are championing fragmented and disjointed school-choice voucher initiatives.
My fear is that the school reform advocates in the current administration, who appear to be building the plane as they fly it, may not understand the short- and long-term ramifications of their choices (pun intended).
Contrary to popular belief, students who use private school choice vouchers are not more academically successful than their public-school counterparts. Louisiana, for example, has spent half a billion taxpayers’ dollars to send students to private or parochial schools since 2012, and the return on investment has not reflected a fiscally sound decision. In fact, participation in the scholarship program appeared to have significantly negative effects on students’ academic achievement.
Keep in mind that where school-voucher programs are in effect, the dollars follow the students. In some states, those funds could be given directly to parents who choose to homeschool their children—a completely different discussion in reference to accountability and fiduciary responsibilities than traditional funding formulas.
Even though the allocated voucher amounts vary from state to state, in most cases, the vouchers fall short of private school tuition and additional fees. What side of the tracks (or hillside or mountain) a family resides on determines whether that family can pay the difference, thus creating deeper concerns related to equity and access.
Deconstructing traditional public schools by dismantling the Education Department and expanding private school choice nationally does not only weaken education in America, but it also undermines decades of settled law. In many parts of the country, it may re-establish de facto segregation in school.
Dismantling the Education Department—a process that has already begun with the recent mass layoffs—will undoubtedly place greater hardships on the states and local governments. Without additional funding, personnel with niche expertise to ensure legal compliance with civil rights laws and deep knowledge of community resources, both poor rural and urban communities will be disproportionately harmed.
Students with special needs are at risk of losing supplemental resources, and all learners stand to lose a wide array of electives and varied extracurricular activities.
As a retired 26-year educator, I rely on credible sources and evidence. When I engage in research for medical care, I look for accurate and well-grounded information from the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic or Johns Hopkins University—not John Doe on TikTok. Unfortunately, the exact opposite takes place when many people make decisions about public education in America.
Rather than believe recommendations based on peer-reviewed research, evidenced-based data from scholar practitioners in the discipline, and accounts from educators in the field, a significant segment of the country has become conditioned to follow the advice of mostly uncredentialed, misinformed, or agenda-driven “reformers” who never wrote a lesson plan. They could not articulate one single pedagogical method to improve instruction or increase proficiency levels in reading or mathematics for underperforming learners.
But I know who can! Those same unappreciated teachers and administrators who parents repeatedly praised on social media and on television during the pandemic, while admitting that they had no idea how difficult it was to scaffold the learning; develop, implement, or monitor time-sensitive lesson plans; or establish classroom management protocols for their own children.
Station after station and platform after platform highlighted parents and guardians reiterating the same thing: Educating young people is hard work, and educators deserve respect.
What a fickle time we live in. Within a year, conservative nonprofit organizations, television and social media personalities, and other politically motivated groups popped back up like weeds to declare how awful public schools are. Furthermore, a recent Gallup Poll found American’s satisfaction with public education at a 24-year low.
This essay is not a referendum on people who genuinely want what is in the best interest of children. However, I am disheartened with the agenda-driven grifters and for-profit snake oil salespersons pushing vouchers, who intentionally skew data and share cherry-picked research.
Who we should be listening to is college of education professors, superintendents, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, international education experts from countries with students who score at the highest levels on the Program for International Student Assessment, central office and school administrators, teachers, parents, and community stakeholders.
Private sector businesses also need to get off the bench, stop pointing fingers, and get their assets in the game. Apprenticeships, internships, mentoring programs, and externships for students, coupled with help recruiting, retaining, housing, and paying highly qualified educators their worth are a start.
While I agree that intentional and purposeful change is needed, I disagree with any approach that relies on siphoning off both financial and human capital from traditional public education to benefit the coffers of private institutions.
