The False Premises and False Promises of the Movement to Privatize Public Education

Abstract

The movement to provide parents with financial incentives to send their children to private schools will increase the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic homogeneity of the nation's schools. The case for privatizing public education is based on several assumptions about the positive effects of reducing the costs of enrolling in private schools. Six of the most commonly cited of these assumptions are examined and found to be false.