By Ava Jessup

Have you ever complained about having to go to school? Be honest—you probably have. This isn’t uncommon, as every day, many children complain about having to attend school. Be that as it may, the right to an equal educational opportunity is one of the most valuable rights that an American child has. For the majority of American children, this is provided by our public education system. It may have its flaws, but it remains essential. Because of it, every child in America is granted an education. Despite how crucial the system is, it may end up being dissolved. All around America, conservative politicians and parents alike are trying to rid our country of public education and instead use taxpayer money to fund private and religious schools. This would put innumerable children at a disadvantage, leaving them either without an education or their families broke, having to pay for tuition, healthcare, and food—resources that would otherwise be provided by a public school. This “choice” that parents would have to make would pin families between a rock and a hard place, leaving them victimized no matter what they choose. This is unacceptable, especially in a country like the United States, as wealthy as our nation is. The circumstances illustrate that education in the United States should not be privatized, as it will leave families struggling for important resources.

The Cost of Private Education on Low-Income Families

Ever since the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, Americans have relied on public schools to educate our youth. By having public education be universally available to all children, free of charge and government-funded, public schools have been and continue to be an integral part of our country. With the significant impact that the public school system has on our country, those who want to eliminate this system, such as politicians or parents, need to realize the risks such an action would carry. A lack in accessibility to adequate public education would leave a myriad of parents questioning their children’s education and their family’s economic situation. It would undoubtedly leave a multitude of children without an education at all. This is most clearly illustrated through data in an article published by The Edvocate: “Public schools are open to everyone and provide a stable place for everyone to receive an education despite their affiliation, ethnicity, or background. 90% of the population received a public education. Would they have all received an education if all K-12 schools were privatized? Not likely.” (Lynch 2020). The article illustrates that if schools were to be privatized, countless children would be left with no education. The fact that 90% of the population relies on public education is more than enough to affirm this, especially considering that 16% of children in America are living in poverty (Lynch 2020). How can we expect their families, some of which may barely bring home enough money to pay for necessities, to pay private school tuition?

Another aspect of the public vs. private school debate is the sheer cost of sending children to private schools. “The average annual tuition for private K-12 schools was $12,350” (Pierce 2021) as of August 2021. Additionally, while tuition prices may “vary by locale” (Pierce 2021), it is unreasonable to make families living in poverty, or any family for that matter, pay any amount near this for their children to have the opportunity to receive an education. If parents would not have enough money to pay private tuition—regardless of whether they are in poverty—their children would be unable to attend school. This tuition struggle is a large concern and, regrettably, is just one of many issues with privatizing education.

Families Left Without Welfare

It is no secret that American public schools provide welfare for students and their families alike. Some form of social services is available for students and families in all public schools. For students from families living in poverty or students with tumultuous home lives, school welfare is exceptionally vital to their well-being. A few examples of welfare in public schools include free meals, medical care, hygiene resources (like showers and clean water), and mental health resources that help physically and mentally. Without a doubt, these resources are important to students across our country. It is troublesome that people are trying to privatize education because students from families that cannot afford tuition will lose access to these welfare programs. Since private schools may not provide access to resources like these, we need to make sure the public school system stays in place to ensure the well-being of our nation’s youth. In fact, because the percentage of Americans without health insurance is 10.2%, a significant amount of students would not be able to see a doctor outside of school, or at least not without paying a hefty amount (Tolbert, Drake, and Damico 2022). So, in order to keep these children and their families from struggling, it is necessary to keep schools public, so they can still receive adequate medical care and many other benefits which may not be provided by private schools.

It is essential that all Americans understand the importance of public education in our country because without it, innumerable families would be put into difficult financial situations, and countless children would be unable to attend school. Every child deserves an education, so we should not sit back and allow politicians to rid our country of one of its most important and influential systems.

Ava Jessup is a freshman at Chenango Valley High School and is delighted to be a part of the Valley Unveiled team. Since her childhood, she has always been politically active, especially on social media, being a member of several left-leaning political groups and gaining traction on TikTok. Along with her love of politics, she takes a liking to anthropology, ancient history, and archaeology, and hopes to center her career around those things. Outside of academics, she plays tennis and the bass clarinet, participating in All-County and Nyssma.

References

Johnson, Scott F. 2017. “The 14th Amendment Protects the Right to a Public Education.” Concord Law School Blog, Purdue University Global, April 20. https://www.concordlawschool.edu/blog/constitutional-law/14th-amendment-protects-rights-education/.

Katz, Michael B. 2010. “Public Education as Welfare.” Dissent, Summer. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/public-education-as-welfare.

Lynch, Matthew. 2020. “Why Privatizing Public Schools Threatens Education.” The Edvocate, September 28. https://www.theedadvocate.org/why-privatizing-public-schools-threatens-education/.

Pierce, Emily. 2021. “Private School vs. Public School.” US News, September 15. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/articles/private-school-vs-public-school.

Tolbert, Jennifer, Patrick Drake and Anthony Damico. 2022. “Key Facts about the Uninsured Population.” KFF, December 19. https://www.kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-population/.