Public education in America isn’t free and equal as we would love.
The majority of K–Twelve schoolchildren are assigned through geographical school districts to their local public school. The location of parents’ homes will determine their educational opportunities. This was acknowledged by Congress in a 2019 Joint Economic CommitteeReport stating that “Families face the reality of attending high-performing public schools often requires paying more to live in, which means many students have limited educational options.”
This report revealed that zip codes with top-rated schools had a higher median home price. QuadrupleLow-rated schools are associated with a lower median home value. Students, especially those with housing issues, who are foster children, or simply come from low income families, can be stuck at low-performing schools, and are barred from high-rated public schools because they cannot afford to buy a house in a better area.
The idea of public education being free and open to all is shattered by the inclusion of tuition fees in the housing cost. Some education officials have been vocal supporters of this system, and they are trying to keep lower-income students out of schools.
Tonya Merrigan, Kansas Superintendent and Brent Yeager, high-performing Blue Valley Schools and Olathe Public Schools Districts submitted recently written testimony opposing a revolutionary legislation. ProposalThis would reduce the link between schooling quality and housing costs. Merrigan and Yeager stated that they cannot offer high-quality education for families who can afford it.
“While we can certainly empathize with parents in lower-performing districts, both Blue Valley and Olathe are among the highest-performing districts in Kansa—indeed competing nationally—and, as such, would find our districts overwhelmed with requests from non-residents,” They wrote. It is true, although it may sound exclusive, that the housing cost in these districts can often be a limiting factor for resident student growth.
This means that less wealthy children are not able to attend school due to the high cost-of-living.
Schools with high-quality performance often possess the The best and most skilled teachersA school district will offer greater educational amenities such as mentorship and tutoring. Unfortunately, government-imposed district boundaries create exclusive educational enclaves nationwide. Tim DeRoche wrote this in his book: One Fine Line, “Poor families know that there are good or even great public schools in their district….But their children aren’t allowed to attend those schools. Who can attend these schools? These schools are only open to wealthy people, who can pay their rent or mortgage.
Even though vulnerable students might not be able to afford it, Get the bestDespite the educational advantages of schools that are highly-performing, housing costs and geographic obstacles can make it difficult. Family members who try to circumvent this system in order to make the best possible for their children can end up in court. For many, this was the case. Kelley Williams-BolarA mother from Ohio, who was given two concurrent 5-year sentences that were suspended to 10 days for using her father’s address to register her children in an improved school district.
Kansas policymakers however are seeking to challenge the status quo based on geography. House Committee on K–12 Education Budget Submitted a proposalThese barriers would be lessened by opening enrollment. Following in the footsteps of FloridaThe Wisconsin proposal for open enrollment would let children attend any school in the country besides their designated school district.
By requiring schools to accept transfers students in limited circumstances, the proposal will break the geographic monopoly. The school district cannot accept transfer students if they are not already residents. Every school district will report to the Kansas Department of Education the available seats and place them online. The legislation also prohibits school districts from charging tuition to transfer students. It also includes provisions about transportation for non-resident students. These are only a few of the many tactics. Distritocratic districts keep students with low income out of vacant seats.
Open enrollment makes public education more student-centered, instead of institution-centered, since families have greater flexibility to enroll in public schools that Are the perfect fitInstead of being forced to attend a school because they are from a specific area, it is better for them. Und open enrollmentThis is only one aspect of the A wider range of school options.
Kansas’ Open Enrollment proposal would benefit families who can not afford expensive schools districts and give them high-quality educational options.
Most nationwide 48.2 millions K–Twelve students are enrolled in public school and remain in an obsolete, discriminatory system. The decision about where your children go to school should be made by the family, not elite school districts.