In 1647, Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law establishing the basis for public schools in America. The Old Deluder Satan Act required towns to establish schools, make children attend them and levy taxes to support them. The goal of the law was to ensure that children learned how to read the Bible and understood Puritan values. Following the passage of the Old Deluder Satan Act in Massachusetts, similar laws were passed in Plimoth Plantation, New Haven Colony, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
The Old Deluder Satan Act established the principles that have become the basis for the education system in America. States can require parents to send their children to school, states can require localities to establish schools, schools are run by local officials and finally, taxes can be imposed by the state to support public schools.
After the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson pushed for tax-supported, free public schools to be built across the new nation. Jefferson believed that taxpayer funded public schools were necessary to preserve democracy.
“The tax which will be paid for this purpose is not more than the thousandth part of what will be paid to kings, priests, and nobles, who will rise up among us if we leave the people in ignorance,” Jefferson wrote in 1786.
Despite Jefferson’s plea, taxation for the purpose of funding public education was very controversial and when implemented, collection systems were inadequate. In the following century, as manufacturing took off and industrial development led to a rise in cities, the working class began to believe that public education would help diffuse power from the upper class. In addition, titans of industry looked to public education to provide them with a docile and obedient workforce.
In 1837, lawyer and legislator Horace Mann was elected as Secretary of the newly-created Massachusetts Board of Education. Known as the “father of American education,” Secretary Mann advocated for “common schools” or institutions that would provide every child, regardless of economic background, a basic education. Mann believed that public schools, funded by local taxes, would help ensure that America avoided the rigid class system of Europe and allow the U.S. to maintain its democracy.
Thanks to Mann’s advocacy, on May 18, 1852, Massachusetts passed the first compulsory school attendance law, requiring parents to send their children to school. By 1890, the majority of states and territories followed Massachusetts in passing compulsory school attendance laws. However, it was not until 1918, that all states in the nation had compulsory education. That year, Mississippi became the last state in the nation to require at least some schooling for children. Compulsory attendance laws increased the number of children ages 5 to 14 attending school from around 55% in 1830 to around 78% in 1870.
The creation and growth of the public education system in the U.S. is a testament to our belief that an educated populace is best for democracy and self-governance. If the people are not educated, they will not be able to make wise decisions about who governs them.
Unfortunately, for decades, non-whites were excluded from school and when people of color did gain access to public schools, they were educated in separate and unequal facilities. Before the Civil War, most of the Southern states made it illegal to teach slaves to read and write.
The promise of public education was also curtailed for girls and young women. When public schools did educate girls, they were usually taught a different curriculum from boys and had less of an opportunity to go on to higher education. America’s public schools have also excluded and discriminated against children with disabilities and new immigrants.
It took decades before America’s public schools came closer to their mission of promoting equity, by educating everyone regardless of their background. Thanks to the tireless work of advocates, civil rights legislation was passed and historic court decisions expanded public education to all. Despite the historic steps to level the playing field, racism and inequality still exist in our public education system today.
A recent report from the nonprofit EdBuild found that nonwhite school districts get $23 billion less than white districts, despite serving the same number of students. In addition, the majority of America’s public schools are "racially concentrated," where more than three-quarters of students are white, or more than three-quarters are nonwhite.
The funding inequalities and racial segregation in America’s public schools prevent them from adequately serving students and educating the next generation of Americans. To address this, President Biden's budget proposal includes $20 billion for high-poverty school districts. In addition, Biden would increase the U.S. Department of Education’s discretionary budget to $102.8 billion, about 41% above current levels.
In contrast to President Biden’s historic budget request for public schools, the previous administration was intent on cutting public education spending. For four consecutive years, former President Trump proposed cutting the U.S. Department of Education’s budget. Trump’s first budget, for the 2018 fiscal year, called for department cuts of 13%, compared with the prior year. For fiscal years 2019, Trump proposed cutting the department’s budget by 12%. And, for fiscal year 2020, Trump proposed cuts of 10%. In his final budget proposal, Trump called for cuts of 8.4% from the prior year.
Despite the Trump Administration’s insistence of cutting the budget for America’s public schools, Congress was not having it. Every Trump education budget was rejected by Congress and they appropriated more funds than the president called for. This increase in education spending came in spite of Republicans controlling Congress for the first half of the Trump presidency.
