Trump budget would abandon public education for private choice
The Trump administration has announced its plan to transform education funding as we
know it. The new budget proposal takes aim at a host of elementary, secondary and higher
education programs that serve needy students, redirecting those funds toward K-12 school
choice in the form of vouchers, tax credits and charter schools. The Conversation
Public schools that enroll a large percentage of low-income students stand to lose significant
chunks of their budget, as well as a number of specialized federal programs for their
students. At the same time, the Trump budget will incentivize families to leave not only
these schools, but public schools in general.
As a scholar of education law and policy, I note that my recent research on state voucher
and charter programs shows that the loss of both money and core constituents proposed
by this new budget could throw public education into a downward spiral.
The proposed changes in federal funding
Through Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal government currently
sends US$16 billion a year to public schools to provide extra resources for low-income
students. While Title I is the single largest federal grant, the federal government spends
more than twice that amount through a multitude of other programs. School systems like those
in Miami, Milwaukee, Houston, San Antonio and Detroit get anywhere from 15 to 25 percent
of their funding from the federal government.
The new budget proposes about $4 billion in cuts to programs like literacy for students
with disabilities and limited English proficiency, class-size reduction, and after-school and
summer programs.
The Trump administration promises the money is not really gone; it�s just coming back
under different policies. The administration plans to add $1 billion to Title I, but the
additional money comes with a big catch: States must spend that money on school choice. To
access the new money, states and districts would have to adopt student enrollment policies
that allow families to choose their own schools and take public money with them.
This would fundamentally change the way states have funded schools and assigned students
for the past century. While choice policies have significantly grown in recent years,
the vast majority of districts continue to assign students to a public school based on
where they live. If families choose to leave the district to attend another school (i.e.,
a charter school), local school funds remain with the district. A substantial chunk, if
not all, of state and federal dollars typically stay with the district as well.
Trump�s proposal would have all of the local, state and federal dollars follow the child,
regardless of the school the student attends. Choice advocates argue that this gets the
government out of the driver�s seat and brings market forces to bear on public schools.
Competition, they reason, will improve public schools and, thus, benefit everyone.
The threat to low-income schools
Studies have shown that while decreased student enrollment does reduce some public school
costs, other costs remain fixed. School buses drive the same routes. Air conditioners run
just as much. And, quite often, the school still needs the same number of teachers. When
states fail to account for these realities, they can drive school districts into bankruptcy.
Under Trump�s proposal, when a student enrolls in a charter school, that student will take
not only federal funding with them, but all of the state and local funding that previously
supported the local school. This would effectively reduce the funding for the local school without
reducing its costs.
The effect on high-poverty districts could be catastrophic. On average, school districts
serving predominantly low-income students already receive significantly less state and
local funding than others. In Nevada, for instance, predominantly middle-income schools
spend $10,400 per pupil, whereas schools serving just a moderate number of low-income students
spend only $6,100 per pupil. Taking more money away from needy schools would likely widen
these gaps.
States, of course, can stick with the traditional rules for spending federal Title I money,
but if they want additional money from Trump, they have to agree to his choice proposal.
History has shown that states are typically willing to do anything to get new federal
education money, even when it�s a bad idea. In 2009, Secretary Arne Duncan offered even
less money for states to adopt controversial teacher evaluation systems and the Common
Core. While those policies imploded within a few years, more than 40 states were initially
quick to take the deal.
The threat to public schools in general
The administration plans to go beyond the education budget alone. Although it is holding
back the details for now, the administration is close to proposing an entire new tax scheme
to fund private education. This new program would give individuals and businesses tax
credits for �donating� to organizations that pay for students� tuition at private
schools.
In the past, states have experimented with traditional school voucher programs, which
are typically limited to small numbers of low-income students. The new tax credit system,
by contrast, could be used by states to fund wealthier students � and could be opened
up to enrollment at religious schools as well.
As a result, enrollment in these programs has risen dramatically in comparison to traditional
vouchers. In states like Florida and Indiana, the size of these programs quadrupled in just
a few years.
A wolf in school choice clothing
On the surface, these policies are just about moving money around � freeing up traditional
public school funding to spur growth in charter and private schools. Below the surface, however,
I believe the new budget undermines confidence in public education.
North Carolina offers a cautionary tale. A few years ago, North Carolina slashed its
traditional education budget by 20 percent, while doubling its expenditures on charter
schools. Since then, North Carolina�s public schools have fallen from being among the finest
in the nation to some of the worst.
Policies like these misunderstand why we have public education in the first place. Our government
institutions have long funded public schools because they produce benefits for society
as a whole: productive citizens, social values, shared experiences and an effective workforce.
Individuals surely benefit, but the pursuit of these societal goals is the reason that
our states provide education.
Trump�s effort to reshape school financing reflects a vision of education that is not
public at all. This new vision is all about individuals, ignoring what may happen to our
societal values, public schools and the neediest students who will be left behind.
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