Jillian Schneider | January 23, 2025
(The Lion) — A government report released incriminating data last week that dispels the myth that public education serves all students equally.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights report compiles nationwide numbers from the 2021-22 school year on a range of topics. New data points included tracking the number of “nonbinary” students, who were reported in 11% of school districts.
Notably, white students were overrepresented, making up 64% of nonbinary students despite being just 45% of K-12 enrollment.
Another new topic was religious harassment. Even before the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas, Jewish students were the most likely target, accounting for nearly half (39%) of religion-based harassment or bullying incidents.
The final new topic was allegations of rape or sexual assault by school staff.
Of such incidents in the 2021-22 school year, 32% resulted in the accused staff being found responsible, 44% were found not responsible and 24% were yet to be determined.
Overall, the report found the public education system doesn’t serve all students equally well.
For example, black and Latino students were less likely to enroll in an Advanced Placement STEM class (science, technology, engineering and math), while white and Asian students were more likely.
Researchers often highlight racial disparities, but there are other key factors too.
Female students of all ethnicities are more likely to utilize dual enrollment and less likely to be disciplined than boys.
However, fewer English language learning (ELL) and special needs students take advantage of dual enrollment. And disabled and special needs youth report higher rates of disciplinary events and incidents involving law enforcement.
So, while educators and Democrats often tout public schools as a public good, the system clearly doesn’t fit the needs of all students.
Outgoing Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona acknowledged public schools are failing some students but didn’t offer any solutions.
“Public education promises to be an engine of the American Dream – making it possible for anyone to go as far as their dreams and talent can take them,” he said. “The newly released data show that we cannot be complacent – that inequities in access to educational opportunities based on race, sex and disability persist in school opportunities ranging from the number of STEM courses offered to our students to students’ experiences of suspensions in school.”
While the Biden administration was spinning its wheels for four years, parents took matters into their own hands.
Since the pandemic pulled the curtain back on the state of education, families have fled public schools, resulting in widespread enrollment declines. Meanwhile, charter schools and homeschools have boomed in popularity, as well as a variety of religious institutions such as Christian, Catholic and Jewish schools.
President Trump’s new education agenda includes promoting school choice, empowering parents, and giving states more autonomy over their schools.
This article was made available to EdNews Virginia via The Lion, a publication of the Herzog Foundation.