One reason Congress likely did not approve Trump’s devastating cuts, is that the American people support federal education spending. In 2019, an Education Next poll found that 67% of Americans want federal funding for public schools to increase, while only 7% said it should decrease. Broken down by party, 77% of Democrats and 54% of Republicans said federal funding for public schools should increase. Only 15% of Republicans and 3% of Democrats supported cuts to federal education spending.
Similarly, an NSBAC Public Education Poll from 2020, found that 64% of voters think funding for public schools should be increased. Furthermore, of those who think funding for public schools should increase, 83% support raising taxes to do so.
Despite the temperature of the populace being known and the opportunities America’s public schools can provide for all when they are adequately funded in an equitable manner, some Republicans are intent on defunding them.
As America’s children start a new school year with the coronavirus still posing a public health threat, school districts across the nation are working to ensure in-person learning can return in a safe manner. Complicating their efforts is the lack of COVID-19 vaccinations for children under 12. As a result, school districts, following the advice of public health officials and the CDC, are requiring all students, staff, teachers, and visitors to wear masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus. However, some Republican governors and legislatures are blocking local school districts from requiring masks to protect against the coronavirus. At least eight states, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, have banned public schools from requiring masks.
In Florida, the fight over masks in school has reached a level of insanity not seen anywhere else. Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened to withhold the salaries of superintendents and school board members who violate his executive order prohibiting masks in schools. The governor has said that school districts must face the “consequences of their decisions” if they choose to require masks in school.
Governor DeSantis is telling local school district leaders that if they follow the advice of public health officials they will lose their livelihood. Remember, school districts are requiring masks in an effort to keep children and teachers safe from the coronavirus. The governor, we can only conclude, wants to put children and teachers at risk of contracting a deadly virus that has already killed over 42,000 Floridians.
Despite the governor’s attempt to ban masks in schools and defund districts that impose mask masks mandates, school districts throughout Florida are rebelling. In Miami-Dade County, the largest school district in Florida and the fourth largest school district in the country, the superintendent and school board have mandated masks for all teachers and students when classes resume. In Hillsborough County, the eighth largest school district in Florida, and Palm Beach County, the 10th largest school district in Florida, masks have also been mandated in violation of the governor’s order. The superintendents and school board members in these districts are putting the lives of teachers and students ahead of their own paycheck.
Governor DeSantis’s insistence on defunding schools that impose masks mandates directly contract his long standing pro-life stance. Not only has the governor signed onto a brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade and signed legislation requiring those under 18 to get a parent’s permission before having an abortion, but the governor has said pro-choice politicians are untrustworthy.
Speaking to the far right-wing group For America, Governor DeSantis said, “people who are not supportive of the life cause...they are the first ones that will sell out to the D.C. establishment when the going gets really, really, tough.”
Ironically, it is Governor DeSantis who has violated his principles in the face of the coronavirus. Instead of maintaining his supposedly pro-life stance, the governor has opted for political expediency by banning masks and putting the lives of children and teachers at risk.
According to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll, 50% of Republicans say they oppose school mask mandates and 55% of Republicans support bans on school mask mandates. Meanwhile, 88% of Democrats favor school mask requirements and 83% of Democrats disagree with bans on them.
It is no secret that Governor DeSantis is eyeing a run for president in 2024. Apparently, the governor has decided that it is more important to ensure he has the support of anti-mask Republicans, than it is to protect his constituents from the coronavirus. Furthermore, by taking the additional step of threatening to defund public schools that mandate masks, the governor is following the lead of former President Trump and attacking democracy.
As Thomas Jefferson articulated only 10 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is universal public education that helps preserve democracy and prevent the rise of kings, priests and nobles. When Governor DeSantis says he will withhold the salaries of public school leaders who follow CDC guidelines, the governor is really signaling that he is against democracy. The governor not so much wants to be President of the United States as he wants to be King of the United States.
America is a great country because we fund our public institutions with the goal of providing equal opportunity to all. While America has fallen short in ensuring that our public institutions reach everyone, we have made tremendous strides in expanding access and must continue to do so.
It is an attack on democracy and all that America stands for to advocate for defunding public schools. Public schools are the foundation of equal opportunity in America. It is criminal to put children and teachers at risk of contracting the coronavirus by threatening to withhold funds from public schools if public health guidelines are enforced. Governor DeSantis is putting his most precious constituents in harm's way and previewing his dark, autocratic vision for America where only the elite have agency.
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